GA Girls XC Win with a Perfect Score!
by Kellyn Nolan ’05
Academy Edition Reporter"The perfect
season," was what sophmore Nikki Fenilli said as she looked back on the GA girls
cross country teams’ accomplishments in the past few months. She was right. The team
went 12 and 2, winning both the state and interac championships. To top it all off, GA
beat PC today with a perfect score.
At last year’s GA/PC day meet, the GA girls’ cross
country team just barely won the meet by one point, but this year the score wasn’t
even close. GA won 15 to 41, sweeping the top five. Freshman Jenna Washabaugh won with a
time of 20:45, closely followed by Nikki Finelli 21:34, captain Steph Spada 22:08, and
Ashley Palmer 22:10. PC’s top runner, Holly Alderman, finished sixth with a time of
22:13.
Not only did freshman Jenna Washabaugh finish first, she also
won the Alumni Society Award which was given to her by GA’s amazing cross country
runner Steph Will of GA class ’00.
Despite all of the accomplishments, the meet was still
bittersweet. It was the seniors’ last GA cross country meet ever. Ashley Palmer,
Ashley Miller, Liane Slaughter, captains Steph Spada, and Meaghan Seelaus, and manager
Erica Towey have all had a huge impact on the team. They will be missed by all of the
underclassmen for their strong running and support.
The GA girls’ cross country season really has been
perfect. Captain Steph Spada said earlier in the season that the team, "looked
forward to kicking some butt!" and they really have.
Pre-game Report
Cross-Country Teams Seem Unstoppable
PATRIOT GIRLS by Kellyn Nolan ’05
Although GA’s girls’ cross
country team may have the smallest audience of all the GA fall sports teams, the audience
number in no way correlates to the team’s success. The GA Girls’ cross country
team has proven that they are strong enough to beat some of the most competitive teams in
the area, no matter what the conditions are. Rain or shine, injuries or good health, the
girls have run amazingly and have a 10-2 record to show for their efforts. Not only does
the team boast a terrific record, they also won the state championships for the second
consecutive year, and they have every intention of beating PC again on GA/PC Day.
There is some uncertainty about how many times GA
has beaten PC this year, but the team is certain about one thing: they will beat PC on
November 9, 2002. Head coach Krouse expressed the spirit of the entire team when she said,
"I’m really confident since we’ve already defeated PC three times this
season. The GA/PC Day meet should be a great final meet for the seniors, especially since
we are running on our home course." Captain Steph Spada was obviously thinking along
the same lines as Coach Krouse when she said, "We’ve already beaten PC four
times, and we have every intention of beating them on PC day. The girls’ cross
country team looks forward to kicking some butt!"
Although in the literal sense the girls probably
won’t kick up anything but dirt, the team knows how to run well. The team this year
also has a great amount of depth. GA’s top finisher Jenna Washabaugh is only a
freshman, and she is already approaching the GA course record (20:25) with a personal best
of 20:38. Close behind Jenna, the next seven girls, including Nikki Finelli, Lindsey Pete,
Steph Spada, Ashley Palmer, Bevin Reilly, and Trisha Kelly who all tend to finish within
two minutes of her.
The team hopes that the race is not
as close as last year, when GA just squeezed by Penn Charter with one point to spare, but
they still guarantee a fun meet. The race begins at 10:00 AM, by the track at GA. The
course is 3.1 miles, and winds around the fields and through the woods. The girls are
grateful for the cheers, so please come out and support them. The girls’ cross
country team is confident of a win against PC.
Originally published in the Academy Edition, 11.08.02 |
