Mention the name Van Cortlandt Park and most high school cross country runners will pay close attention.

The cross country course at the park located on Broadway adjacent to Manhattan College in the Bronx is considered a special place among runners.

And that was evident last Saturday when more than 5,000 runners trampled across the open glen and through the trails at the annual Manhattan Invitational High School Cross Country Meet. 

The teams came from Buffalo and Rhode Island to the west and east, and several schools in between.  Reading the names of the team tents that dotted the perimeter of the park was a study in geography. Included in the gathering were tents from Clarkstown High School North and Clarkstown High School South.

Unlike most cross country races that are either 3.1 or 3.0 miles, the Manhattan Invitational is a 2.5 mile course.

Clarkstown High School North senior Shawn Kuriakose had the lowest time among all runners from Clarkstown, finishing 29th out of 186 runners in the Varsity A Race with a time of 13:49.  His teammate Kyle McGowan finished at 15.20 while North's Michael Nunes was right behind him at 15:21.

During the meet, schools choose from numerous races with regard to entering their runners.  Races are separate for freshmen, sophomores, junior varsity and varsity. The races took place throughout the morning and afternoon, many of them starting just seven to 10 minutes after a prior race meaning that there were often two races on the course running at the same time.

The Clarkstown High School Boys team participated in a separate race from North, and the top runner from South was Robert Mwangi at 14:28.  Aryan Sadeghilari finished at 14:47 while Chris Danyluk and John Walters both finished at 14:57.

South's Gina Ruotolo had the top time among the Clarkstown girls, finishing 64th at 17:24. Teammate Maura Finnegan was right behind her (17:24) while Jessica Ryan finished at 17:24 and Katherine Hogan at 19:01.

North's Rebecca Mitlof finished in 49th place in a race separate from the South runners, completing the course in 17:49.  Mayua Ascher was 50th at 17:53, Gillian Schonenberg ran with a time of 18:07, Erin Cahill at 19:25 and Grace Keywork at 19:32.

Congratulations to all runners from North and South, as well as their coaches, and best wishes to both teams as the cross country season continues!

Today is Wear It Pink Day.

Clarkstown High School South recognized the Breast Cancer Awareness Day last Friday when the school was a sea of pink.

Students, faculty, staff and teachers wore a variety of pink shirts - and shoelaces - to show their support for Breast Cancer Awareness and research.

Students at South who led the drive to sell shirts, hoodies and shoelaces raised nearly $500 to be donated toward Breast Cancer research.

Across the District, several members of the school community were wearing pink.