The Buckley Rankings (week of Oct.30 + 1 day)

 

1. Chaminade...Ryan McDermot receives Tom O'Brien Scholar/Athlete Award at pre-race ceremony following Mass; he then goes on to dominate NSCHSAA Champs; not a bad day; Flyers impressive on gusty day

2. St.Anthony's...made big move through Sunken Meadow picnic area; led team race with just over 1/2 mile to go; got hammered in last 1/2 around moat

3. Kellenberg Memorial...team got snookered behind dawdling first mile; were spectators when the Friars made their move; in general, "crap;" still hold 3rd, as can run far faster 5-man average than NY Section

4. Iona Prep...got a huge break when NY Sectionals was moved to Monday (additional rest from last Wednesday's Westchester Champs); the Gaels needed Saturday's gale

(ouch); Sophs Halpin and Sheperd were excellent; kudos to Aidan Byrne as the tie-breaker in 6th over St.Peter's

5. St.Peter's...tough beat; a Lionel sighting; very dangerous team in Cities

6. Fordham Prep...a measly 2 pts. away; do you know how close that is?

7. St.John the Baptist...coming on at end (like they generally do for Coach Wood)

8. Archbishop Molloy...mild upset in BQ; 5-man average not going to scare anyone, but the Stanners got the job done when it counted

9.Monsignor McClancy...what can you say???; had 3 of top 4 finishers in BQ and still didn't win; the big field in the Cities doesn't make the chances look promising; John Reilly crowned BQ champ (a pyrrhic victory?)

10.St.Francis Prep...lost a chance at an upset; how much can Frosh Roa help in Varsity Cities?

11.Xavier...pretty distant 4th at Van Cortland; how much can they improve in two weeks?

12.Bishop Ford...5-man average lands them at #12

13.Monsignor Farrell...just too young and not good enough, yet; hope springs eternal

14.Regis...that was not a good Varsity Sectionals (see Kellenberg Memorial above)

15.St.Joseph by the Sea...will need to walk on water (Princes Bay)

The Buckley Rankings (week of Oct. 23)

 

1. Chaminade...cruised to an easy victory (21 pts.) over Bethpage Course in low-key Nassau Coaches Meet; however, can't afford any mistakes against St.Anthony's & Kellenberg in next Sunday's Sectionals

2. St.Anthony's...very good 3rd to Haddonfield & LaSalle (Pa.) in Easterns Champ race; Keegan under 13:00; beat Kellenberg 71-79; looming an imminent threat to the Flyers

3. Kellenberg Memorial...fine race at Easterns; 5th man Mejia at 13:39; not out of the picture for City title

4. Monsignor McClancy...resting this past weekend and getting healthy

5. St.Peter's...on sabbatical; will Williams run at Sectionals?

6. Fordham Prep...Altenau fine at 13:24, but 3rd place finish in "B" Easterns didn't scare anyone (St.Francis Prep only 2 pts. behind)

7. Iona Prep...also taking a pass on the weekend; (so many teams are skipping weekend races, including my own; this rarely happened not so many years ago)

8. St.Francis Prep...Terriers have become pit bulls; finally have gotten all the troops together on the same day; in one meet, have gone from  worst in show at Westminster to a bona fide contender for a State berth

9. Regis...2nd in "D" Easterns to Miller???; losing to a Lite Beer that once was the "Champagne of Bottled Beers" costs the Raiders a spot in the rankings

10.St.John the Baptist...visiting the fall foliage on the North Fork of Long Island

11.Monsignor Farrell...missing, along with Jimmy Hoffa; buried under a garbage heap along the West Shore Expressway

12.Xavier...9th at "B" Easterns; Demic excellent; showed class by entering the tougher division; the Knights have an upside

13.Archbishop Molloy...3rd in Easterns "C"; 5th scorer hurt them, but wouldn't surprise if moved into top 10

14.Bishop Ford...the long haul to Providence wasn't worth it; 9th in Division 2 race at Brown

15.St.Joseph by the Sea...4th in II race at Bethpage; bounces Holy Trinity from the screen, who were 6th in same race

  The Buckley Rankings (week of Oct.16)

 

1. Chaminade...2nd to Shaker in "A" at Manhattan; McDermott excellent; rest of team solid, but not as imposing as at Grout; opponents still looking for a chink in their armor 

2. St.Anthony's...steady, balanced performance  while 2nd to Don Bosco in "B" Manhattan; showdown vs. Kellenberg at Easterns; get your money down on the Firebirds (offshore websites will be provided upon request)

                                                                                                                         

3. Kellenberg Memorial...lost dual meet vs. Chaminade by 25-30 tally; Flyers got one-two with McD and Childs; drop to #3 as a result of not racing two weekends in a row

4. Monsignor McClancy...keep the spot despite losing to St.Peter's at Manhattan; a significant scorer out with eye injury; only get one pass here; Reilly was great

5. St.Peter's...7th in "F" race; although beating several CHSAA opponents, only appeared average

6.Fordham Prep...here come the Febli (bizarre Latin plural of Febles or is it the pluperfect); loom a threat

7.Iona Prep...missing bodies on Saturday, but Fordham Prep ran well enough to jump a spot ahead of Gaels

8.Regis...still recovering from "Space Mountain"

9.St.John the Baptist...looking for a big race soon or heads will roll

10.Monsignor Farrell...need some guys under 14:00; time is running out

11.Archbishop Molloy...Kevin Joyce (google him) was spotted at Kellenberg Open House on Saturday (this is irrelevant, but I have nothing left to say)

12.Bishop Ford...on the cusp of a breakthrough; definite candidate for top 8

13. St.Francis Prep...waiting for the real Terriers

14.Holy Trinity...MIA

15.Xavier...resting after piling up many frequent flyer miles

15. (tie)St.Joseph by the Sea...back on the radar at Manhattan

The Buckley Rankings (week of October 9)

1. Chaminade...1st in their dvision and overall at Grout; advertized as "fastest team time of the century," it's actually the "fastest team time of the millenium;" 5 runners in top 6 (McDermott, S. Donnelly, Childs, C. Donnelly, Tonn); opponents are quaking in their boots; dual meet vs. Kellenberg on Wed.; will the Firebirds show up???
2. Kellenberg Memorial...off last weeks "Wave Mania;" resting comfortably
3. St.Anthony's...good 3rd (by only 4 pts.) at their own invite behind Arlington & Santa Margarita (they make a fine, but reasonably priced, Pinot Grigio from Chile)
4. Monsignor McClancy...won Small School Division at Sunken Meadow; 5th man must step it up
5. St.Peter's...less than impressive 4th at "Mayor's Cup;" hopefully, not a true indication
6. Iona Prep...ventured to Disney to place 2nd to Pearl River in A-2 race; couldn't both teams have stayed home and raced in Westchester/Rockland?; Jet Blue thanks you;
"It's a Small World After All"
7. Fordham Prep...still recovering from Rochester sojourn
8. Regis...wins Disney 1-A race vs. assorted Christian schools and Port Jeff; Coach Donodeo spotted quaking (there is that word again) on Tower of Terror
9. St.John the Baptist...7th in A-1 at St.Anthony's; showing signs of rounding into form (but, so is everyone else)
10.Monsignor Farrell...5th at "Mayor's Cup;" needs a stronger top time
11.Archbishop Molloy...8th in A-1 at St.Anthony's; gradually improving each week
12. Bishop Ford...good Soph performance at St.Anthony's; combined 5 man average is short of the Stanners
13. St.Francis Prep...7th at Van Cortland; just don't seem to have all the bodies at the same time
14. Holy Trinity..."Muller's Men" crash into the top 15 with much better effort at Sunken Meadow
15. Xavier...5th in Orlando not good enough; must be jet lag from Rochester
 

                                       The Buckley Rankings (week of Oct.2)

 

1. Chaminade...narrow victory over a very good Xavier (sorry Dormer), CT. squad; McDermott's effort was first rate

2. Kellenberg Memorial...supplant the Friars (at least for now); huge performance by Mike and Tom Elnick at "Wave Mania" (team 3rd in Vars. I race to Warwick & Shaker)

3. St.Anthony's...routed questionable opposition in "C" race at Sunken Meadow; 4 finishers in top 6; would have been 3rd in Chaminade/Xavier, CT race

4.St.Peter's...no report

5.Monsignor McClancy...ditto to St.Peter's

6.Iona Prep...nice win at Dewitt Clinton VCP 3.1; better grouping of times, but the conversion to 2.5 at VCP is not really 3:30 (the extra .6 is totally flat)

7.Fordham Prep...Magellanesque journey to McQuaid; 7th in "AA" (non-championship race; 5 runners broke 17:00 for the 3 mile distance (1st time in school history), but what does it really mean???

8. St.John the Baptist...3rd at Sunken Meadow with very balanced scoring; on the improve

9. Regis...resting comfortably

10.Monsignor Farrell...Cuffe spotted at Warwick; team finding way home from Alabama to Staten Island

11.St.Francis Prep...MIA

12.Bishop Ford...Ok 2nd to Iona Prep

13.Archbishop Molloy...much better effort at Friday Fordham Meet; big drop in overall times

14.Xavier...15th in same race as Fordham Prep at McQuaid; have got to start showing more soon

15.St.Joseph by the Sea...3rd in Varsity "D" at Sunken Meadow; the over/under for the trip one way is 2 hours

The Buckley Rankings (week of Sept. 25)

 

1. Chaminade...resting on their laurels

2. St.Anthony's...doing the same race nothing as #1

3. Kellenberg Memorial...lost dual meet to SJB when top 4 scorers were DQ'd for clasping hands for 4 1/2 yards about 25 yds. from the finish line; that's the bad news...

the good news...no officials died or were maimed as a result; Firebirds flattered by previous week's opponents Burnt Hills win at Manchester and Danbury 5th in ROC at Great American

4. Monsignor McClancy...move up because they went to Alabama; 3 good scorers in

"seeded" Great American race

5. St. Peter's...used the Xavier Meet as more of a practice; didn't travel far enough to stay at #4

6. Iona Prep...Boulat emerges to lead a nice group of scorers; can they win the NY Sectionals?

7. Fordham Prep...2nd to Washingtonville at Anthony Wayne (or is it Bruce Wayne?);

however, 3 Wizards were in before the 1st Ram

8. St.John the Baptist...practicing through races is not helping their rankings, but may help them down the road; Coach Wood did everything humanly possible to avoid taking the dual meet win vs. Kellenberg...Firebirds appreciate it...but reward you by dropping the Cougars 2 spots in the rankings (no good deed goes unpunished)

9. Regis...stronger performance at Xavier Meet

10.Monsignor Farrell...tried to gain experince by traveling to Alabama; 6th place in the

"White" section (is that on the "White Album"?)

11.St.Francis Prep...slowly getting into the playoff picture; maybe a "wild card" at season's end

12.Bishop Ford...talented youth movement can only improve under coach Medina

13.Xavier...starting to surface; Dormer is confident in a mid-season push

14.Archbishop Molloy...it's getting late early for the Stanners

15.St.Joseph by the Sea...crack the top 15

The Buckley Rankings (week of Sept. 18)

 

1. Chaminade...Flyers assume leadership with 20-37 strafing of Friars; fine win at Briarwood over Henderson & LaSalle; Childs a very pleasant surprise

2. St.Anthony's...barely holds this spot; banged up, but very dangerous down the road; win at Bear Mt. looks better than it is (defeated teams that were soundly beaten the week before)(Little Sisters of the Poor ???)

3. Kellenberg Memorial...easy win at Washingtonville + fine showing (2nd over Burnt Hills & Guilderland ) at Guilderland; Tully runner speed figures (or is Andy Beyer) are faster than the Friars

4. St. Peter's...big victory for bragging rights of Staten Island at Rob Breen Invite

5. Monsignor McClancy...solid showing at Regis/Van Cortland; need a 5th scorer (who doesn't?)

6. St.John the Baptist...haven't gotten into full gear yet; prognosticators are getting leery of what they truly have; dual meet vs. Kellenberg on Wed.

7. Iona Prep...easing into the picture; nice debut be Shepard at VCP

8. Fordham Prep... MIA with Xavier; for the conspiracy theorists, is this some sort of Jesuit cabal (but Regis was at their own meet); probably started the trip to McQuaid in Rochester a week early in order to arrive on time

9. Monsignor Farrell...a talented group of "wise fools," but need more

10.Regis...bounce Xavier from top ten; maybe better than expected

11.Xavier...Dormer has his athletes in hiding

12.Bishop Ford...OK at Guilderland

13.St.Francis Prep...Kiely needs some help guys

14. Archbishop Molloy...has numbers, but must start dropping times, and fast

15.Mt.St.Michael...the "Mountaineers" may surprise later in season

THE BUCKLEY RANKINGS (Season Preview)

 

 

 faux #1. Collegiate...sorry, sorry...still have not converted to Catholicism (I do not really believe this, despite 2 sub 4:20 milers)(meet Kellenberg in week 2)(Calano's kids are quite good)

 

1. St.Anthony's...defending champs, until proven otherwise; five quality scorers return;

    Tony Toro, who did a masterful job over the last few seasons, moves on; a

    reincarnated Tim Dearie as new coach

2. Chaminade...the popular pick for #1; McDermott leads a very strong group; how the

    Juniors perform will probably determine the final outcome

3. Kellenberg Memorial...have a lot more than the casual observer sees (don't just

    look up 2005 "Cities" results); will try not to implode at 2006 "Cities"

4. St.Peter's...Dowd and "The Big Train" + a solid supporting cast; Staten Island's

    top team...ouch...there goes any chance for Kellenberg getting a State Ranking

    (see Msgr. Farrell, below)

5. St.John the Baptist...always dangerous in late season meets; will be competitive

    early this year

6. Monsignor McClancy...Reilly and the O's; real good up top, but need back scorers

    desperately

7. Iona Prep...Boulat and the young pups (Halpin & Shepard); face the same problem

    as McClancy

8. Fordham Prep...decimated by graduation, but a flock of Rams with potential;

    ewes guys have to step it up; Febles will miraculously make everyone a true

    cross-country runner by "Cities"

9. Monsignor Farrell...if Fordham was decimated, the Lions were tricimated by

    graduation; Coach Cuffe does have enough pieces to rebuild

10.Xavier...can't leave the Dormer men out of the top ten, considering he still owes me

     dinner for not finishing in the top ten in 2005; good Junior class led by Demic

  

***others receiving consideration (we'll go to 15 after week 2)(listed alphabetically...

    Archbishop Molloy, Bishop Ford, Holy Cross, Holy Trinity, Regis, St.Francis Prep,

    St.Joseph by the Sea