Yesterday afternoon, on a frigid first day of November, the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams continued their respective reigns atop the PSAA by running to their sixth straight League Championships.

For the fourth straight year, it was Portledge in the runner-up position to our girls as the Panthers’ home course advantage could not overcome the Bears’ powerful duo up front. Freshman Sophia Dabbraccio won the individual title for a second straight year, spanning the 2.5-mile course in a time of 17:30. Evelyn Apazidis followed in a time of 18:03 to give The Brook the top two spots. Portledge took the next two places, but Autumn Nichols grabbed 5th in 19:03.

Long Island Lutheran took 6th and 7th overall but did not factor into the team scoring without the requisite five runners. That gave Emma Cohen 6th in the team total in 20:20 and Ali Puopolo 8th in 20:57 to complete the Bears’ scoring. Their 22 points outdistanced Portledge (33) and Solomon Schechter (80) for the 11th league title in team history. The run of six straight titles resets a PSAA record previously held by Packer Collegiate, which had a run of five from 2003-07.

On the boys’ side, Portledge was left looking at Stony Brook’s back for a fourth straight year as the Bears took the top three places. Duncan Kipkoech ran away with the individual crown for a second straight year in 13:38. John Duggal took 2nd in 14:52 and Troy Meng 3rd in 14:58 to give The Brook a sizeable cushion. Portledge, Long Island Lutheran, and Waldorf took the next three spots before three more Bears poured over the finish line, including scorers Clinton Kilroy (7th/16:06) and Roger Zhou (8th/16:08).

In all, the Bears placed six in the top 10 to once again run away with the title. Their 19 points easily outpaced Portledge (59), Solomon Schechter (78), and LuHi (90) for the 45th league championship in team history. The six straight titles is the most for the team since a run of seven from 1971-77 that spanned both the Ivy League and Section XI. The run also ties the PSAA record of consecutive titles with Packer Collegiate, who won crowns from 2000-05.

The Bears now look ahead to Monday’s NYSAIS Championship meet held at famed Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

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