Boys’ Cross Country

MAPL CHAMPS

2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010

NJ PREP A CHAMPIONS

2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010

The cross country running experience at Blair is for athletes of all levels of ability, experience and commitment. Our goal is to assist students in achieving their potential in this sport, wherever their starting point may be. The accent on good sportsmanship and the inclusion of all runners in most events is integral to our philosophy of sport.

Blair’s location in Warren County, New Jersey, is a dream for long-distance runners. Our standard 5K cross country course covers the flats and hills of Blair’s golf course and is a wonderful setting for meets, including the New Jersey state prep championship meet, held here each fall. The course is decidedly “viewer friendly” as it winds through various loops, starting and finishing down the track of Hampshire Field, Blair’s football field.

A fair portion of cross country team training takes place on the picturesque Paulinskill River “rails to trails,” which includes 26 miles of dirt and cinder paths just off campus. In addition, Blairstown boasts miles of rural roads, offering runners an aesthetically pleasing training environment that is easy on the legs.

The cross country season runs from early September to mid-November, including a four-day preseason training period that helps prepare runners for the season. Blair competes in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) against Lawrenceville, Hun, Peddie, Pennington, Hill and Mercersburg, and the team competes in several regional invitational meets as well. We conclude the season at Peddie Day each November, when, along with all fall sports, we vie for the coveted Kelley-Potter Cup with arch-rival Peddie School.

Blair’s boys’ cross country team has completed a number of memorable seasons, featuring state prep championships, MAPL championships and team victories at the prestigious Canterbury Invitational in Connecticut and Shore Invitational in New Jersey. We’ve had a winning dual-meet record for decades and, perhaps just as importantly, we’ve had a vibrant junior varsity program.

Please feel free to email Blair boys' cross country head coach Tim Devaney with any questions.

About Coach Devaney

Timothy J. Devaney is former chair of the language department. A Blair faculty member since 2010, he teaches various levels of Spanish, heads the boys' cross country team, and teaches recreational skiing. He completed his undergraduate work at Bowdoin College in 1988 and earned his master's degree in bilingual education at Hofstra University in 1993. Prior to coming to Blair, Timothy was principal of the Peaks and Cliff Island Schools in Casco Bay, Maine. He has also taught at De La Salle Academy and Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Bronx, New York, where he served as dean for Spanish and Vietnamese-speaking students. In 1998, he earned a second master's degree in educational administration from Teachers College Columbia University. 

About Coach Thatcher

Chris Thatcher joined Blair’s faculty in 2016 as a chemistry and physics teacher and assistant wrestling coach. During a 23-year career in engineering, Chris worked in pharmaceutical manufacturing, validation consulting, and medical device research and development. He earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering at Princeton University (1993), where he was a four-year Division I wrestler and cross country runner and two-year captain of the wrestling team. Chris has served as Blair’s assistant wrestling coach since 2012, and, in addition to continuing in this role, he is the assistant coach of varsity softball and boys’ cross country. He serves on the staff of Lakeside dormitory and now serves as the assistant boys' cross country coach. He and his wife, Kristi, and their children, Tyler, Tanner, Chelsea, and Adison, live in Blairstown. Chris enjoys trail running, hiking and do-it-yourself projects and has coached more than 30 youth recreational sports teams.

View directions to athletic events. To read recaps about past events, go to the "Team News" tab above.

View more photos from the most recent season here.