John Jay Charges up the Hill at Bowdoin

Photos from both Bowdoin runs in Wappinger Falls are at the bottom of the article.

On Saturday October 18, the annual Bowdoin Park Invitation rolled around in Wappinger Falls, and John Jay was there to run the hilly trek. But the cross country race wasn’t the only thing annual about the storied event.

No surprise, Sloan Wasserman was the winner again. Never getting old, said the senior, “That was a huge Personal Best for me. I am very, very happy.”

A preliminary to a main event known as the post season, she wasn’t taking it easy. “I’m trying to get strong efforts in to build up my fitness and stamina,” she said. “So when I need to be ready to go that fast, I will definitely go that fast.”

Of course, the runner took enough pause to notice the scenic surroundings of the park. “It was a very nice day out with perfect conditions,” said Wasserman.

The All State runner also noticed the future. “Maya (Serai) is very similar to me. She’s running very close to the times I once had as a sophomore, and so I am excited to see what the future holds for her,” boasted Wasserman of John Jay’s second place finisher.

That includes breaking some of her records, which seemed a long way off for young Serai. “It’s really hard for me to imagine running that fast,” said the seventh place finisher.

However, she has no problem envisioning how hard it is to persevere down the stretch. So she breaks down the process into small increments. “I just think about putting one foot after the other,” said the freshman.

As for Emma Barniv, her method simply accepts the madness of the long trek. “I’ve really come to enjoy the challenge of the hills,” said the senior runner.

And the affinity for the heights is no coincidence. “I used to run with my mom,” said Barniv. “She would have me sprint up the hill and then walk the flat areas. So we’d just do hill repeat until I could run without stopping.”

Her time at John Jay nearing an end too, she now takes a long view. “I wanted to help create a positive team environment where we’re all pushing everyone to be better,” said Barniv. “I think that’s the best part of cross country track at John Jay.”

On the boys side, Rohan Patel was the top finisher for the John Jay Wolves. In the 30th place, Coach Dey Dey felt his runner did pretty well. The same goes for Will George, who finished the event in the top 50.

But the coach knows the team needs a bit of an adjustment. "They have to push themselves harder," he admitted.

No such sentiment when it comes to John Jay’s standard bearer and her last shot to take the New York State crown. “I’m going to do it,” Wasserman concluded the day.

Note : The girls really brought it home two weeks later on November 8 at Bowdoin. The girls took the section one title and all will be running at the states in Queensbury on November 15. Of course, Sloan Wasserman led the way, took the section title and is setting her sights on the state championship. Next was Serai, who took fourth and Emma Barniv finished in seventh place.

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https://rmonetti.blogspot.com/2025/11/john-jay-cross-country-track-2025.html

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