They Just Keep Running

Emily and Michelle battle in the invitational 800m. The girl's varsity track team is enjoying the holiday season with some excellent showings at recent meets. A week ago Monday the girls went to Nassau Community College for the first of the Friendship Games meets and produced some terrific results, especially from the youngsters. In the Freshman/Sophomore 300m, Taylor Hennig (45.8) and Carley Knowles (47.9) finished first and third; in the Open 600m it was Victoria Chimento (1:48.40) taking fourth; while in the Freshman/Sophomore 600m it was Katie O'Neil (1:51.0), Taylor Hennig (1:52.90) and Carley Knowles (1:56.30) running second, third and fifth. Then in the Freshman/Sophomore 1000m, Sarah Rubino (3:24.60), Tara DeAngelo (3:27.10) and Kelly Punturo (3:34.80) ran first, fourth and eight. An excellent early season effort for all of the girls that attended the meet.

The girls took Christmas morning off but were right back at practice on Friday morning for a workout before heading off to the Armory in Manhattan for the Tenth Annual Marine Corp Holiday Classic on Saturday. First up for the Trojans was the tandem of Emily Menges and Michelle Rotondo running against tough competition in the invitational 800 meter race. But true to their seedings they finished second and fourth with some terrific early season times of 2:14.82 for Emily and a personal indoor best of 2:17.93 for Michelle. The times also place the GC duo as #2 and #4 in the nation for the 800 meter run and qualifies them for the Nike Indoor Nationals in Boston.

Laura Martens pushes it on the second lap of her 400m. Then in the Open Sprint Medley Relay, the foursome of Emily Menges, Catherine Cafaro, Tara Mahon and Taryn Schmelzinger took second place with a time of 4:11.81. The time is a new school record, the US #2 for the season and also qualifies them for the Nike Nationals. Great job girls!

In the Freshman 4x400, the quartet of Katie O'Neill, Tara DeAngelo, Jenna DeAngelo and Carly Knowles went out fast and finished it even stronger, taking first by more than 8 seconds with a new meet record of 4:20.21. While in the Open 4x800, Liz Weber, Liz Slattery, Jenna DeAngelo and Chelsea Ripp ran a 10:07.74 for an eight place finish. Then Michelle Rotondo, Taryn Schmelzinger, Deanna Ceriano and Catherine Cafaro took ninth place with a time of 4:13.45 in the Open 4x400.

Chelsea Ripp running smooth in the relays. The girls are enjoying some early season success for head coach Erica Fregosi and assistants Tom Skrivanek and George Lucas and look forward to continuing it with the coming meets. Next up for this talented group is a conference cross over meet - a spot where the girls can continue their early season dominance and send a message to their conference competition. Good luck girls! Happy and Healthy New Year to all.

Liz Weber running a hard mile in the DMR.