Meet The Team

Macy Akins is a Sophomore at Boston University studying Business with a minor in Economics. She is originally from Orlando, Florida. She grew up competitive figure skating for 9 years then transitioned to Track & Field & Cross Country. During High school, she was able to run in states for Cross Country during her Senior year. During quarantine, she ran her first half marathon and since then have completed 4. This will be her first marathon and is looking forward to fundraising for The Chapel School!

Alex Droznik lives in Mount Vernon, NY with his wife Kellie and children Jack and Serafima.  Jack recently started at kindergarten at Chapel and is loving the school so far!  Alex has been an avid runner for years but only recently got into competitive running.  This will be his first half marathon so wish him luck!  Alex works for Bed Bath and Beyond as Vice President of Procurement.  When not busy with his work and his family, Alex tries to catch up on his favorite sci-fi books and soccer games having been a lifelong Arsenal F.C. fan. Having grown up in St. Petersburg, Russia, Alex has always had great respect for arts & drama and is excited to help raise money for Team Chapel. 

Born and raised in Birmingham Alabama, he now resides in Snellville, Georgia with his wife and daughter as a practicing dentist of 10 years. He first started his run journey when he was an AEGD resident in Jacksonville Mississippi. It became one of his favorite pastimes and stress relievers outside of restoring smiles. Throughout the years, he joined a few run groups and fun challenges with friends, with the most recent one being the Atlanta track club.  He enjoys the Nike run app which has challenged him to get better each run. He ran his first official full marathon last year at the Chicago marathon and has run several half marathons prior to that.  His goal/dream is to run all 6 major marathons while honoring his late father who also ran many marathons before he passed away. "I’m so glad to be representing Team Chapel and I hope to set a decent time for my second go round in NYC!!!!! "

Alex Kirchgaesser is a recent graduate from Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts where he received a bachelor’s degree in Economics. At Holy Cross, Alex walked on the division one track & field team and competed in the 1500m and 800m dashes. Before college, Alex was an avid athlete at Fordham Prep where he played varsity basketball and a captain of the varsity soccer team. Alex is excited to join Team Chapel and raise funds for TCS as he is a graduate from the Class of 2014. Nowadays, Alex works as a client associate for Merrill Lynch in NYC. He can be seen running each day after work in Bronxville where he resides with his parents. When he is not working or training he enjoys spending time with his family, friends and watching Netflix or NFL Red Zone. Despite being an active runner, this is Alex’s first marathon and as a graduate from TCS he couldn’t be more motivated to help raise funds for the team.

My name is Gabriella and I love to run, read, and travel my way around the world. I grew up in Ukraine before moving over to New York City in 2016. I recently graduated from Concordia College New York with a master's degree in Childhood Education. My husband and I are active members of True Light Lutheran Church in Chinatown, Manhattan. In the beginning of 2020, when Covid-19 hit NYC hard: the streets were empty, the schools were closed, and I started to run. These days I work as the Second Grade Teacher Assistant at The Chapel School, in addition to working on my teaching certification. In between my schedule I love to run because running allows me to set my mind free and helps me to release tension from the workday.  

James Pristouris is the founder and CEO of the Super League Athletic Academy, a sports organization based out of Brooklyn, NY. This is James’ first NYC Marathon and 2nd overall as he completed the Athens Authentic Marathon in 2021. James resides in Brooklyn with his wife Voula and his two daughters Marianthi(7) and Athena(4).