Riverview runners shine at McQuaid Invitational in New York

By: Michael Love
Saturday, October 8, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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Each year, the Riverview cross country teams venture beyond the borders of Pennsylvania to test themselves at a high-level meet.

This year, the Raiders took part in the 57th annual McQuaid Invitational on Oct. 1 in Rochester, N.Y.

The event attracts more than 200 teams each year.

The Riverview boys made the most of their trip by capturing the small-school title, besting 53 other teams from throughout New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Canada.

For the Raiders, it was their largest-ever invitational win.

Senior Amberson Bauer continued his strong final varsity season with a fifth-place finish in a personal-best time of 15 minutes, 39 seconds for the 3-mile course.

He received a plaque for his accomplishment and also an elite runner patch for a percentage of the competitors who finished the course faster than 15:45.

Bauer’s time also is comparable to Riverview record holder Mason Ochs, who ran a time of 15:59 in a 2019 5K race (3.1 miles).

With the McQuaid course not a full 5K (3.1), a roughly 25- to 30-second adjustment is factored in, and Ochs still holds the record.

Overall, the Raiders had eight of their runners place in the top 100 in a field of more than 400, and all ran under 18 minutes.

All 15 Riverview boys entries ran career bests.

The Raiders finished with the lowest team point total — 121 points — and bested fellow Pennsylvania school Rocky Grove (167 points), and Ohio’s St. Vincent-St. Mary (200).

St. Vincent-St. Mary is probably best known for being the high school alma mater for NBA champion LeBron James.

Sophomore Chris Barnes also fueled the team victory with a personal 12th-place finish in a time of 16:13, and he was fifth out of more than 400 sophomore runners across all of the race classifications.

Fellow sophomore Holden Deasy ran the course in 16:50, good for a 28th-place medal.

The Riverview top five also featured junior Cohen Hoolahan, who placed 38th in 17:03, and senior Luke Migely in 54th (17:30).

Also in the varsity mix for the Raiders were senior Jack Betler (62nd, 17:41), sophomore Micah Ivy (73rd, 17:54), senior Christian Palochik (77th, 17:55) and senior Dan Roupas (103rd, 18:12).

The finishing times for the top eight Riverview runners showed a pace of six minutes or better. The only other time in school history that happened was in 2019 as the eventual PIAA Class A runner up recorded that milestone in Florida at the Jacksonville Invitational.

The Riverview boys junior varsity team finished fifth overall and was led by the running of senior Declan Hawk (10th, 19:02), freshman Braden Longstreth (11th, 19:04), sophomore Levi Roupas (27th, 19:40), senior Ziad Jaafar (32nd, 19:43), sophomore Will Orbin (48th, 20:06) and sophomore Jamie Favo (55th, 20:24) in the 192-runner field.

The girls team also participated and placed 21st in their race which also had 50-plus teams and 450 runners, including seven of the top 10 rated teams in New York. Similar to the boys, the majority of the eight girls ran to their fastest pace.

Sophomore Lily Bauer led the Raiders and was 85th overall in 21:31. Rosa Lascola was the second Riverview finisher, taking 173rd (23:17).

Riverview returned to the Pittsburgh area Tuesday and capped section competition with a dual meet against Highlands and Burrell at Harrison Hills Park in Harrison Township.

The Raiders boys saw their section win streak, which dated back to 2017, snapped last month with a loss to Hampton, but they finished strong in the finale, topping Burrell, 23-38, and Highlands, 21-40, to finish as the section runner up with a 9-1 record.

The girls swept Burrell (21-38) and Highlands (15-50) to wrap up section meets at 6-4.

The Riverview teams were scheduled to run at the Youthtowne Clash on Saturday in Clinton.

The Raiders also are getting ready for both the Tri-State Coaches JV and varsity invitationals on Oct. 17 (White Oak Park) and Oct. 20 (Cal, Pa.), respectively.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Riverview