The Blair boys' cross country team rose to the challenge on Peddie Day and went out strong against the Peddie runners. Tri-captain Weston Trish '25 and sophomore phenom Eric Bocanegra '27 went out challenging the top runners and held their pace, capturing 3rd and 4th place overall for the Bucs, with times of 17:27 and 17:41, personal records (PR) for both boys.
Boys’ Cross Country
Varsity
Overview
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.
Meet the Coaches
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.
Schedule
View directions to athletic events. To read recaps about past events, go to the "Team News" tab above.
Opponent | Date | Time | Advantage | Result | Score | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Newark Invitational
|
|
|
Away | 3rd | ||
vs.
Perkiomen School
|
|
|
Home | Win | 25-31 | |
Canterbury Invitational
|
|
|
Away | 9th | ||
JV - Jerry Hart @ Peddie
|
|
|
Away | 6th | ||
vs.
Hun
|
|
|
Home | Win | 20-42 | |
Paul Short @ Lehigh
|
|
|
Away | 16th out of 35 | CHANGED: 3:30 p.m. | |
vs.
Hill School
|
|
|
Away | Loss | 41-18 | |
vs.
Pennington
|
|
|
Away | Win | 28-29 | |
States
|
|
|
Home | 5th | ||
MAPLs @ Mercersburg
|
|
|
Away | 5th | ||
vs.
Peddie
|
|
|
Away | Loss | 40-21 |
Roster
Name | Class |
---|---|
Luke Antoneck | 2026 |
Edwin Asencio | 2026 |
Eric Bocanegra | 2027 |
William Eagle | 2028 |
Maxwell Ehirim | 2028 |
Edward George | 2028 |
Andrew Hong | 2025 |
Luke Hosonitz | 2028 |
Jaeseong Kim | 2026 |
Philipp Kuelps | 2028 |
Joonseok Lee | 2026 |
Shaoqing Ni | 2025 |
Zhihong Ren | 2028 |
Sebastian Rudnick | 2028 |
Jiwoong Seo | 2027 |
Levent Toklu | 2028 |
Weston Trish | 2025 |
Brayden Yau | 2027 |
Team News
News & Recaps
The MAPL race was extremely competitive this year, with the Bucs traveling down to Mercersburg to compete against their peers. Blair was led by Eric Bocanegra ‘27 who finished in a very respectable 18:32 on the challenging Mercersburg course.
Blair's boys' cross country team had their work cut out for them with a tough field on the line for the annual NJISAA Prep A State Championship. This year, Blair had many boys running more tightly bunched than in recent years, and pushing one another to greater success.
Photos
Past Results
Fall 2023
Opponent | Date | Time | Advantage | Result | Score | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Newark Invitational
|
|
|
Away | |||
vs.
Stuart Country Day
|
|
|
Home | |||
Jerry Hart- JV @ Peddie
|
|
TBD
|
Away | |||
Canterbury Invitational - Varsity
|
|
TBD
|
Away | 6th | ||
Paul Short
|
|
|
Away | 19th out of 39 | ||
vs.
Hun
|
|
|
Away | Win | 26-32 | |
vs.
Pennington
|
|
|
Home | Win | 18-43 | |
vs.
Hill School
|
|
|
Home | |||
MAPLs @ Peddie
|
|
|
Away | |||
States @ Blair
|
|
|
Home | |||
vs.
Peddie
|
|
|
Home | Loss | 21-40 |
Fall 2022
Opponent | Date | Time | Advantage | Result | Score | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Newark Invitational
|
|
|
Away | 2nd | ||
vs.
Green Meadow Waldorf School
|
|
|
Home | CANCELLED | ||
Canterbury - Varsity Only
|
|
TBD
|
Away | 6th | ||
Jerry Hart
|
|
TBD
|
Away | no score | ||
Paul Short @ Lehigh
|
|
|
Away | 8th | ||
vs.
Hun
|
|
|
Home | Loss | 42-18 | |
vs.
Pennington
|
|
|
Away | Win | ||
vs.
Hill School
|
|
|
Away | Loss | 31-24 | |
MAPLs @ Peddie
|
|
TBD
|
Away | 5th | ||
vs.
Lawrenceville
|
|
|
Home | CANCELLED | ||
States
|
|
|
Home | 5th | ||
vs.
Peddie
|
|
|
Away | Loss | 36-23 |