Mount cross country fourth at AACA meet

Posted 10/24/16

Freshman Lauren Ehnow was the number two runner for the Mount at the Catholic Academies championships last week. (Photo by Tom Utescher) by Tom Utescher There are no superstars on Mount St. Joseph …

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Mount cross country fourth at AACA meet

Posted

Freshman Lauren Ehnow was the number two runner for the Mount at the Catholic Academies championships last week. (Photo by Tom Utescher) Freshman Lauren Ehnow was the number two runner for the Mount at the Catholic Academies championships last week. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

There are no superstars on Mount St. Joseph Academy's cross country team this fall, but with solid running in the middle of the pack, the Magic finished a little better than the middle of the pack at the 2016 Athletic Association of Catholic Academies championships last week.

The Mount, which was AACA runner-up in 2014 and 2015, placed fourth among the eight league teams this year with 110 points. Junior Jen DeGroat led the Mounties and placed 12h overall with a time of 20 minutes, 46.08 seconds at Tyler State Park outside of Newtown. Also making the top 20 for the Magic were freshman Lauren Ehnow, who was 18th in 21:08.42, and junior Mollie Mullen, who was one place and one second behind in 21:09.42.

The other scorers were senior Kelly Ward (21:58.84) and junior Jade Killion (22:41.13), who snagged places 28 and 33, respectively. The other two varsity entries for Mount St. Joe were two freshmen, Maeve Gallagher (40th; 23:48.89) and Erin Mirabella (42nd; 24:06.63).

The three teams ahead of Mount St. Joseph all scored within a seven-point range. Country Day School of the Sacred Heart locked up the top three places and also secured the 13th spot, but their number five didn't enter the finishing chute until a good while later, placing 38th. That allowed Nazareth Academy, with all of its five scorers in the top 20, to win the 2016 title with 53 points, while Sacred Heart put up 58 and defending champ Villa Joseph Marie was a close third, with 60 points.

Following the Mount in the team standings were fifth place Villa Maria (114 points), St. Basil's (149), Gwynedd Mercy (180), and Merion Mercy (191).

One area in which the Mount excelled was in coping with temperatures in the mid 80's, quite warm for a three-mile race. The well-hydrated Mounties remained standing at the finish, while a number of their rivals collapsed onto the grass after crossing the line.

"We had practice on Sunday because there was an open house at school," related MSJ head coach Kitty McClernand. "We didn't practice on Monday, but knowing how hot it was going to be, I told the girls that all they needed to do Monday was drink, drink, drink water."

In the race on Tuesday, the Lions of Sacred Heart proved that there was more to their team than junior Emma Seifried, the individual league champion in 2014 and 2015. Seifried, her sister Hannah, and freshman Kayleigh Doyle went right to the front and stayed there. The youngster actually won the race in 19:23.21, while Emma Seifried was runner-up in 19:29.89 and Hannah placed third in 19:31.94.

Abby Zwall, who was part of Villa Joseph Marie's outstanding freshman class a year ago, took fourth in 20:01.88, then Nazareth began laying the foundation for its eventual victory with fifth and sixth-place performances by senior Taylor Neals (20:02.23) and sophomore Anna Featherstone (20:03.49).

While Sacred Heart had the three fastest runners and put their number four in 13th place, Nazareth was able to carry the day by limiting the size of the gaps between their five scorers.

Mount St. Joe's leader, DeGroat, will be back for another go next year, and there was just one senior among the seven Magic runners in the 2016 varsity race. This was Ward, who is team co-captain this season along with her classmate Caroline Kardish.

However, other league teams are relatively young, as well, and there were only three seniors among the top 20 finishers at Tyler last week.

Mount mentor McClernand suggested, "We might do a camp next summer. We did that in the past but we haven't done it the last two years. That can help the girls organize their workouts and give us a jump start for next season."

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