League title for Sachem East girls cross country

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In a match up of undefeated squads, Sachem East was able to take advantage of its front running quartet of Rachel Ruggiero, Lindsey Dodenhoff, Melissa Merone, and Lauren Harris to notch a victory over Sachem North and win its fourth consecutive league Title. Strong performances by Kaitlyn Famiglietti and Shayna Arrigo closed out the win.

The League II title wraps up an impressive three-week streak that has seen the Lady Arrows rise to #11 in the New York State Rankings after some eye-catching performances in two major invitationals. On October 8th the East squad competed in the Girls Eastern States Championship Race at Van Cortlandt Park, placing ninth overall, and finishing ahead of a number of top teams in the process.

img_3721With 20 outstanding programs from nine States in the race (including the No. 1 ranked programs from five States), East was able to edge the top-ranked teams from Maryland and Rhode Island, but fell to the No. 1 squads from Delaware, Vermont, and New York. The race was won by NY and US No. 1 Fayettville-Manlius, with NY No. 3 and US No. 10 North Rockland taking 2nd.

That performance was followed by a third place finish at the Burnt Hills Invitational held at Saratoga State Park on Oct 15 where East was edged by Vermont No. 1 Champlain Valley, and NY #6 Niskayuna. Top East performers were Lindsey Dodenhoff (4th-18:16), Rachel Ruggiero (7th- 18:22), Lauren Harris (19:03), Melissa Merone (19:27), Shayna Arrigo (19:40), Kaitlyn Famiglietti (19:48), Chelsea Benedict (20:12), and Margaret Atwood (20:45). Caitlin O’Hehir, MacKenzie Murphy, and Emily Venturi also turned in superior performances.

Championship season begins next Tuesday with the Division Championship Meet, followed 9 days later by the Suffolk County Championship (which also serves as the State Qualifier). Sachem East will be challenged by NYS No. 13 Ward Melville, NYS No. 18 Bay Shore, NYS No. 23 Eastport-South Manor, and ranked squads from Smithtown and Sachem North for the one and only qualifying spot at the New York State championship meet on November 12.