Girls’ Cross Country

Recaps

Peddie - 11/13/04
On a day that was typical of Peddie days in recent years - clear, windy and cold - the Bucs faced off against their counterparts from Hightstown at halftime of the football game. With senior Jess Young sidelined by an ankle injury Blair knew they were the underdogs in the race but they ran with heart in dueling with individuals from Peddie. Gina Giuricich went head-to-head with Peddie’s second runner, losing by less than a second on a sprint down the finish line, while Brooke Gates finished comfortably in front of a Peddie girl who had defeated her in the MAPL race earlier in the week. Chrissy Devenny finished as Blair’s third runner (seventh overall), her highest team finish of the year, by also placing in front of two Peddie runners who had beaten her at the MAPL meet. Claire McConnell came in right behind Chrissy, followed by Sasha Ewan who earned her first top five team finish of the year. Sasha set another personal best by twenty two seconds in her final high school race. Lauren Haselton and Evie Tilney rounded out Blair’s varsity seven for the day. Three JV runners also finished well, with Tessa Rubel and Lindsey Ciresa running personal bests and Leila Howard finishing her second 5000 meter race of the year in fine fashion. Peddie ultimately prevailed 23 - 32 to bring Blair’s season to a close with a 6 - 3 dual meet record.

MAPL Meet - 11/10/04
Blair traveled to Hightstown, New Jersey to compete for the MAPL championship over the Peddie School’s golf course. The injury-depleted Bucs - three of the seven varsity runners sat out the race - finished in fifth place, with Evie Tilney stepping up to join Gina Giuricich, Brooke Gates, Chrissy Devenny and Sasha Ewan on the varsity squad. Peddie’s course - two nearly identical loops - is flat and fast, and the Blair girls used the opportunity to run their best times of the season. Gina finished fifth overall to earn an individual medal, while Brooke ran a minute and a half faster over the course than she had in last year’s race to place eleventh. Running in the MAPL varsity race for the first time, Chrissy and Sasha both ran their career fastest 5000 meter times. Two Blair girls, Bobbie Harewood and Lindsey Ciresa, ran in the junior varsity race, with Bobbie running her 5000 meter PR by 1:45 and Lindsey, returning from an ankle injury, improving by 1:50 over her previous best time.

States - 11/3/04
As it has done for well over a decade, Blair hosted the New Jersey State Prep championships on its home course. Four races - boys’ and girls’ races in both the A and B Divisions - went off every half hour, culminating in the A Division girls’ competition at 3:30. Blair’s varsity seven joined 71 runners from 11 other schools in an exciting, competitive race, ultimately finishing fifth overall. Gina Giuricich led the team with a sixth place finish in 20:56, her best time in five races at home this season. As she did at the dual meet against Lawrenceville, Gina ran head to head with Lawrenceville’s number one runner; unlike in that meet, though, Gina was able to break free during a final sprint down the football field and finish in front of her counterpart by the slimmest of margins. Blair’s number two finisher, Brooke Gates, lowered her PR by twenty three seconds and looks forward to breaking through the 22:00 barrier at the final home contest against Peddie next week. Third for Blair was Jess Young, setting a PR by fourteen seconds, followed by Claire McConnell who PR’d by 34 seconds. Blair’s fifth runner, Chrissy Devenny, cut an astounding 1:19 from her previous best time to indicate the she will be a force to be reckoned with over the next three years. Sasha Ewan, Blair’s sixth runner, also cut more than a minute from her previous best time and is clearly peaking as we head into the final week of the season. Lauren Haselton, unfortunately, saw her hip injury flare up again; after starting fast and racing well through two miles, she slowed over the final third of the race.

Lawrenceville- 10/23/04
Blair faced the Lawrenceville School in front of a Parents’ Day crowd on a glorious fall afternoon in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The running was as brilliant as the leaves on the trees, with the Bucs determined to defeat their opponents for the first time ever. Gina Giuricich went head to head with Lawrenceville’s number one runner, Hayley Inman, while Brooke Gates and Jess Young dueled with Lawrenceville’s Amanda Scheer and Alice Grant for third through sixth place. Meanwhile, Blair’s pack of Claire McConnell, Chrissy Devenny and Lauren Haselton mixed it up with Lawrenceville’s four, five and six runners. Despite a courageous effort by the team – each of Blair’s varsity seven ran her fastest ever five kilometer race – Lawrenceville ultimately prevailed by a score of 23 – 34. Of particular note, also, is the return to action of Evie Tilney after over a year of chronic injuries that prevented her from competing since the fall of 2002. Despite today’s loss, which brought the team’s record to 6 – 2, the Bucs are confident that they can compete with the best teams in the Prep League in the upcoming State Championship Meet.

Newark Academy - 10/20/04
Blair defeated Newark Academy 17 - 46 on a cool, overcast day that seemed more fitting for late November than the middle of October. Blair ran a strong race, with Brooke Gates cutting nearly forty seconds from her personal best and Sasha Ewan also setting another personal record. Gina Giuricich led the Bucs, as she has in every race this season, with her best time of the year, followed in order by Brooke, Jess Young, Claire McConnell, Chrissy Devenny, Lauren Haselton and Sasha. Lauren and junior varsity finishers Bobbie Harewood and Tessa Rubel all overcame varying degrees of discomfort in their hips and knees and look ready to run in the upcoming dual meet with Lawrenceville.

Stuart Country Day, Hun and Rutgers Prep - 10/16/04
It was cold, damp and raw by the time runners from Blair and three visiting schools - Stuart Country Day, Hun and Rutgers Prep - squared off in front of a large Parents’ Day crowd in Blairstown. Stuart’s Emily Driscoll, the defending State Prep B champion, ran a fine race to lead her team to a 25 - 30 victory, handing the Bucs their first dual meet loss of the season. Blair did defeat Rutgers Prep and Hun by scores of 23 - 35 and 15 - 47, respectively, to improve their overall mark to 5 - 1. Gina Giuricich led all Blair runners, followed by Claire McConnell, Brooke Gates, Lauren Haselton, Chrissy Devenny, Sasha Ewan and Erica Parra. Despite some confusion near the finish line, Claire cut nearly thirty seconds from her previous best time. Chrissy Devenny also ran an excellent race, closing a significant gap and passing Stuart’s fifth runner over the final three-quarter mile loop. Tessa Rubel, though finishing out of the varsity seven, ran her personal best time and appears ready to challenge for a varsity spot.

Hill - 10/13/04
Blair improved to 3-0 by defeating the Hill School of Pottstown, Pa. on a bright, sunny day in Blairstown. Blair’s first three runners, Gina Giuricich, Jess Young and Brooke Gates, ensured victory for the team by finishing in front of Hill’s number one runner. Four Blair runners - Claire McConnell, Chrissy Devenny, Sasha Ewan and Tessa Rubel - ran personal bests, with Chrissy Devenny notably placing in the varsity seven for the first time this year.

Gill St. Bernard’s and Morris Catholic - 10/6/04
Wednesday, October 6th was a perfect day for cross country, with the temperature in the high 50’s on a cloudless, brilliantly sunny afternoon. Blair opened its dual meet season against Gill St. Bernard’s and Morris Catholic, racing over our home course for the first of six times this year. With Gina Giuricich leading the way and a strong pack right behind her, Blair won both races by scores of 15-48 versus Gill St. Bernards and 15-50 versus Morris Catholic. Blair’s freshman team also ran well, with Lindsey Ciresa, Tessa Rubel, Bobbie Harewood and Leila Howard all running under 30 minutes.

Shore Coaches Invitational - 10/2/04
Two hundred thirty-three girls toed the line at Holmdel Park for the Varsity E race at the Shore Coaches Invitational on Saturday, October 2nd. Blair’s varsity seven got out quickly to avoid being boxed in going up the first hill, ran hard on the flat and to the bottom of the bowl, and recovered after climbing the bowl to finish the race well. Due to a computer error two of Blair’s first three girls were not counted in the team scoring so the team’s official finish (28th) does not accurately reflect its standing. The team’s five-girl average of 23:17 was an improvement of 21 seconds over last year’s squad, and six of the seven girls ran their personal bests over the course. Blair’s first girl, Gina Giuricich, ran 21:39 to slice 1:15 from her previous mark, while Blair’s third runner, Brooke Gates improved her time by 51 seconds and the sixth runner, Sasha Ewan, came down a full 2:03. Jess Young ran very well to place second for Blair, with Claire McConnell, Lauren Haselton and Erica Parra rounding out the varsity team. Earlier in morning Blair fielded a full freshman team for the first time ever in the Girls’ Frosh B race. Bobbie Harewood led Tessa Rubel, Lindsey Ciresa, Leila Howard and Spencer Eckis to a fifth place finish over the two-mile course.

Canterbury Invitational - 9/25/04
The 32nd Canterbury Invitational was held under sunny skies in 75^o weather at the Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut. Thirty schools, including most of the best-known boarding school in New England, sent teams to the race, so a total of 168 girls lined up for the opening surge across the soccer field. The race wound through the picturesque campus and, as usual, included one of the most intimidating and challenging hills the girls will race over during their high school careers. Brooke Gates and Gina Giuricich ran with abandon right from the start, enabling each of them to cut more than two minutes from their previous best times over the course. Gina finished the race in 20:58, good for sixth place overall, to earn a medal for her top-ten finish. Claire McConnell, Lauren Haselton and Erica Parra, racing at Canterbury for the first time, ran conservatively to the top of the hill and so were able to make up many places during the final mile of the race. Jess Young ran a tough and strategically sound race, while Sasha Ewan continued to cut significant time from her five kilometer pace. The girls finished 10th overall with a team score of 244 points.

Newark Invitational - 9/18/04
Blair girls ran in the 27th annual Newark Academy Invitational over a 3.0 mile course winding through Newark Academy’s campus in Livingston, New Jersey. Hurricane Ivan had drenched the course with over four inches of rain through the early morning, but the skies had begun to clear when the races began at 10:00 A.M. In the first race, for junior varsity runners, four Blair girls took part, including Chrissy Devenny, who finished first, Tessa Rubel (4th), Lindsey Ciresa (5th) and Bobbie Harewood (10th). Eight full teams competed in the varsity race forty-five minutes later, with the Blair girls finishing third, just one point behind second place Mount St. Dominic’s. Blair’s first runner was Gina Guiricich (4th), who was followed across the line by captain Brooke Gates (9th), Jess Young (14th), Claire McConnell (20th), Lauren Haselton (23rd ), Erica Parra (36th) and Sasha Ewan (49th). For finishing among the top twenty runners, Gina, Brooke, Jess and Claire were awarded individual medals at the awards ceremony following the race.

Randolph Race - 9/10/04
The Blair girls opened the season at 6:30 P.M. on September 10th, a beautiful sunny evening, in Freedom Park at the Randolph Invitational in Randolph, New Jersey. The two-loop course took the team through rolling hills, across athletics fields, and in and out of wooded paths, before ending on a flat section of a soccer field. Blair finished second out of five teams with 52 points. Varsity finishers included Gina Giuricich (2nd), Brooke Gates (5th), Jessica Young (8th), Lauren Haselton (15th), Claire McConnell (22nd), Erica Parra (26th) and Sasha Ewan (30th).

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