Hicks Returns With Experience To Win Eastern States Boys Race

By Brian Towey of DyeStat

THE BRONX, N.Y.-- Charles Hicks and his Bolles School FL teammates used the Manhattan High School Invitational's Eastern States Championship to build momentum for a memorable postseason run in 2017 that landed the team an NXN berth. 

This year, as a senior armed with confidence, Hicks was ready for his second try at the Bronx's Van Cortlandt Park and held off Point Pleasant Boro NJ senior Devin Hart for a 12:15.2 win. 

"Coming back with experience, along with a more structured race plan, and a little more wisdom, that came in handy for running confidently and performing," Hicks said. 

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Bishop Hendricken RI earned its first Eastern States Championship since 2001, when the race ran under a different format in which the champions of the letter races met afterwards. Hendricken also won in 1985.

"When I saw them together, I asked them to keep a tight spread. I said, 'Hey, maybe we have a shot at the team title,'" Bishop Hendricken coach Jim Doyle said. "We didn't set goals for time. We set goals for place. (We asked them) 'Get up there, fight, stay tough.'"

Hendricken's 92 points overcame No. 2-ranked Fayettevile-Manlius NY's 113 points. Other top team finishers included Claremont CA (117 points), Christian Brothers Academy NJ (190), Bolles (194) and La Salle Academy RI (200).

The Eastern States Championship presents a unique challenge because of the speed of the race (2.5 miles), the depth of talent in the field, and the crush that runners encounter after the first 400 meters, when an open flat becomes a funneling pass.

"I told them not to be overwhelmed," Doyle said. "Being in 30th place, stay tough. This is a tough race mentally."

Other top individuals included Wilmington Friends DE senior Connor Nisbet (third, 12:27.2) and Salesianum DE's Michael Keehan (fourth, 12:30.5).

Claremont CA, which finished ninth at last year's NXN on the girls side, made a statement win, with 72 points, outpacing Liverpool NY (85) to become the first California team to win the Eastern States title since 1990 and only the third in meet history.

Led by freshman Maddie Coles (sixth, 14:44.1) and junior Azalea Segura-Mora (seventh, 14:46.1), Claremont, in its first Van Cortlandt Park appearance, shredded the wooded course.

"My freshman year we finished fourth at state," said senior Sydney Hwang, who finished 12th in 14:58.5. "A few years before that, it would have difficult for us to win the league.

"We've developed this running culture where we really push each other. I think that's what separates us from other teams: we have seven strong girls while other teams have one or two."

Randolph NJ senior Abbey Loveys won the individual title over Tully NY sophomore Brooke Rauber, 14:03.0 to 14:15.1.

Champlain Valley VT placed third in the team standings (164 points), while Saugus, another California titan, placed fourth (179 points).

Claremont, staying in a Manhattan hotel more than an hour from the course by subway, overcame an unexpected situation Friday when, after running through the course, discovered that the subway line they needed had been shut down.

"We took a bus for a couple of stops, then realized that the subway was running again," assistant coach Jose Ancona said. "Those kinds of things are interesting because nobody in L.A. takes public transportation. We're kind of doing what people in New York do: take public transportation."

Those weren't the only cultural differences for the Californians.

"It's just an experience," said Saugus CA's Jacob Kaufmann, who finished 15th in the boys race in 12:47.0. "We don't wear what you guys call spikes. We wear racing flats. We're not used to running in shrouded areas with trees. We have grassy fields."

Fayetteville-Manlius NY, winners of nine of the last 11 Eastern States girls championships, opted out of the race this year, dominating the Girls Varsity 'B' race over Padua Academy DE, 37-84.

"I think this summer and fall we haven't been what we're accustomed to," Fayetteville-Manlius coach Bill Aris said. "Being that the Eastern States Championship is a championship-caliber race, we're not a championship-caliber team, in my estimation.

"We don't have many veteran runners. We have three (experienced) runners. So they ran in that race, gained some experience, and did what they did."

F-M's Claire Walters ran 13:57.1 for the fastest time of the day. Walters is only the sixth girl to eclipse the 14-minute barrier at Van Cortlandt Park, improving to No. 5 all-time and breaking the program record of 14:03.8 set in 2011 by Jillian Fanning.