Fairport wins team title, McQuaid's Collin Brown stars at prestigious McQuaid Invitational

James Johnson
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Both the Fairport boys and girls cross country teams are in good shape so far this high school season.

Neither Red Raiders team has lost a dual meet, and the Fairport boys gave themselves another reason to high-five one another Saturday during the McQuaid Invitational at Genesee Valley Park.

Check back for updates:

  • Fairport boys won the team title for the Bob Bradley Premier race, which included teams with successful histories such as Corning and Saratoga Springs, plus one from Rocky River, Ohio, New York City-based Xavier and Saint Ignatius (Ohio).
  • McQuaid senior Collin Brown placed third, Fairport junior Jake Passalugo fourth in the Bob Bradley Premier boys race.
  • Oakfield-Alabama junior Connor Domoy and Penn Yan junior James Tette were the winners of the two boys small schools races, a sort of Section V sweep.
  • Honeoye Falls-Lima sophomore Kate Brennan was the top runner from a Section V school in the girls medium schools race. Brennan came in 10th, Batavia sophomore Campbell Riley 12th.
  • Brockport junior Nathaniel Fisher (7th) and Batavia senior Nathan Canale (9th) earned top 10 finishes in the boys medium schools race, which like the girls results, almost has to be a confidence-booster given the level of competition.
  • Churchville-Chili's boys team finished at the top of the large schools team scoring.
  • Addison senior Faith Skowvron and Clyde-Savannah/Lyons senior Kyle Paylor finished second and third respectively in the girls small schools race. They were top-five finishers at last season's Section V Class D Championships.

More:Section V boys cross country results for the 2022 season

Fairport field days

Fairport's triumph in the Bob Bradley Premier Race was the result of the team's lowest point total in a field of 15 full squads.

The lower the score, the better. Points are based on where each full team's top five runners finish in the individual field. The idea is to have as many runners as possible finish high in the race's final standings.

Jake Passalugo's fourth-place was Fairport's highest finisher and the lowest point total added to the team's score of 113. Owen Willard (19th), Mike Taranto (20th), Connor Roeser (34th) and Brady Kolson (50th) also helped the Red Raiders stay clear of Section IV's Corning by 23 points, Section II's Saratoga Springs by 24 and Rocky River, Ohio's by 52.

"I expected the pace to be quick, but it was fast," Passalugo said. "We knew we were going to be in the elite race.

"We tried to get the team title, that's what we came here to try to do."

Like the Fairport boys, the school's girls cross country teams have won all nine of their matchups at Monroe County League meets. Fairport finished seventh in the Bob Bradley Premier Girls race scoring with 188. Bethlehem Central was the winner with 49.

Ari Reback, a junior, was the Fairport girls team's top finisher at 10th place. Hannah Casler (30th) was next, followed by Zoe Marcus (39th), Mary Kate Fish (60th) and Madison Hansen (61th).

Fairport junior Ari Reback, right, during the Bob Bradley Premier Girls race at the 2022 McQuaid Invitational

Cicero North-Syracuse's Kate Putnam set the three-mile course record at 16:46.2 after she pulled away from all contenders early.

"Honestly, I like this meet because it's so much fun because of how hard the competition is," Reback said. "I just wanted to have fun this race, because that's what makes me go faster."

McQuaid's Collin Brown was right there

Collin Brown leading the Bob Bradley Premier boys race with about 600 yards to go, during the 2022 McQuaid Invitational. Fairport junior Jake Passalugo is in second at this point.

While Collin Brown, a member of the 2021 Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester boys team member, entered the Bob Bradley Premier boys race, his mind was on finishing his race during his team's home meet.

Brown finished his race alright. He came in third-place, after he and Fairport's Passalugo's were passed during the final 600 yards or so by Mount Saint Joseph's (Maryland) Charlie Butler and Saratoga Springs' Mason Talarico.

"I expected to be in the front pack but I didn't expect to be in third-place," Brown said. "I was kind of just going to give it what I had and see where I finished."

Brown placed third in the McQuaid Invitational's freshman-sophomore race four years ago. The coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 McQuaid Invitational. Last season during Brown's junior year, a foot injury led him to drop of his race.

"It was nice to be back, to be able to put down a hard effort. We didn't slow down the training at all," Brown said. "I wanted it badly, I haven't finished the course since I was a freshman.

"I really wanted to get out there, represent for my school, for the team, make sure I remember that my teammates were back there hurting (giving a strong effort), so I wanted to make sure I made myself hurt just as much and make their sacrifices count."

Sophomore sensations

Pittsford Sutherland's Will Tempest, Irondequoit's Luke Simon, Arkport-Canaseraga's Ibrahim Ford and Canandaigua's Ryan Bremer are underclassmen who are found at the front of varsity races.

Those four entered the sophomore boys race at Genesee Valley Park won by Tempest in 16:17.0, while Luke Simon (3rd), Ford (5th), who is a freshman, Bremer (6th), Spencerport teammates Jackson Frisa (7th) and Miles Glass (8th) and Webster Thomas teammates Ethan Wadhera (9th) and Oliver Coultry (10th) also landed in the top 10.

Small schools sweep

No runner in Oakfield-Alabama's history has run faster at the McQuaid Invitational than junior Connor Domoy.

Domoy finished one of the two boys small schools races in 15 minutes, 17.4 seconds. There have been changes made to the varsity course, with the latest version first set up in 2021.

Penn Yan's James Tette won the other boys small schools seeded race when he finished in 15:39.9.