Purple wave makes high water mark at Wave Mania 2026 [Gallery]

The Wildcats "Purple Wave" lived up to its name on Saturday, turning in a weekend performance to remember at the 25th Annual Warwick Valley Wave Mania X-C Invitational, which drew 1,300 runners from 42 schools across New York and New Jersey!

Varsity Boys: Warwick Wins Team Title
The Wildcats boys varsity team put up a commanding performance to capture the team title in the Varsity 1 3.09 mile race. Leo Shostal blazed through the course in a stunning 15:35.3, taking first place and making a strong case as one of the best runners in the state. Rounding out the top three Wildcats in the race were Alex Kobrick, who finished with a time of 17:38.9, and Owen Barrett at 17:40.6, who cross-country coach Michael Potter says could "possibly be the best athlete in the school." Wildcats James Boyle (17:48.4), Rosario Dovico (17:52.6), George Savidas (18:07.0), Jake Cosco (18:29.3), and Brayden Perez (19:20.7) all helped the Wildcats outpace Nanuet and Minisink for the title. In the overall Varsity Merge rankings, Warwick Valley finished in second place, trailing only state-ranked Manhasset.

Junior Varsity Boys: Purple Wave Sweep
The boys junior varsity squad was a force of nature in the JV 1 2.6 race, living up to their “Purple Wave” nickname with a stunning 1-5 sweep and a perfect score for the team title. Noel Orthmann led the charge with a time of 14:51.3, followed closely by Billy Carroll, Leo Tosh, Pace Alzamora, and Ryan Kobrick within 30 seconds of one another. Wildcats John DeBuck and John McGoldrick also both placed in the top 10, rounding out a dominant team effort. Coach Potter called the junior varisty effort "pack running at its best." 

Freshman Boys: First Years Roll to Victory
The freshman boys proved that the future of Warwick cross-country is bright, rolling to a convincing victory in the 2400m race. The team's five-man average time of 8:36 marked an improvement over last year’s 8:49. Nolan Maneri showed he’s the real deal, clocking in at 7:54.2 for a third place finish. Also helping lead the Wildcats to their overall first place finish over Kingston and Monroe-Woodbury were Gavin Fong (8:42.2), Griffin Luthin (8:42.5), Nathaniel Cullen (8:49.1), Joey Murtagh (8:51.6), Ethan Reilly (9:05.5), and Landon Tarazona (9:22.0).

“The boys earned 18 medals, three team titles, and had lots of fun doing it,” said Coach Potter. 

Girls Varsity: Steady Progress
The Warwick Valley girls varsity team finished a solid 11th out of 26 teams in the overall Varsity Merge in a highly competitive field. Trixie Wendell led the way for the Wildcats, finishing 32nd with a time of 21:25.7. Julia Schlesinger was close behind at 22:08.6, while Juliette Cloutier rounded out the Wildcats’ top three at 22:45.7.

Warwick Valley teacher Julie Cosco leads the girls cross-country team.  

Girls Junior Varsity & Freshman: Strong Showings
For the girls junior varsity team, Madison Burke and Stella Muehlbauer (22:01.1 and 22:22.5 respectively) led the Wildcats to a 6th-place finish out of eight teams in the 2.6-mile race. The freshman girls team delivered an impressive performance, finishing second out of nine teams in the 2400m. Eighth-grader Aliya Ottosi-Mulholland (10:16.3) and Jessica Buckley (10:35.5) were the top finishers for Warwick Valley.

Warwick Vallery cross-country is at it again tomorrow night -- Wednesday, September 9 -- in a home meet against Cornwall, Monroe-Woodbury, and James I. O'Neill.

The boys and girls cross-country programs are two of 12 fall sports in which the Wildcat Athletics program competes. Warwick Valley holds its athletes to high academic standards, and during the 2025-2026 school year, Warwick Valley High School had more than 300 athletes earn Scholar-Athlete status from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. 30 Wildcat teams qualified for NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete Team status. Sixty Wildcats were named US Army Academic All-Americans, and two were recognized as Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) 2026 Scholar-Athletes of the Year.

Stay up to date on schedules for every Wildcat team, along with all of the latest headlines out of Wildcat Country on the Athletics Page.

Go, Wildcats!