October 26, 2006 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Online Editor Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or ©2006 Chestnut Hill Local Winner of One |
Perri prevails, Mount places third at AACA Champs
Unchallenged, as usual, a familiar, elfin figure approached the finish line approached the finish line last Wednesday at the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies Cross Country Championships. Mount St. Joseph Academy ninth-grader Tori Perri covered the 3.1-mile course at Bucks County’s Tyler State Park in 19 minutes and 2.4 seconds to win the league meet, adding an exclamation point to her undefeated dual-meet season in the AACA. Following the freshman across the line were three other runners in the 19-minute bracket: sophomore Colleen Gilmore (19:30) and senior Kathleen Davies (19:32) of St. Basil Academy, and junior Kelly McEldrew (19:50) of Gwynedd Mercy. The temperature for the race was unseasonably warm, in the 70’s, but Perri pointed out “I like the warm weather. I felt really good and I had a good race today.” The pace might have been faster if not for the downpours that had saturated the area on Tuesday, causing the meet to be postponed one day and making for poor footing on parts of the course. “It was really slippery,” Perri affirmed. “In some places there were wet leaves on top of the slippery spots, but that’s part of cross country.” The St. Basil Panthers, who also had senior Christina Morelli (20:25) capture sixth place, won the team championship with 29 points, while Gwynedd, which saw senior Jill Buck (20:04) place fifth overall, was the runner-up squad with 42. Mount upperclassman Chelsea Clark (20:43) came in tenth and junior Sarah Collier (20:53) placed 13th for the Magic, who garnered 61 points to finish third in the team standings. Merion Mercy Academy was fourth with 115 points, Villa Joseph Maire was a close fifth with 118, and Nazareth Academy was sixth, with 167. This was the first official AACA championship meet in the sport; the six aforementioned schools formerly competed within the Bicentennial Athletic League for many years. Sacred Heart and Villa Maria, AACA members in most sports, have not yet come into the fold in cross country. At the 2005 BAL meet, the only non-AACA school which was a major factor in the race was Christopher Dock, whose top three runners placed first, sixth, and twelfth. The second-place runner last year was Gwynedd Mercy’s Liz Kearins (then a junior), but she transferred to another school later in the same academic year. St. Basil’s Morelli was the highest returning finisher, having come in third in 2005, but this fall the consolidated AACA field saw the emergence of two talented youngsters, Perri and the Panthers’ Gilmore. In the league dual meets, Perri had beaten Gilmore but had not faced Morelli, Davies, or Gwynedd’s McEldrew, who had all been out with injuries when their respective teams raced the Mount. The Magic’s freshman standout knew she’d encounter tougher competition at the championship event. “I knew that they’re really, really good runners and they’ve had some great seasons,” she said. “I was just excited to come in and match up to some of the best runners around. I figured whatever happens, happens; I just go out and try to have fun.” About three quarters of a mile into the race, Perri already had a 20-yard lead on her closest rival. She would continue to widen the gap throughout the race, running easily, but at the same time, not letting up. “I wasn’t really looking back, but I could hear from the cheers that the other girls were back there,” she related. They were far enough back by the end of the race that Perri crossed the line pretty much on her own. While she may be alone at the front in many of her races, her enthusiastic, cheerful personality has helped her fit right in on the Mount St. Joe’s team. Perri possesses a special talent in her chosen sport, but she points out that “The Mount has people who excel everywhere, especially in academics. We have some great smart girls, and I’m just happy to be a part of the school.” The Mount was the top team in the JV race at the AACA championships, outdistancing runner-up St. Basil, 23 points to 48. Gwynedd’s Carolyn Keen won with a time of 21:41, and Mount St. Joe put five runners in the top seven: Liz Welsh (2nd/22:01), Brionna O’Connor (3rd/22:06), Genevieve O’Mara (5th/22:13), Erica Braun (6th/22:14), and Alex Zanetti (7th/22:45). VARSITY RESULTS MSJ Tori Perri 19:02.4 SBA Colleen Gilmore 19:30 SBA Kathleen Davies 19:32 GMA Kelly McEldrew 19:50 GMA Jill Buck 20:04 SBA Christina Morelli 20:25 SBA Rachel Morelli 20:28 GMA Erin Mee 20:34 GMA Kassie Keen 20:39 MSJ Chelsea Clark 20:43 SBA Liz Barrett 20:46 MMA Carolyn Sciblo 20:48 MSJ Sarah Collier 20:53 VJM Katie Brady 20:56 VJM Caitlin McDonald 20:58 GMA Jessica Drewicz 21:04 SBA Katie Barrett 21:10 MSJ Becky Tate 21:14 MSJ Emma Pacheco 21:15 MSJ Meghan Cheek 21:28 MSJ Casey Lumpkin 21:31 |
