Our Hometown
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NHS Girls win championship At the start of the Wayne-Finger Lakes Cross Country season, there was no clear-cut favorite to win the Girls' League title. Victor was expected to defend their League title fiercely. Canandaigua and Waterloo were considered to be the main challengers and few coaches gave the Newark Reds much of a chance.
'Everyone in the Section knows Erin and Arnanda,' said coach Joe Contario. They were both All-Section V last year and have won a great many big races and Erin is the defending League champion. No one knew that we had other girls who could run with them.' At last year's Sectionals, Erin was 2nd to Honeoye Falls-Lima's Allison Snyder, now at Georgetown, and Amanda was sixth. Two of Newark's secret weapons were freshmen Christine Seppeler and Angie Washburn. 'Although Christine ran on the Varsity last year as an 8th grader, she wasn't able to compete at the Sectionals. In the spring, she's a pitcher on the softball team, so other coaches overlooked her,' explained Contario. 'Angie was on our modified team. Although she had a good season, no one expected her to run like she has been. It's been a pleasant surprise!' The Reds were also returning a full squad from last year. Juniors Breille Benge and Katrina Maloy and sophomore Lacie Urban were coming off great track seasons and junior Jadzia Biskupska put in a full summer of training preparing for the fall campaign. Add newcomer Brittany Burgess into the mix, and Newark was the most improved team in the League. 'Without Seppeler, we were 6th at last year's Sectionals, so I think that people just discounted us. The truth is that, with Christine, we would have been third.' Despite several challenges, the Reds finished the regular season undefeated at 22-0. At Saturday's League Championships, Newark beat the other team, again to up their over-all record to 44-0. Erin Daly successfully defended her title, outracing Waterloo's LeAnn Donnelly to the line in 20:13. Amanda Leeuwen was 3rd in 20:51, improving her 1998 place by one spot. Washburn and Seppeler came in at l0th and 13th, respectively. All four earned All-League honors for their efforts. Newark's next finisher was Brittany Burgess in 41st place. Katrina Maloy, Jadzia Biskupska, and Lacie Urban followed closely in 59th, 64th, and 65th out of about 200 runners. 'We had a little bad luck. Breille Senge, who had been our fifth runner was injured, and Katrina Maloy is just coming back from an injury. The heat really hurt her,' explained Contario. 'Brittany really came through.' The team will compete in the Section V Championships on Saturday at Marcus Whitman High School. The Reds will have a tough time adding the Sectional crown to their season's achievements. Honeoye Falls - Lima is the #1 ranked girls team in the State and is currently the #8 team, regardless of school size in the northeast United States. Contario said, 'It will be difficult to beat HF-L, but I really think that we can give them a run for their money. Our girls have worked hard. They rise to the occasion.' Copyright © 1999 |
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What they didn't know, however, was that the Reds were
on a mission to win the League title for the first time since the '80's. Leading the way
were sophomore Erin Daly and senior Amanda Leeuwen.