Schreiber Cross Country Runners Finish Strong

Submitted by Cathy Adelhardt

Undaunted by rain, cold, mud and 20 mile-per-hour winds, Schreiber’s Cross Country teams finished the season with a strong showing at the Section 8 State Qualifiers at Bethpage State Park on Saturday, Nov. 1. Their tenacity reaped big rewards. Ninth graders Lucy Hurt and Maddie Jester and 11th grader Peter Kirgis earned the right to represent Schreiber High School at the New York State Public School Cross Country Championships held at SUNY-Canton on Saturday, Nov. 8.

Coach Jeremy Klaff’s boys’ team was undefeated in the regular season, winning the Division 1B and Conference 1 championships and finishing as the runner-up in the Nassau County Class A championship meet. This is the 10th consecutive year that the boys’ cross country team has won a title, and this year was a bit of a surprise. “Last year we had a talented squad of mostly freshmen and sophomore runners,” said Coach Klaff. “We knew they would mature, but we weren’t favored to go undefeated this year. As the season progressed we started to turn some heads.” The future looks even brighter because the boys’ team also won the freshman and sophomore races at this year’s Nassau Coaches’ Invitational Meet.

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The girl’s team, coached by Schreiber alum and professional runner Nicole Dumpson, also won first place in Division 1B. The girls finished second in Conference 1 and placed third in a very close Nassau County Class A championship meet. Coach Dumpson notes, “Over the course of the season I have watched the girls squad reap the benefits of their efforts. They have improved tremendously, and they are proud of themselves for their hard work.”

Along with team titles, Schreiber runners received some impressive individual awards. Boys’ team members Peter Kirgis, Aaron Siff-Scherr, Taro Katayama and Andrew Adelhardt and girls’ team members Lucy Hurt, Maddie Jester and Maria Kogan earned All-County honors. Girls’ team members Charlotte Hyde, Christina Marinelli, Beatriz Chaverria, Jenny Aguiar, Carly Perlmutter and Talia Crowley and boys’ team members Jordan Hurt, Joey Levine and Rory Owens earned All-Conference honors.