Senior standouts Stappert and Bradley lead Loyola in A Conference cross country chase

by Nelson Coffin

Loyola Blakefield’s cross country team is being well served by senior captains — and by far its best runners — Patrick Bradley and Liam Stappert this season.

While that duo leads the way, the rest of the squad, including juniors Auggie Brown, Jacob Tsakalos and Will Scholtz, and sophomores Brendan Tobin, Ben Velazquez and Anderson Stappert, will be learning what it means to be part of such a storied program.

After all, the Dons boast more championships (14) and the longest title streak (6 years, 2009-14) in A Conference history under coach Jose Albornoz.

Although archrival Calvert Hall is heavily favored to claim its fourth straight conference crown, that won’t stop Albornoz’s athletes — especially Bradley and Liam Stappert — from giving their best effort this fall.

“Our numbers three-to-seven (runners) are bunched together, and we’re hoping they will make a leap to help us build to contend in the A Conference,” Albornoz said.

Bradley is currently nursing Achilles tendonitis, forcing him to say that he has to “to lay low for a little bit.” But, Liam Stappert’s 16:38.85 at the Barnhart Invitational, on Saturday at the Baltimore County Agricultural Center in Cockeysville, was good enough for a second-place finish among 100 participants from 30 public and private schools across the state.

Moreover, Albornoz said that Liam Stappert has already run a 15:47 5k trial this fall and looks very strong.

Once Bradley, who logged a personal-best 16:16 last season, returns from his injury, he and Liam Stappert will continue enjoying spilt-team practices, featuring what Albornoz calls “high-milage, high-quality” for the Dons’ top tandem.

They both have high hopes for a strong showing at the conference championship next month, an event that neither completed a year ago through no fault of their own.

“Liam suffered a season-ending injury the week before the MIAA championship meet, but he should be considered one of the best in the area this fall,” Albornoz said.

Bad luck also plagued Bradley in the 2024 finale, who said that “just before the two-mile mark on the championship course, I began to feel a sharp pain in my left ankle. I hoped that that pain would go away, but shortly after the two-mile mark, I began to limp, and the pain was excruciating. I had to stop mid-race, and that was my first time ever stopping.”

With last year’s misfortune in the rearview mirror, both athletes can move forward by working on lowering times while also showing the younger Dons the ropes.

“Both Liam and I understand the importance of having runners to look up to and learn from,” Bradley said. “I think we both have accepted this position, and we both enjoy talking and running with younger runners, while also giving them advice. I have made it a priority to develop a relationship with each runner on the team, including the JV runners. I want to be a guy the younger runners can look up to and be friends with. When I was a younger runner on the team, there were a lot of guys who would always make an effort to make me feel welcome, and I hope to give younger runners that same welcoming feeling.”