Pearl River, Monroe-Woodbury Capture Team Titles at 41st Rockland Alumni Cross Country Run

Catherwood, La Burt individual champions; Albertus Magnus’ Long Red Line honored

The Pearl River alumni emerged with a close victory in the men’s division while the Monroe-Woodbury women romped to an uncontested triumph during the 41st edition of the Bill Markiewicz Memorial Rockland County Alumni Cross Country Run, held Saturday, Nov. 30 at Bear Mountain State Park. Co-sponsored by the Rockland Road Runners, it is the only county-wide alumni athletic event in Rockland, accepting participants of post-high school age from any secondary school home or abroad.

Competing on a sunny but chilly, mid-30-degree day, the Pirate alumni of Pearl River edged out Monroe-Woodbury, 40 to 49, for the men’s team championship, Pearl River’s fifth in race history. [The record is nine by Clarkstown North.] Pearl River was spearheaded by the 2-3-4 finish of alums Corey Calajoe, class of 2004; Cliff Carty, class of 2021; and Matt Politis, class of 2018. They trailed individual titlist Collin Catherwood, Monroe-Woodbury class of 2023, who navigated the demanding 3-mile layout in 15 minutes 52.8 seconds for a victory margin of almost 300 yards.

Catherwood was instrumental in Monroe-Woodbury’s New York State Federation cross country championship in 2022, the first of three successive Fed titles for the Crusaders. He ran on national championship 4-mile relays both indoors and outdoors and holds outstanding personal best scholastic marks of 9:08 for 3,200 meters and 4:17 for the mile. Catherwood is now a sophomore running for the University of Massachusetts.

Calajoe was the three-time defending Alumni Run champion. He clocked 16:48.2 over the Bear Mountain course, which once again incorporated the mid-race, steep ski-jump hill. That craggy path was wiped out in the July 2023 heavy rainstorm and closed to the public all of last year, necessitating a one-year course change eliminating the hill.

Carty, the third-place finisher in 16:48.7, now competes for the University of Maryland while Politis (16:49.6), a Duke graduate, is coming off an excellent 2:27:38 performance at the New York City Marathon in early November. Also of note was sixth-place finisher Art Gunther, Tappan Zee class of 1989, the all-time leader in Alumni Run titles with seven. Participating for the first time since 2007, Art acquitted himself admirably with a 17:38.7 finish.

In the women’s division, Monroe-Woodbury, of Orange County, was the only school with at least five finishers, the minimum needed to post a team score. The Lady Crusaders alumnae scored 31 points to register their record-18th women’s team crown. Headlining their effort was Suzanne La Burt, class of 1981, who ran away with her fourth individual championship, all since 2017, to go along with her nine runner-up finishes and four third-place showings. [The women’s record is eight individual titles by Julianne Littmann-Viscardo, Monroe Woodbury class of 1995.] La Burt was far ahead of the second-place finisher, teammate Allison English, M-W class of 2021, timed in 22:40.8. La Burt shows no signs of slowing down as she advances through the 60+ age category.

The team participation title, which combines male and female entrants, went to Monroe-Woodbury for a record 21st time and 14th in succession. The Crusaders doubled the next-highest participating team with 26 entrants compared with Pearl River’s runner-up 13, followed by Albertus Magnus with 11 participants.

The Falcons of Albertus were honored on the 50th anniversary of their first New York State Intersectional cross country championship, in 1974. Known as the Long Red Line, the Falcon alums received the Bill Markiewicz Award, which is bestowed annually at the Alumni Run to a significant contributor to the sport of cross country in Rockland County. This was the first year the award was given to a team. Several members of the Long Red Line were on hand to receive their individual plaques, which were presented by Janet Markiewicz, Bill’s widow, who won the award last year and has attended each year since the award was instituted in the early 1990s.

The Long Red Line was undefeated and unchallenged during the 1974 campaign, capturing Rockland County, Section 9 Class B, New York State Intersectional Class B and Eastern States championships convincingly, including record-low scores in the County and State meets. They finished the season with a No. 2 national ranking, the highest rating of a Rockland athletic team in any sport.

Members of the Long Red Line who participated in this year’s Alumni Run included Mike Colangelo, who won the individual State championship to lead the ‘74 Falcons, Kevin Leonard, Brian Kelly, Frank Cotter and Jamie Kempton. Another team member, John McNiff, organized a post-race 50th anniversary celebration at the Bear Mountain Inn, where he connected the assembled group of Falcon alums via a Zoom call with their former coach, Dick Weis, the architect of the Long Red Line. Coach Weis, who lives in Stillwater, Okla., after a brilliant coaching career at Oklahoma State, was unable to attend due to serious health concerns but was gratified to speak with team members and reminisce about that golden chapter in Albertus athletic history. Coach Weis was the recipient of the Markiewicz Award plaque, while team members each received smaller individual plaques commemorating the 50th anniversary of their 1974 championship season.

Ralph Coleman, an assistant coach on that Albertus team, attended the post-race celebration after performing his usual role as co-meet director and chief set-up man for the Alumni Run. He and co-meet director Tom Doherty, the founder of the race back in 1983, once again carried out their leadership duties in flawless fashion.

Bill Markiewicz was a 1967 Albertus Magnus graduate and widely respected former Clarkstown North coach (1978-89) who succumbed to cancer in 1991. After his passing, the Bill Markiewicz Award was conceived to honor longtime, dedicated contributors to Rockland cross country. He was the award’s inaugural recipient. One of his and Janet’s sons, Dan Markiewicz, Goshen class of 1996, competed in the race as he has for many years, finishing 42nd in 22:17.

Some 117 entrants finished the race, representing 28 high schools from four states and an international participant from Great Britain – Rockland Road Runners club president Bill Carpenter. [Former Rockland Road Runner presidents John MacKenzie, Tappan Zee class of 1998, and Jamie Kempton, Albertus Magnus class of 1976, also competed.] Once again, the oldest participant was Warren Berbit of Suffern, a 1960 graduate of Bayside High School in Queens. Warren completed the course with his son Zach, Suffern class of 1996, a former Mountie track/cross country athlete and current local coach.

Past Rockland County scholastic champions who competed in this year’s race included Lisette Hautau, Tappan Zee class of 1978, who won the first two County meets for girls in 1976 and ‘77; Brendan Fennell, Pearl River class of 2003, a three-time champ from 2000 to 2002 and two-time State titlist; and Mike Colangelo, Albertus Magnus class of 1975, the 1974 winner, State champion and No. 1 runner for the Long Red Line.

Past Alumni Run winners who participated included Gunther; La Burt; Calajoe; Brian Crowley, Albertus Magnus class of 1982, the 1990 victor; and Kyle Collins, Suffern class of 2012, who won in 2014.

Larry Beckerle, Albertus Magnus class of 1973, extended his streak of Alumni Run finishes to 41, having been the only entrant to complete every edition of the event.