“I think we’re looking strong and I have only sensed improvement,” said senior girls varsity captain Nicole Mizzoni.

The girls varsity team is 3-0 so far in the season, defeating Tenafly in their last meet at Darlington.

Three varsity girls have been leading this team thus far, and as Coach Russ Grier so often refers to them as the “pow pow pow.” Ashley Evans (Jr.), Nikki Criscuolo (Jr.), and Marlo Guastella (So.) proved once again that the girls varsity team is a force to be reckoned with this year. Ashley Evans finished first for PV and 4th overall in the race, followed closely by Nikki Criscuolo who finished 2nd for PV and 5th overall, and finally Marlo Guastella finished third for PV and 10th overall.

Three runners in the top 10 for PV, and no Tenafly girls led the PV girls to victory once again. “Those three girls have been leading our team in previous seasons, being our top three,” said Mizzoni on the “pow pow pow.”

However, the girls tomorrow are going to face their toughest battle yet, Old Tappan.

“Tomorrow is going to be a very close race, OT (Old Tappan) is very skilled and is always a competition. I know for the girls it is going to be a close one” said Mizzoni.

Boys varsity lost last week against Tenafly, and now sit at an uncomfortable 2-1.

Jeff Roberts (Jr.), once again came through with a stellar performance as he finished first overall last week at Darlington, with an amazing time of 16:57. The closest opponent to him was 24 seconds behind.

Unfortunately, Tenafly had 7 runners in the top 10, compared to Valley’s 3, Evan Jones (Sr.) and John Coyle (Jr.). This was too much to handle, and Tenafly came out with the victory.

Injury Update: On a more positive note, team captain Zak Terzini (Sr.) returned last week and ran very well for his first meet back from a bruised foot, finishing 16th overall with a time of 20:16.

This Week: Monday the Pascack Valley cross country team goes against Old Tappan, as mentioned before, will be the toughest matchup for both girls and boys teams so far. According to team captain Evan Jones, he has faith in his team in the next meet, “I expect big things from OT. I think that we are in better shape even though they have some runners that may be more talented than us.”