LADY KNIGHTS FINISH FINE SEASON
... and everybody's back for next year
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ROCKAWAY - It seems as if each meet in which the Morris Hills High School girls cross country team competed this past season, it left it's mark.
Maybe not a BIG mark - such as a championship or a first-place finish by one of the Lady Knights - but a mark nonetheless.
The team capped its 2009 season by finishing eighth out of 20 teams at the NJSIAA Group 3 Girls Championships at Holmdel Park on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Ailis Clyne was the first Morris Hills runner to finish as she navigated the 3.1-mile course in 20:39.63 to place 27th in the field of 143 runners.
Clyne is a freshman.
Fact is, all seven of the Lady Knight runners who competed in the group meet are underclassmen and will be back for another go next season.
Stephanie Churchman (37th, 21:05.40) is a junior; Erin Gaven (45th, 21:17.50) is a sophomore; Angela Ciallella (79th, 22:18.86) is a freshman; Kira Polimeni (94th, 22:35.69) is a junior; Zoe Weimersheimer (122nd, 23:32.45) is a sophomore; and Jana Sedlacek (124th, 23:37.00) is a junior.
The eighth-place finish for the Lady Knights was the best finish for Morris Hills since the 1997 team finished second in the Group 2 meet.
"The girls gained a lot of valuable experience this year and we're already looking forward to next year's possibilities," says Morris Hills head coach Lauren Jackson. "The fact that we will not be losing anyone to graduation is huge."
The Lady Knights finished with a 9-4 dual-meet record that was good for second place in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference's National Division behind Pope John's perfect run of 13-0.
Morris Hills went on to finish seventh in the county meet, third in the conference's division meet and third in the North 1, Group 3 sectional championships.
"We had a few injuries toward the end of the season," Jackson says. "But the girls persevered and finished very strong ... we did very well with our younger runners overall this season."
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Lady Knights 2nd in NJAC standings
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ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls cross country team finished in second place in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference's National Divison after splitting four dual meets on Tuesday, Oct. 6, the final day of racing in the four-week series held at Freedom Park in Randolph.
The Lady Knights were 9-4, trailing only division champ Pope John, which ran through it's 13-meet season without a loss.
On Tuesday, Morris Hills beat Montville (22-33) and Vernon (25-32) but lost to High Point (25-32) and Pope John (19-40).
The first of the Lady Knights to complete the 3.1-mile course was sophomore Erin Gaven, who placed eighth overall in the field of 61 with a time of 20:28.30.
Junior Jacquelyn Mosca was right behind her teammate, finishing in 9th place with a time of 20:29.37. Freshman Ailis Clyne (15th, 21:05.51), junior Jana Sedlacek (18th, 21:36.19) and freshman Angela Ciallella (24th, 22:00.76) completed the scoring for Morris Hills.
Sophomore Zoe Weimersheimer and freshman Marissa were the 6-7 runners for the Lady Knights while sophomores Katie Lin and Michelle Gonzalez also competed.
Clyne, Mosca pace Lady Knights
ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls cross country team won two of their five races at the third week of the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference's racing series at Freedom Park in Randolph on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
The Lady Knights beat Mendham (23-38) and Morristown (28-30) and lost to sister-school Morris Knolls (24-31), High Point (25-30) and Roxbury (23-32).
Freshman Ailis Clyne and junior Jacquelyn Mosca were the first two Morris Hills runners to finish the 3.1-mile race. Clyne ran a 20:39.22 to place 13th in the field of 59 and Mosca was right behind her in 14th place with a time of 20:40.65.
Junior Stephanie Churchman was 17th in 20:57.92; sophomore Erin Gaven was 18th in in 21:13.58; and junior Jana Sedlacek was 22nd in 21:39.22 to complete the team scoring for Morris Hills.
Sophomore Zoe Weimersheimer, freshman Angela Ciallella and sophomore Katie Lin also competed for the Lady Knights.
In the junior varsity race, freshman Marissa Meehan placed fourth in the field of 45, completing the 2655-meter race in 12:21.36. Sophomore Michelle Gonzalez was the only other Morris Hills runner to compete, finishing 34th with a time of 14:30.25.
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Lady Knights second at Passaic
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ROCKAWAY - Sophomore Erin Gaven finished eighth in a field of 91 runners to lead the Morris Hills High School girls cross country team to a second-place finish in the team standings of the girls Group 3 race at the Passaic County Coaches Invitational held at Garrett Mountain on Saturday, Sept. 26.
Gaven covered the 3.1-mile course in 20:55 as Morris Hills scored 76 team points to finish behind team champ Holy Angels High School, which scored 30 points to top the 12-team field.
Junior Stephan Churchman was 14th in 21:05 and junior Jacquelyn Mosca was a second slower to finish in 15th place. Freshman Ailis Clyne was 24th in 21:38 and junior Jana Sedlacek rounded out the Lady Knights scoring with a 26th-place finish in 21:56.
Freshman Angela Ciallella was the No. 6 Lady Knight runner, finishing 59th with a time of 23:36.
The Lady Knights entered three runners in the girls Group 3-4 novice race and sophomore Brianna Reggiani finished 29th in 24:23; sophomore Katie Lin was 68th in 26:24; and sophomore Michelle Gonzalez was 111th in 28:37 in the field of 150 runners.
Marissa Meehan was the only Lady Knight entered in the girls freshman 3200-meter run and she finished 11th with a time of 15:09 in the 76-runner field.
Lady Knights split in Week 2 races
ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls cross country team split its four varsity dual meets at the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference?s day of racing at Freedom Park in Randolph on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The Lady Knights (5-2) beat Parsippany Hills (16-45) and West Morris (20-35) and lost to High Point (27-28) and Randolph (21-34), a team that put three runners in the top five finishers in the 50-runner field.
Sophomore Erin Gaven was the first Morris Hills runner to cross, finishing seventh overall with a time of 20:43.34.
Junior Jacquelyn Mosca was the next Lady Knight to finish, placing eighth overall in 20:45.15. She was followed by freshman Ailis Clyne (10, 20:50.39), junior Stephanie Churchman (21:06.73) and junior Jana Sedlacek (21:36.28).
Freshman Angela Ciallella, sophomore Zoe Weimersheimer and sophomore Katie Lin also competed in the varsity race.
Morris Hills freshman Marissa Meehan finished sixth overall in 12:09.47 in the 2655-meter junior varsity race. Sophomore Michelle Gonzalez also competed for the Knights, finishing in 14:34.53.
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Lady Knights open with three wins
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ROCKAWAY - The Lady Knights of Morris Hills High School put their top five runners in the first seven places as they won their three dual meets at the first Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference competition on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at Freedom Park in Randolph Township.
Juniors Jacquelyn Mosca, Jana Sedlacek and Stephanie Churcham finished 2-3-4 in the 41-runner field to lead Morris Hills to victories over High Point (22-33), Mount Olive (15-41) and Sparta (18-36).
Mosca completed the 3.1-mile course in 21:19.93; Sedlacek was timed in 21:25.00; and Churchman ran a 21:25.34.
Sophomore Erin Gaven finished sixth in 21:27.17 and freshman Allie Clyne was seventh with a time of 21:39.10 to round out the scoring for the Lady Knights.
Freshman Angela Ciallell and sophomore Zoe Weimersheimer were the sixth and seventh Lady Knights to finish while sophomore Katie Lin and sophomore Michelle Gonzalez also competed for Hills.
In the junior varsity 2655-meter run, freshman Marissa Meehan ran a 12:29.37 to finish seventh in the field of 142 runners.
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Hills 3rd in Randolph XC run
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ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls cross country team finished third in the varsity race under the lights at the Randolph Cross Country Invitational at Freedom Park in Randolph Township on Friday, Sept. 11.
The Lady Knights scored 106 points to trail team champ Pearl River (35 points) and runnerup Red Bank Catholic (37) in the 10-team field.
Sophomore Erin Gaven led the Lady Knights by finishing 13th with a time of 20:28.06 over the 3.1-mile layout.
Freshman Allis Clyne (18th, 20:52.36), junior Stephanie Churchman (22nd, 21:20.27), junior Jana Sedlaceck (25th, 21:34.88) and junior Jacquelyn Mosca (21:39.73) followed Gaven across to complete the scoring. Kira Polimeri also ran for Morris Hills and finished 57th in 24:29.58.
In the girls junior varsity race, Zoe Weimersheimer finished 46th with a time of 7:47.7; sophomore Katie Lynn was 103rd; and sophomore Michelle Gonzalez was 157th in 29:57:34 as the Knight entered only three runners.
In the freshman girls 2655, freshman Angela Ciallella was 10th with a time of 11:46.49 and freshman Marissa Meehan was 44th with a time of 13:04.68 in the field of 99. They were the only two runners for Morris Hills.
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Lady Knights' 'rookie' runners
anxious to get season started
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ROCKAWAY - Lauren Jackson calls the girls on her Morris Hills High School cross country team "rookies" and, with only two runners with a background of varsity distance running, who can blame her?
Four juniors, four sophomores and three freshman are vying for the top seven spots on the 2009 team and it would be understandable for Jackson to look ahead to the next two seasons when her runners will be more mature and more experienced.
But Jackson is very happy with her "rookies" and is looking ahead no further than the Lady Knights' season-opening competition.
"I am very anxious to see what comes together in their first race," Jackson says. "We all are."
That "first race will be Friday, Sept. 11, when the Lady Knights participate in the Randolph Invitational at Freedom Park in Randolph Township, a race that is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
Jackson, in her third year as the head coach of Morris Hills' girls cross country program, lost six seniors from the team that finished 7-2 last season as only junior co-captains Kira Polimeni and Jana Sedlacek return with any varsity experience.
"Kira and Jana are doing a great job of leading this young team," Jackson says. "Our new athletes have shown that they have so much potential and our captains are helping to bring it out."
Jackie Mosca and Stephanie Churchman are juniors who are trying cross country for the first time.
"They were huge assets to our spring track team last year," Jackson says. "And we expect them to continue to play an important role in cross country."
Another spring track star making her cross country debut this fall is sophomore Erin Gaven, who ran a 5:18 mile last year as a freshman and is trying the longer cross country 3.1-mile distance for the first time.
Incoming freshmen Ailis Clyne and Angela Ciallella "... round out the top seven right now," according to Jackson, and Marissa Meehan - another freshman - is "... right up there with them."
Sophomores Katie Lin and Zoe Weimersheimer are returning sophomores from last year's junior varsity team and sophomore Michelle Gonzalez is another one of Jackson's runner who is trying cross country for the first time.
"We have the potential to have a very tight top six runners, which is very encouraging," Jackson says. "The girls have been working very hard and have been looking very good."
With Morris Hills competing in the newly formed Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) for the first time this season, Jackson says it is "... tough to tell how we stack up against the new competition at this stage because so many of our runners are rookies.
"But I am looking forward to this season very much ... we are all anxious to get started."
NOTES: Jackson, who has coached the girls spring track team the past seven seasons, was a cross-country assistant for four years before being named head coach ... Pete Wittner is the assistant cross country coach for both the boys and the girls teams ... of the six graduating seniors - Jamie Uhrynowich, Sam Anello, Corinne Fitzgerald, Lauren Sylvester, Caitlin McGuire and Lori Caruso - only Fitzgerald is running in college as a freshman this fall, having made the team at East Stroudsburg.
(Bob Decker, who wrote this story, can be reached at bobdecker@deckbob.com)
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Francine explains a procedure to another satisfied customer
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