Starting the 2015 season ranked as the No. 7 team in New York (according to Milesplit NY) is a nice compliment to this year’s squad but, in reality, means nothing compared to where the team ends the season. With last year’s top 10 runners returning, and with that group rising from unranked to finishing sixth at the New York State Championship meet last year, they all know that their fate is in their own hands this year.
And so it was in this context that the East Arrows unofficially opened their season with the annual RGBW Scrimmage this past Saturday on the Tom Toscano Cross Country Course at Sachem East. Sporting colorful and elaborate uniforms (capes, tiaras, face paint, and more!) the Red, Gold, Black, White, and Rainbow squads faced off on the Robert McNeill freshman course (1.5 miles). The racing was intense and closely contested, with the final result coming down to the 6th person tie breaker rule.
With All-State Harrier Alex DeCicco being held out for bigger meets to come, fellow All-State senior Val Romero led the race from start to finish, breaking the tape in 9:26. She was followed closely by All-County returnees Rachel Ruggiero, Jillian Manfredi, Ciara Murphy, and Caitlin O’Hehir, as all 5 broke 10 minutes (the first time in Sachem East history that has been done at the annual team scrimmage). Shayna Arrigo, Tiffany Ly, Lauren Harris, Karli Murphy, Kaitlyn Veigl, newcomer freshman Lindsay Dodenhoff, Kaylie Wessberg, Chelsea Benedict, and Rachel Semetsis all finished under 11 minutes, with an additional 8 runners breaking 12 minutes, as East had a record 56 finishers in this annual event. Milesplit New York had last year’s team ranked as the 2nd deepest in New York State, and this year’s squad appears even deeper.
In the midst of all that, a spirited race was taking place, with the Black team edging the Red team in a 57 to 57 tie broken by Black’s 6th finisher-freshman Emma Lange- who crossed the line ahead of the 6th place finisher on the Red team.
Sachem East will open it’s “official” season with a home dual meet against Lindenhurst at 4:00 on Tuesday. The League 2 schedule will be supplemented by a very competitive Invitational schedule that will allow the squad to compete against the best in New York and the Northeast region in order to prepare for the Championship season. This year’s schedule includes the upstate Queensbury and Burnt Hills Invitationals, and also the Villa Bears and Manhattan Invitationals held at historic Van Cortlandt Park.
-Submitted by the Sachem East coaching staff