Cross Country Teams at Oakbourne Relays

The Bishop Shanahan cross-country team kicked off the 2024 season with a strong showing at the Oakbourne Relays.

Boys' Cross Country

• Steven Todd and Owen Whitaker recorded the best finish of the day and the fastest time in Shanahan history at this event. Their effort was good for a second place finish out of 63 tandems in the Varsity Relay race. Owen and Steven’s time of 20:23 over the 4-mile race eclipsed their own school record set last year by an impressive 36 seconds. They also became the 4th fastest relay squad ever on this course.
• Equally as impressive in the Varsity Relay race were the performances of sophomore Daniel Zimmermann and freshman Connor Todd – both running in their first high school cross-country races. They finished in 36th place with a time of 22:52 over the hilly course at Stetson. The 2-mile race also produced a couple of medals and some very strong performances.
• Rounding out the top-7 for the Eagles were Greg Palaia (13:21), Patrick McRee (13:40 – over 2 minutes faster than last year), Ben Leinhauser (14:11), Aengus Langan (14:14), Liam Welsh (15:27) and Will Meisel (16:13).What a great way to start the season!

Girls' Cross Country

• Ava Esposito and Julia Taylor both medaled by finishing in 20th and 24th places respectively out of 114 runners. Ava’s time of 15:23 was an amazing 1:46 faster than last year and Julia’s time of 15:30 was a 44-second improvement.
• Rounding out the top 7 for the team were Katie Kolimago (34th place in 15:58), Erin Altringer (38th in 16:01), Teagan Welsh (54th in 16:46), Lilakate Bowler (59th in 17:07) and Lauren Calla (76th in 18:27).
• Also, freshman Grace Topping has a strong high school debut, crossing the line in 18:38.
• The top finisher for the boy’s team in the 2-mile race was Logan Valenza who covered the hilly course in 12:26 to finish in 26th place. 

Next race is the Unionville 2-Mile Bash on Saturday, September 7.