The 2026 cross-country season has launched with some teams running in multiple meets and others preparing for their first.
Last year, Section 1 had a huge year with both three individuals and three teams winning titles at the state championships at Queensbury High School.
Included were Sloan Wasserman, the girls state Class B champion (who was the fastest girl overall at states and set a girls course record) and her John Jay-Cross River team; Claudel Chery, the boys state Class A champion, as well as his North Rockland team; and Mia Horgan, the girls state Class C champion and her Bronxville team.
Both Wasserman and Chery have since graduated (Wasserman now running for Div. I Boston College and Chery for Div. I Georgetown), as have many other prominent
Section 1 runners, including Hen Hud's Victor Delgado (second place at states in boys Class B and now competing for Div. I Dartmouth) and Haldane's Owen Powers (third place in boys Class D, now at Div. III Brandeis).
Also gone is Iona Prep's Michael Rynne, the boys Westchester County champion, who now runs for Div. III Amherst College.
So, there will be many changes this year, including at the state championships, which will return to Queensbury HIgh School Nov. 14.
Between now and then, many meets — typically on 3.1-mile courses but some on courses as short as 2.5 miles — will be held.
Below are this season's projected stars from Section 1 and local private schools. They're based largely on last year's performances, although fast times in the handful of meets that have occurred so far are also factored into selections.
Boys Super 7
Sean Dooley, Sr., Pleasantville
Matt Jensen, Jr., Bronxville
Jonas Krasner, Jr., New Rochelle
James McCarron, Sr., North Rockland
Jackson O'Rourke, Sr., New Rochelle
Aidan See, Sr., Somers
Ryan Sykes, Sr., Horace Greeley
The best of the rest
Jonathan Alves, Sr., North Salem
Michael Baez, Sr., Hackley
Lennon Barthen, So., Nanuet
Pierce Biffert, Sr., White Plains
Marshall Brown, Jr., Rye Country Day
Cooper Cataldi, Jr., North Rockland
Michael Corbelli, Sr., Pleasantville
Ryan Corbelli, Sr., Pleasantville
Kieran Degen, Sr., Iona Prep
Kyle Dixon, So., Tappan Zee
Glen Feng, Sr., Irvington
Clark Ferris, 8th grade, Tuckahoe
Everett Fryer, So., North Salem
Andrew Garcia, Sr., Clarkstown South
Julian Giebelhaus, Sr., Pleasantville
Owen Gjertsen, Sr., Tuckahoe
Adam Goldsmith, Sr., Nanuet
Drew Karam, Jr., North Salem
Anderson Marin, Jr., Peekskill
Gavin McKie, Sr., Horace Greeley
Sebastian Mendez, Sr., Horace Greeley
Brandon Orellana, Jr., Alexander Hamilton
Jackson O'Rourke, Sr., New Rochelle
Riley O'Rourke, Sr., New Rochelle
George Palmer, Sr., Horace Greeley
Nick Petronzi, Fr., North Salem
Walter Pohlman, So., Blind Brook
Afraz Rizwan, So., Nanuet
Sam Rooney, Jr., Horace Greeley
Garrett Ross, So., Nanuet
Ben Salama, Jr., New Rochelle
Michael Salvati, Sr., Pleasantville
Vivek Sekhri, Jr., Hen Hud
Skyler Smith, Sr., North Salem
Sean Sykes, So., Horace Greeley
Gavin Tobey, So., Peekskill
Miles Ulrich, Fr., North Salem
Joaquin Villan, Sr., Nanuet
Neo Yoshii, Jr., Keio
Girls Super 7
Hannah Delaney, Jr., Nyack
Mia Horgan, So., Bronxville
Celia Mayer, Jr., Eastchester
Adriana Pettinelli, Jr., Scarsdale
Malina Santee, Jr., Horace Greeley
Josephine Sullivan, Jr., Nyack
Kira Waring, Sr., Mahopac
The best of the rest
Katie Ahern, So., Pearl River
Gia Cassidy, So., Tappan Zee
Kylie Cavanagh, Sr., North Rockland
Alyssa Connolly, Jr., Tappan Zee
Grace Delaney, So., Suffern
Cassidy Dineen-Herzog, Sr., Lakeland/Panas
Kaya Duzysnski, Jr., Somers
Malayala Hernandez, Sr., Suffern
Ashley Hosein, Fr., North Rockland
Ava Hosein, Fr., North Rockland
Aine Keane, Jr., Pearl River
Caitlin Leahy, Sr., Pearl River
Esther Linn, So., Tuckahoe
Violet Linn, So, Tuckahoe
Oona McManus, Sr., Hen Hud
Shannon Moravick, So., North Salem
Caitlin Morrow, Sr., Hackley
Isabella Reidy, Sr., White Plains
Lili Richards, So., Pearl River
Olivia Sirakovsky, Jr., Pearl River
Freyja Smith, Sr., North Salem
Olivia Solomon, Jr., New Rochelle
Hailey Stockmeyer, Jr., Suffern
Nana Tsunemi, Sr., Keio
Lyla Turner, Jr., Pearl River
Elizabeth Walsh, Jr., Pawling
Carina Winiecki, Sr., Bronxville
Nancy Haggerty covers sports for The Journal News/lohud.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Here are the top 7 boys and girls cross country runners this season
