LADY EAGLES LOOK AHEAD
... the rebuilding process went well
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DENVILLE - The way Morris Knolls High School girls cross country coach
Jim Feehan sees it, "... inexperience finally caught up with us," at
the NJSIAA's Group 4 Girls Championships at Holmdel Park on Saturday,
Nov. 14.
The Lady Eagles were 16th in the field of 20, short of the top ten finish that Feehan had envisioned for his team.
"Going in, I thought a top-ten finish was a reasonable goal,"
Feehan says. "But we had a few girls run who weren't feeling all that
well on the day of the race and that affected their performances, too.
"But I told the girls even before we left the school to go to
Holmdel, that the group race would not define our season ... we might
not have had a very good day at the group meet, but we still had a very
successful season for a team that is rebuilding."
The Lady Eagles finished the season with one senior, two sophomores and four freshmen in their top seven spots.
Morris Knolls had a 10-3 dual meet season to finish third in the
Northwest Jersey Athletic Conferences American Division behind team
champ Randolph (13-1) and Roxbury (12-2).
The Lady Eagles also placed third at the Shore Invitational; won
the Lancer Invitational; finished fourth in the county meet; and placed
third in the North 1, Group 4 sectional meet.
Diana D'Achille, the only senior on the squad, was the first Lady
Eagle to cross the finish line in the group meet, placing 33rd in a
field of 149 runners with a time of 2:24.00 for her last varsity race.
"Diana had a great deal of success for us not only this year but
throughout her other season," Feehan says. "She leaves with a few
school records, too."
D'Achille set a Freedom Park (Randolph) course record of 18:33 this
past season, surpassing the old record of 18:40 that had been set by
Lauren Gregory. D'Achille's 19:20 at Warnako Park earlier in the season is also
a school record, breaking the former mark of 19:31 that had been set by Tori
Berard.
The Lady Eagles who ran the Group 3 meet who are coming back next arfalle freshman Julia Strother (68th, 21:04.89), sophomore Alyssa
Brindle (79th, 21:14.67), freshman Heather Weick (123rd, 22:33.28),
freshman Priscilla Ortiz (22:43.88), sophomore Kiki Baldassari (135th,
22:53.61) and freshman Brianna Reggiani (23:32.47).
"We'll miss Diana for all she did for the school and the team and
her teammates," Feehan says. "But we are also excited about next year
with all the girls we have coming back."
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Diana D'Achille leaves Morris Knolls with two school records.
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D'Achille wins final NJAC race
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DENVILLE - Diana D'Achille won the final race of the Northwest Jeresey Athletic Conference's dual meet racing series when she covered the 3.1-mile layout at Freedom Park in Randolph in 18:33.94 to beat a field of 53 runners to the finish on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
D'Achille was almost 40 seconds ahead of the runnerup as she led the team to wins in three of the four dual meets on the last day of the four-week series.
Morris Knolls finished the season with a 10-3 record in the American Division of the NJAC, a record that put them in third place behind team champ Randolph (13-1) and runnerup (Roxbury (12-2).
Sophomore Brindle Alyssa was the second Lady Eagle to cross, finishing seventh overall with a time of 19:42.00.
Freshman Julia Strother (11th, 20:22.48), freshman Heather Weick (12th, 20:28.67) and junior Melanie Lamac (21st, 22:08.72) ran 3-4-5 for the Lady Eagles to complete the team scoring.
Freshman Brianna Reggiani, senior Brianne Henderson, sophomore Heather LaValle, junior Elizabeth Hutnikoff, sophomore Lauren Carlson and freshman Camille Chow also competed for Knolls.
D'Achille wins as MK takes four of five in Week 3
DENVILLE - Morris Knolls High School senior Diana D'Achille finished ahead of the field and the Lady Eagles cross-country team won four of the five girls races during the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference's third week of racing at Freedom Park in Randolph on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
D'Achille was timed in 18:51,59 - a bit more than 11 seconds faster than runnerup Mary Midton of Roxbury - as she led the field of 59 runners across the finish line in the 3.1-mile race.
Morris Knolls beat sister-school Morris Hills (24-31), High Point (24-31) Mendham (21-40) and Morristown (23-26) and lost to Roxbury by a point (27-28).
Sophomore Alyssa Brindle was the second Knolls runner, finishing in 19:40.79 to place fourth overall. Freshman Julia Strother was also in the top ten finishers, placing ninth in 20:09.37 for the Lady Eagles.
Freshmen Heather Wieck (21st, 21:32.32) and Priscilla Ortiz (25th, 21:57.07) completed the team scoring for Morris Knolls and junior Melanie Lamac and sophomore Kiki Baldassai were the 6-7 runners for the Lady Eagles.
Also competing in the race for Knolls were senior Brianne Henderson, freshman Brianna Reggiani, sophomores Lauren Carlson and Heather LaValle and junior Elizabeth Hutnikoff.
Freshman Camille Chow, the only Knolls runner in the girls junior varsity 2655-meter run, was sixth in a field of 45 with a time of 12:39.04.
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D'Achille, Lady Eagles each run 3rd
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DENVILLE - Morris Knolls senior Diana D'Achille finished third in the individual race and the Lady Eagles finished third as a team in the Group 4 varsity race at the Passaic County Coaches Invitational held at Garret Mountain on Saturday, Sept. 26.
D'Achille covered the 3.1-mile course in 20:09, trailing only race-winner Joelle Amaral of Roxbury (19:24) and runnerup Mary Migton of Roxbury (19:35) in the field of 82 runners.
Randolph won the team title with 32 points to top the 12-team field. Roxbury and Morris Knolls finished with 87 points with Roxbury taking second because of a better team time than the Lady Eagles.
Sophomore Alyssa Brindle was timed in 20:33 and was the second Lady Eagle to finish; freshman Julia Strother was 16th in 21:08; freshman Heather Weick was 28th in 22:00; and sophomore Kiki Baldassari was 35th in 22:25 to complete the Knolls scoring.
Freshman Priscilla Ortiz and junior Melanie Lamac were the 6-7 runners for the Lady Eagles with Ortiz finishing 41st in 22:56 and Lamac finishing 49th in 23:26.
In the girls Group 3-4 novice race, Morris Knolls finished second in a field of 14 teams, scoring 82 points to team champ Livingston's 46-point total.
Senior Brianne Henderson was the first to cross of the five Knolls' runners in the 150-runner field. She completed the 3.1-mile layout in 22:59.
Sophomore Heather LaValle was 10th in 23:15; sophomore Lauren Carlson was 18th in 23:41; junior Elizabeth Hutnikoff was 27th in 24:13; and freshman Brianna Reggiani was 29th with a time of 24:18.
Camille Chow was the only Lady Eagle entered in the girls Group 3-4 freshman 3200-meter run and she ran a 16:24 to finish 34th in the field of 76.
Lady Eagles go 3-0 in NJAC racing
DENVILLE - Julia Strother, Alyssa Brindle and Diana D'Achille finished 1-2-3 to lead Morris Knolls High School girls cross country team to a three-race sweep during Week 2 of the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference racing series held at Freedom Park in Randolph on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
Knolls beat Morristown (23-32), Mount Olive (20-37) and Vernon (19-42) to run its season dual-meet record to 6-1.
Strother beat the field of 37 runners to the line with a time of 20:02.76 with Brindle second in 20:04.33 and D?Achille third in 20:04.55 over Freedom Park?s 3.1-mile layout.
Freshman Heather Weick was 11th overall with a time of 21:27.62 and freshman Priscilla Ortiz was 15th overall with a time of 22:14.59 to complete the Lady Eagles scoring for the three races.
Melanie Lamac (22:36.28) and KiKi Baldassari (22:49.62) were the Nos. 6 and 7 runners for the Lady Eagles and Lauren Carlson, Heather LaValle and Elizabeth Hutnikoff also ran for Knolls.
In the junior varsity race, freshman Brianna Reggiani was the only Lady Eagle to participate in the 2655-meter run and she finished third in a field of 50 with a time of 11:49.53.
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D'Achille first in first NJAC meets
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DENVILLE - Senior Diana D'Achille of Morris Knolls was the individual winner in the first Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) girls cross county race, covering the 3.1-mile layout at Freedom Park in Randolph in 19:27.53 on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
D'Achille was more than 30 seconds in front of the next runner, Marissa Galante (19:58.36) of Pope John, who was second in the 51-runner field.
Sophomore Alyssa Brindle was third in 20:15.62 and freshman Julia Strother was seventh in 21:15.09 as the Lady Eagles won three of the four dual meets in which they competed.
Knolls beat Montville, 18-41; Morristown, 25-30, and West Morris, 20-35, with the Lady Eagles only loss on the day a 26-31 defeat at the hands of Pope John.
Freshman Heather Weick was 17th in 22:14.75 and senior Brianne Henderson finished 21st in 22:45.70 to complete the scoring for Knolls.
Running 6-7 for the Lady Eagles were junior Melanie Lamac (23:03.66) and sophomore Kiki Baldassari.
Sophs Lauren Carlson and Heather LaValle, junior Elizabeth Hutnikoff, and freshman Priscilla Ortiz also ran for the Lady Eagles.
In the junior varsity race, freshman Brianna Reggiani, covered the 2655-meter layout in 12:24.46 to finish fifth in a field of 142.
Also competing for Knolls were freshman Camille Chow and seniors Beth Stover and Kelly DeRiggi.
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D'Achille, Lady Eagles triumph
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DENVILLE - Diana D'Achille won the individual title she first won as a freshman and the Morris Knolls High School girls cross-country team won the team championship at the Lancer Invitational at Livingston on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Morris Knolls edged host Livingston, 36-40, for the team title with St. Rose third with 51 points.
D'Achille, now a senior, completed Livingston's 3.1-mile course made muddy and slippery by the morning rain in 20:09, beating Livingston's Eliossa Cusi to the wire by eight seconds.
D'Achille's victory marked the sixth straight year a Morris Knolls runner has won the individual title.
Freshman Julia Strohter was the next Lady Eagle to cross, putting up a time of 21:00 to place fifth. Freshman Heather Weick also finished in the top 10 for Knolls, turning in a time of 21:44 to finish eighth.
Rounding out the top seven runners for the Lady Eagles were senior Brianne Henderson (22:37), junior Melanie Lamac (22:58), freshman Priscilla Ortiz (23:09) and sophomore Lauren Carlson (23:58).
In the junior varsity race, sophomores Heather LaValle and Kiki Baldassari finished 1-2 with LaValle posting a time of 15:38 and Baldassari running a 15:42 over a 3K course. Freshman Brianna Reggiani was timed in 16:47.
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Lady Eagles enter season
with inexperienced group
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DENVILLE - Jim Feehan finds himself in an unusual position as he enters his 21st season as the varsity coach of the Morris Knolls High School girls cross country program.
Feehan and his Lady Eagles have enjoyed success the past two decades with Feehan putting together a 122-41 record and his teams winning a total of 19 conference, sectional and county championships.
Last year's team was 7-1, finished seventh in the county meet, fourth in the conference, second in the sectionals and seventh out of 20 teams in the group meet.
Usually, the top runners Feehan loses to graduation are replaced by experienced runners who quickly become the new season's top runners. This year, however, Feehan admits he is "... in a rare rebuilding year, something I haven't had to do since 1999..
"We've had strong varsity squads year after year ... but not this year. Fact is, can't remember going into a season with this much inexperience, with so many untested runners in my top seven.
"My 2-3-4 runners right now have never run a 5K race on the high school level ... they ran at Valleyview School and they ran very well there, but it's just not the same as varsity competition.
"But they all have promise and they have all been working hard. They just have to get used to the intensity of the competition ... there's a lot of pressure in girls cross country in this area and that creates the huge difference between high school running and the running they did in junior high school."
Feehan's No. 1 runner is senior co-captain Diane D'Achille, a proven distance runner who has been running varsity the last three years and who has been competing on the off-season road-racing circuit since she was much youner.
The next three runners are new to varsity cross county. Sophomore Alyssa Brindle played soccer as a freshman before opting for cross country this year and freshmen Julia Strother and Heather Weick ran at Valleyview last fall.
Senior co-captain Brianne Henderson is settled in as the Lady Eagles' fifth runner, a spot for which she may have to fight once sophomore Kiki Baldassari recovers from a minor illness.
"I couldn't tell you who my seventh runner is right now," Feehan says. "It's a toss-up with the other girls on the team ... I shall not be surprised if my seventh runner changes on a week-to-week basis."
The other runners include: seniors Kelli DeRiggi and Beth Stover; juniors Liz Hutnikoff and Melanie Lamac; sophomores Amanda Breem, Lauren Carlson and Heather LaVallee; and freshmen Camille Chow, Priscilla Ortiz and Brianna Reggiani.
"We set some modest goals earlier in the preseason," Feehan says. "We want to be better than .500 and we want to qualify for the groups.
"But I'm seeing some steady improvement as the result of all their hard work and, as they mature, we just might have to raise the level of expectations and revise our goals.
"Right now, it's a work in progress ... and I have to say I'm satisfied with the progress I have seen."
NOTES: The Lady Eagles will open their season Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Lancer Invitational in Livingston ... Marlene Thalman is an assistant coach for both the boys and girls teams ... last year's seniors lost to graduation include Tori Berard, Alli Locke and Meaghan Latuja. ...
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Toni
Kaufmann
Realtor
165 East Main Street
Rockaway, NJ 07866
Phone: 973-627-6800
Cell: 973-809-0800
Fax: 973- 627-8094
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