September 27 2026
More Pasta Parties, Race Help and Recaps!
This week’s newsletter is a long one with these topics so just a short note as we enter another week of racing: Your athlete may not win every race. Your athlete may not make varsity. Your athlete may not stand on the podium. But if your athlete learns to work hard, support their teammates, handle disappointment, overcome adversity, and keep showing up when things get hard, then they have already won something far more valuable than a race.
THE FINAL PASTA PARTIES ARE HERE!
Three weeks of pasta, team time, and full bellies are coming to an end! This Friday, we’re going out with our final team dinner celebrations — with separate parties for our seniors and underclassmen.
A huge THANK YOU to the Feather and Ronsman families for helping make this happen!
Friday, October 2nd
5:30–7:00 PM
SENIORS
The Feather Residence197 Oak Creek DrivePonte Vedra, FL 32081
UNDERCLASSMEN
Coastal Oaks Clubhouse600 Bluewater DrivePonte Vedra, FL 32081
*UNDERCLASSMEN PARENTS & ATHLETES:
For everyone driving to the Coastal Oaks party, we are required to provide the neighborhood with a list of incoming drivers. Please submit your driver’s name using this Google Form. https://forms.gle/3m4LprRVojwZNERF6
RUNNERS — your Friday checklist:
- Come hungry
- Bring your own hydration
- Bring your best manners
- Clean up after yourself
A simple please and thank you goes a long way — and leaving your spot cleaner than you found it is even better!
These dinners are for athletes and coaches only, unless you are a parent volunteer.
A special THANK YOU to Anne Rubocki, Stephanie Pilinko, Dana Dreckman, Ryan Busch, Maria Worz, Maria Marshall, Lauren Killoran, and Christine Chigounis for jumping in and lending a helping hand!
And one final reminder: PVXC
pasta parties are fully catered and funded by our incredible business and
family sponsors. These dinners wouldn’t happen without their
generosity and support, and we are so grateful! 
One
last pasta party. One more chance to fuel up, hang out, and celebrate this
team! 
13th Annual Craig Speziale Invite
ONLY 6
DAYS TO GO! WE NEED OUR SHARK FAMILY! 
The 13th Annual Craig Speziale Invite is almost here! We’ve had a great response from our Shark families, but we still have several important race-day spots to fill — and we need YOU!
This meet takes a HUGE village to pull off, and every volunteer makes a difference. If you already signed up for course setup or course breakdown, THANK YOU! But we still need you to sign up for a race-day position too. Setup and breakdown are separate from race-day coverage, and we need plenty of hands throughout the actual meet!
IMPORTANT SPOTS LEFT TO FILL:
ANNOUNCER
Keep the meet moving!
We need someone to announce events, make important announcements, and let athletes know when it’s time to report to the starting line. If you’re comfortable speaking to a crowd and keeping things organized, we need you!
PARKING
Help direct traffic and keep cars moving smoothly into our three parking lots. Because this is also an SAT day, we’ll need to direct vehicles to the appropriate lot based on where they need to go and help direct buses to the bus zone.
You’ll be part of the action, get to meet other Shark parents, and our parking crew includes Varsity, JV, and Middle School parents — so you can step away to catch your child’s race!
CONCESSIONS
Help keep everyone fueled while enjoying a great view as runners make their turn toward the finish. You’ll be working alongside fellow Shark parents and can step away to cheer for your runner when they race!
ADMISSIONS
Help check people in and welcome guests to the meet from a spot near the final stretch. It’s easy, you’ll be close to the action, and you’ll be working with a great group of Shark parents. And yes — you can step away to watch your runner race!
COURSE MONITORS
Grab a chair, bring your coffee, and cheer on ALL of our Sharks as they race by! Course monitors help keep athletes on course while getting to enjoy the excitement of the race from a great vantage point.
Easy. Relaxed. Fun. And you’re helping our runners have a great race!
MOUNTAIN BIKERS
Love mountain biking? Want to be right in the middle of the action?
Join this fun group who will pace and help wrap up the end of each race. It’s an awesome way to experience the meet from the course while helping keep everything running smoothly! You will coordinate with each other to make sure you’re able to watch your athlete race.
WE REALLY DO NEED EVERYONE!
We’re down to 6 DAYS, and these remaining spots are critical to making race day run smoothly.
If you’ve signed up for race day
— thank you!
If you’ve already signed up for setup or breakdown — thank you! And
please remember to grab a race-day position too.
If you haven’t signed up yet — NOW IS THE TIME!
Let’s fill these spots, get this team across the finish line, and show our visiting teams what the Shark family is all about!
Questions? Reach out to Coach Speed, Coach Browning, Coach Coy, or Stephanie Marciani at 203-623-2502 or [email protected].
Please click to sign up here
On to the race recaps!
Bale & Trail Varsity and JV A Girls Race Recap by Coach Browning
Our girls had an opportunity to change things up this week with some of them racing and others pacing in both the elite and 11th-12th grade races. In the first elite race, Olivia Kaminsky led all PV runners with a 9th place overall finish in a time of 19:34. Following Olivia were the trio of Rio Ossi, Phoebe Litwack, and Savannah LaVasser, running as a pack and finishing in time of 20:14, 20:29 and 20:33. Rounding out the 7 runner fields were Mary Chase Fender and Bobbie Ross and Layann Issa with times of 20:51, 20:58 and 21:31. Olivia, Phoebe, Bobbie and Layann all recorded season best times en route to a 3rd place finish among 14 teams.
Varsity runners Lucy Lommel, Harlee Howton (24:42), Giana Dreckman (23:18) and Cailyn Douglas (21:52) all competed in the 11th and 12th grade race with Lucy finishing 5th overall with a new PR of 21:18, a 30+ second improvement! Joining Lucy with a PR were Sasha Chandlee (21:49) and Regan Cook (23:46). Runners Charlotte Somppi (22:50), Gianna Pena (22:59), Reese Monteiro (23:01), Taylor Bestic (23:51), Finley Vadeboncoeur (24:06) and Brooklyn Brant (24:42) all earned season best times. Also racing in the 11/12 race were Ann Graves (22:56), Giana Dreckman (23:18), Ava Rihlmann (23:23), Nora Rubocki (23:40 and Siobhan Barket (25:07)
Bale & Trail Elite Boys Race Recap
With the varsity boys off this weekend, junior varsity took center stage, competing in the Elite Boys 5K at the 2026 Bale n Trail Cross Country Original, hosted by Bartram Trail High School. Racing against a strong Elite field, the boys delivered a series of impressive individual performances and showed solid depth throughout the lineup.
Sophomore Henry Ronsman led the boys, running a personal best of 18:29.90. He was followed closely by junior Camden McCooey, who finished in 18:38.10, while sophomore Cooper Murray came across in a new personal best of 18:40.80. Junior Boyd Worz continued the strong showing with a personal-best 19:03.30, followed by senior Camden Chatraw, who rounded out the boys top five in 19:32.10.
The highlight of the race was multiple boys recording personal-best performances, making it a productive day of racing for the boys. With several runners stepping up into an Elite-level field, the performance provided valuable racing experience and another indication of the continued development and depth within the program.
Bale & Trail JV Boys Race Recap by Coach Bella
Our JV boys competed in their fourth meet of the season yesterday morning at Bale & Trail, hosted by Bartram Trail High School. The race began under a cool fall sky and a beautiful harvest moon, but as the sun rose, the heat quickly became a factor. Athletes also got to showcase their athleticism by hurdling several haybales placed throughout the course which proved to be a fun but challenging twist.
For this meet, our JV runners were split into two races: 11th–12th grade and 9th–10th grade. This separation meant many athletes were racing without their usual teammates beside them, requiring extra focus, confidence, and mental toughness to truly run their own race.
11th & 12th Grade Race (7:55 AM)
Leading the way for our upperclassmen was Mohamad Issa, finishing in 21:20. Right behind him, Rami Farmand turned in a huge performance with a 36‑second PR. Our third runner was Lukasz Zarczynski, finishing in 22:13.
Following our top three:
- William Menne — 22:23 PR
- Will Drew — 22:46
- Xilang Yan — 23:06
- Nate Brletich — 23:38
- Kevin Watson — 23:59
- Benjamin Johnson — 24:16
- Makarios Burge — 24:31
9th & 10th Grade Race (8:55 AM)
By the time the second race began, the heat had set in, but our boys battled through and earned an 8th‑place team finish.
Our first runner across the line was James Makey, dropping over a minute for a new PR of 19:35. Just two seconds behind him was Zachary Chigounis in 19:37. Our third runner, Ethan LaVasser, got a 1 minute, 20 second PR, finishing in 19:40.
We also had HUGE PRs from:
- Elijah Menne — 20:44
- Kallan Goodfriend — 21:44
- Xander Traveria — 22:20
- John Walker Stilwell — 22:33
- Zachary Galley — 22:56
- Landon Coy — 23:04
- Connor Straub — 24:23
- Wylan Osgood — 23:43 PR
Additional strong performances:
- Jackson Janus — 20:44
- Jackson Scott — 21:23
- Morgan Caffery — 22:41
We coaches are incredibly proud of all our athletes who competed. Their effort, resilience, and growth continue to shine each week.
As we head into a new week of training, I want our runners to reflect on this quote:
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” – Confucius
Race day is your mountain. Every workout, every core session, every strength circuit, every stretch — those are your small stones. As the season starts to come to an end, keep working hard and moving those stones one by one.
