Taylor Hennig runs the opening leg of the 4x400. The girls from Garden City have set very high expectations for themselves each of the past few seasons and they have not been disappointed with their results. They followed up their dominating Conference Championship this past week with their third consecutive County Championship. The team has several outstanding runners, but a championship is won with depth and overall team performances - and GC had both going for them at the County meet. Running against some stiff competition from Syosset and Hempstead, the girls stayed focused and produced a great team outcome. In a closer race than they would have liked, the Lady Trojans scored 73 points, 15 more than runner up Hempstead, to win the championship. As Coach Erica Fregosi said, 'it was a great meet and the girls did fantastic, as usual. They always seem to rise to the occasion.'

All County performances were turned in by many of the girls on the team as they scored points for the team and put Garden City in the top spot. Winning their events as County Champions were Molly Josephs in the 1500m walk, Emily Menges in the 3000m and the 4x400 relay team of Taylor Hennig, Catherine Cafaro, Laura Martens and Taryn Schmelzinger. Gaining All County recognition were Michelle Rotondo for second in the 1000m, Emily Menges for second in the 1500m, Catherine Cafaro for third in the 300m, and Jenna DeAngelo for third in the 600m. Also scoring points with a top six finish were the fourth place finish for the 4x200 relay team of Tara Mahon, Carly Knowles, Alexis Yeboah and Deanna Ceriano; Michelle Rotondo's fourth and fifth place finishes in the 55m hurdles and high jump, Liz Slattery's sixth place finish in the 1500m, Victoria Chimento's sixth place finish in the 600m, Taryn Schmelzinger's sixth place finish in the 55m dash and Taylor Hennig's sixth place finish in the 300m.

Taryn Schmelzinger anchors the winning 4x400. So the GC girl's track team has had quite a season, so far. They have won the Nassau County Class A and Conference Championships and have garnered numerous individual personal bests along the way. They are also currently ranked fourth in NY State by Armory Track, ranked #2 for girls track on Long Island in Newsday, they own eight top 10 performances in the national rankings and have several more performances that are in the top 20.

Laura Martens running a strong leg of the 4x400. Now it's on to the State qualifier and hopefully success at the State and National Meets!

When asked, coach Fregosi summed up the team and season - "...we (as a coaching staff and school community) are very proud of them and all of their accomplishments - both as individuals and as a team. We are extremely lucky to have such a hard working group of athletes who genuinely care about their sport, their teammates and their school." That last sentence says it all - Congratulations Coaches, Congratulations runners - you continually make Garden City proud!

Catherine Cafaro stretches the lead for the 4x400. Tara DeAngelo, Emily Menges, Jenna DeAngelo and Michelle Rotondo relax. Molly Josephs on her way to victory.