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White Plains Boys Varsity after a strong win on Saturday
NOTE: Cross-country meets are scored by assigning a point to each runner’s finishing place. For example, first place gets 1 point, third gets 3, and sixth get 6. The top five runners on a team get points assigned to them. The team with the lowest score wins.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Oct. 7, 2025) — At the 28th Annual Fred Gressler Memorial Run — Coach Fred Singleton’s final home meet — the White Plains High School boys cross country team delivered a dominating performance, winning the Varsity I race with 31 points, more than 20 ahead of second-place Nanuet.
In the merged Varsity I and II results, White Plains finished with 55 points, 16 points better than runner-up Mamaroneck.
Leading the Tigers was senior Matthew LaRosa, who completed the 3.10-mile course in 17:30.40 to finish third overall. Junior Pierce Biffert followed with a fifth-place finish in 17:47.80. Also scoring for White Plains were Connor Dominick (13th in the merge), Kellen Doherty (18th), and Patrick Cave (32nd). Michael Grande (35th) and Maximiliano Berrera (38th) rounded out the varsity lineup.
White Plains boys varsity has now won three straight races and two of their last three meets.
The boys junior varsity team added to the day’s success with a perfect score of 15, claiming the top five spots in the merged race. Junior Tomas McDermott won the JV race in 19:10.90, followed by senior Sean Alfalla (19:18.40), sophomore Maxwell Merlino (19:30.80), Alexander Charlemagne, and Jackson Shaver.
“This was the most dominant White Plains High School performance at our home meet ever,” Singleton said in a message to the team.
Singleton, a former history teacher with 37 years at White Plains High School, is in his 50th and final season coaching the program.
“It’s mixed feelings [having this be my last home meet],” Singleton said. “I’m going off to do something I love, hanging out with my granddaughters. I’m gonna miss this group, especially some of the young, talented people who run. You know, the seniors, they were graduating anyways, but we have a good basis for a lot of great running ahead of us.”
The victory marked the second straight year White Plains has won the Gressler Run.
“I’ll be around to watch them run at some of the meets,” Singleton added. “I should be coming to watch Gressler for a long time!”
On the girls side, sophomore Stella DeMilio led White Plains with a time of 24:18.10, finishing 49th in the Varsity I and II merged race. Freshman Jennifer Maldonado was second for the team, finishing 62nd in 25:05.40. Amelie Wittler (71st), Sophia Barrera (87th), Olivia Manorqui (91st), Alexandra Bowman (96th), and Emily Plata (104th) completed the varsity lineup. The girls team placed 13th out of 17 qualifying teams, finishing with 317 points.
“As a whole, [the girls] have a really positive attitude despite everything they might be experiencing,” said girls head coach and meet director Melissa Hidalgo. “I’m just really happy to see their positivity maintained, and even sometimes go above and beyond. They’re there to support each other, and that’s also really great to see. I think they have quite a lot of potential.”
Pearl River’s JD Lloyd McKenna won the boys race in 16:37.40. Nanuet’s Joaquin Villan took second, and White Plains’ LaRosa placed third.
In the girls race, Nanuet senior Katie Schmid won with a time of 20:05.10, followed by Mamaroneck’s Maya Hennessey and Ossining’s Kaya Wallace. Pearl River won the girls team merge with 43 points, followed by Nanuet and Pelham Memorial.
Twenty-seven schools participated in the meet, including private institutions such as Friends Academy and Maria Regina, local Westchester public schools like Harrison and Rye, and Rockland County teams including Clarkstown South.
Held at White Plains High School, the Gressler Run is known as one of Section 1’s most demanding courses, featuring steep and strenuous hills.
“I think overall [Gressler] was a very successful meet,” Hidalgo said. “There were a lot of happy kids at the finish line, and things seemed to go well on the course as well.”
This year marked Hidalgo’s first time serving as Gressler meet director, taking over from Singleton. The role includes responsibilities such as scheduling, coordinating officials, timing, and overseeing the course.
White Plains Cross Country enters the second half of its season with six meets remaining. The Tigers will travel to Thetford, Vermont, this weekend for the Woods Trail Run. The top 20 boys and girls on the team were selected to participate in the event.
“We will be prepared, and hopefully we will be ready for the challenges ahead,” Singleton said.
“Don’t settle. Let’s keep running, and don’t be afraid of anybody,” Singleton said in his message to the team as they approach this final stretch of the season, giving an encouraging message to a cross country team that showed their dominance at his final home meet.
White Plains Boys Varsity Results from Gressler
White Plains Girls Varsity Results from Gressler
1. Matthew LaRosa (17:30.4, 3rd)
1. Stella DeMilio (24:18.10, 49th)
2. Pierce Biffert (17:47.8, 5th)
2. Jennifer Maldonado (25:05.40, 62nd)
3. Connor Dominick (18:16.1, 13th)
3. Amelie Wittler (25:43.50, 71st)
4. Kellen Doherty (18:23.40, 18th)
4. Sophia Barrera (26:41.60, 87th)
5. Patrick Cave (18:58.00, 32nd)
5. Olivia Manorqui (26:52.80, 91st)
6. Michael Grande (19:05.60, 35th)
6. Alexandra Bowman (27:36.20, 96th)
7. Maximiliano Barrera (19:08.60, 38th)
7. Emily Plata (28:19.70, 104th)