Sachem East Girls XC Aiming for Third County Title in Four Years

After winning two straight Suffolk County Cross Country titles, last year’s squad was edged-out by Ward Melville to finish second in Suffolk County, but rebounded to finish 13th at the New York State Federation Championships and 11th at Nike Regionals. Will that rebound continue into the 2017 season?

With only one varsity point-scorer lost to graduation – Lauren Harris – prospects for a strong season are high. Gains made during track seasons added to this optimism.

Summer training went well. Really well. And with all that in mind, coaches Dan Schaub and Pete McNeill marked the date in the calendar: September 2, the date of the annual RGBW (Red, Gold, Black, White) intra-squad scrimmage.

The event that, every year, serves as a very accurate preview for the upcoming season. The date that would answer many questions, and raise many more.

On September 2, RGBW Captains gathered their teams to begin their warm-ups. Margaret Atwood had her Gold Team looking like killer bees. Rachel Ruggiero’s Rainbow squad was wearing – what else – tie dye shirts. Selvie Chhabra led the lifeguard-attired red squad. Shayna Arrigo and the white team were looking sharp in their white outfits and white war paint. And Caitlin O’Hehir’s black squad was wearing, well, just what exactly was that outfit anyway? Yes, all great fun!

Bottom line, how were the results? Very impressive. Huge improvements by many veterans, school records for the most finishers in almost all performance categories, and the fastest five person average of all-time. There were 42 finishers under 13 minutes on the 1.5 mile course with 58 total finishers overall. Sub 11-minute performers are listed below.

RGBW was a great way to start what will definitely be an exciting season. Ward Melville and Bay Shore should be the Lady Arrows biggest challengers in Suffolk County, but Sachem East has an extremely competitive schedule that will allow them to face many of the top teams in New York and New England.

Highlighting the schedule will be two trips to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx (for the Villa Bears Invitational and the Manhattan College Invitational) and a trip up to Rochester to compete against some of the best upstate programs at the McQuaid Invitational.

Time will tell just how far into the postseason this group can go.

RGBW sub 11 minute Performers

  • Lindsay Dodenhoff
  • Rachel Ruggiero
  • Katie Famiglietti
  • Bridget Abraldes
  • Cait O’Hehir
  • Shayna Arrigo
  • Angela Consolazio
  • Mellisa Merone
  • Rachel Weber
  • Margeret Atwood
  • Mackenzie Murphy
  • Chelsea Benedict
  • Juliana Grillo
  • Jess Schaeffer
  • Allysa Cortes
  • Sabrina Mena
  • Emily Venturi