Cross Country Recap 2005

by Maria Pomponio 1-15-2006

The Wantagh High School boys and girls varsity cross country teams entered the 2005 season with high hopes and great expectations.  Under the leadership of devoted Coach Hedgecock and senior captains Michelle Warburton, Chris Castellano and Jared Koreff, it was predicted that the boys and girls teams would surely be ones to watch.  For the boy’s team, it would take a lot of hard work from the few un-injured members to pull through the difficult meets with runners out to injury.

Official team practices began in late August.  The top 7 members from early on in the season had the opportunity to run at the prestigious Guilderland Invitational in Tawasentha Park, in upstate New York.  The girls took home 3rd place overall while the boys stunned the competition with their aggressive running to bring them to their impressive 1st place finish.

The girls won all of the 13 dual meets, while the boys only lost one, which was to the intense Lynbrook team.  In the Conference Championship meet, the top 7 girls ran the varsity race and all finished in the top 22, leading them to the title of Conference Champions.  The boy’s last finisher crossed the line in 21st place. That and all finishes before it brought them to 2nd place in the Conference, behind 1st place Lynbrook. Circumstances may have been different for the boys had it not been for the amount of injuries on the team.  Freshman Tommy Clark who was expected to be a great asset to the team severely injured his leg pre-season and could not compete.  Big brother and junior Adam Clark ran this meet with an injury sustained during a dual meet with Lynbrook.  Senior Greg Weber, another important factor to the boy’s success, twisted his ankle periodically during the season and could not run in the Conference meet either.

In the JV Conference race, Maureen Leninger and Jaime DeMartini led the girl’s race as the top 2 finishers.  Emily Monaco placed 8th while Maria Pomponio and Alanna Rohan crossed the line .3 seconds apart to place 10th and 11th, respectively.  They were followed by 13th, 17th, and 20th place finishes by Natalie Daurio, Aline Heffernan, and Valerie Madden.  For the boys, Chris Lewis crossed the line first for Wantagh and 4th in the race.  Billy Walsh, Luke Milano, Brian Weber, and Pat Christophel placed one after the other taking spots 9 thru 12.  Jared Koreff, Adam Berger, Chris Davidson, Ryan Akley, Adam Redler, and Pat Heffernan crossed the line to finish in 14th, 18th, 33rd, 60th, 76th, and 87th, respectively.

At the highly anticipated County Championship, the girls came in 6th place overall.  Michelle Warburton came in 20th place, Colleen Aldrich came in 53rd, Devon Katz came in 65th, closely followed by Caitlyn McDonald who came in 68th.  Katie Ciasullo, Daria Kowalik, and Kat Leninger (who ran with an injury that is now keeping her out of Winter and possibly Spring Track), rounded out the top 7 girls finishing in 76th, 82nd, and 119th places, respectively.  The boys again showed their astonishing talent by finishing 3rd overall in the country.  Chris Castellano led the Warriors by finishing in 16th place.  Quimes Dela Cruz placed 36th, with Brian Richman not too far behind coming in 39th place.  Andrew Coelho, Andrew Stoecker, Greg Weber, and Chris Kaminski finished in 54th, 55th, 110th, and 111th places.  Weber ran with his ankle not fully recovered from his past injuries, and Kaminski ran with a fresh injury, showing how dedicated they are to their team to let not even an injury hold them back.

The girl’s team continues to finish strong season after season, and as Conference Champions.  The boys get closer to that championship every year.  Both teams show promise for the future, with the help of returning runners and incoming talented freshmen.  Next years runners have big shoes to fill as 13 seniors who have contributed immensely to the success of Wantagh Cross Country and who will be missed, go off to college.  Boys co-captain Chris Castellano says, “I hope that Wantagh will continue to produce dedicated, successful athletes in the future.  Also, I'm confident that returning runners will take everything they've learned from Coach Hedgecock and the seniors, and assume responsibiltiy, show great character, and lead by example.”  Co-captain Jared Koreff says, The future for Wantagh Cross Country has great potential.  We have many incredible underclassmen that may become some of the best runners in Nassau County by their senior years.”    

 The task lies with the veteran and new up-coming runners.  The girls task- to carry on their legacy as Conference Champions.  The boys task will be to win the Conference and be named champions, a title they have desereved for years now.  Those aren’t just options for next years cross country team either; those are obligations.

 

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