Harvey School Senior Rohan Cassells Wins Cross-Country 5K

Written by Chris Del Campo

Harvey’s Rohan “RJ” Cassells gave the home crowd quite a thrill Wednesday when he finished first in a tri-school 5K cross-country meet. It was the senior’s first race ever and the first varsity meet Harvey has ever hosted.

Competing against runners from Wooster and Poughkeepsie Day School, Cassells, a Mount Vernon resident, was the first to cross the finish line, completing the 3.1 mile course through Harvey’s 125-acre campus in a time of23:19:57. With the track meet selected as Harvey’s first “Game of the Week” this fall season, a large and spirited home crowd cheered him on as he approached the finish line.

Harvey’s cross-country coach Michael Lauria said Cassells helped make the history-making day memorable. “What a thrill it was for R.J. to do what he did on a day when we were hosting our first ever track meet and to do it in front of the big home crowd.”

Wooster’s Bennett Wattles (23:19:93) and Eamon Fitzsimmons (23:31:17) finished in a close second and third, respectively. Harvey runners carried away sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth place, a crucial sweep for the team’s final score. Freshman Nathan Ward took sixth place, with a time of 24:19.02, followed by senior Charlie Alpert of Katonah (24:19:46), junior Jake Lewis (24:19:86), and sophomore Connor Phillips of Katonah (24:21:29). With fewer runners on the girl’s side, sophomores Kate D’Avanzo, finishing with a time of 31:55:83, and Leah Wang ran well among the pack.

Overall, Wooster bested Harvey by one point, with PDS in third. “It was an excellent race for all runners both new and experienced, and the start of an exciting season,” said coach Lauria.

Photo: Rohan Cassells is in the lead from the start. Photo credit: Ryan Hurst