State Meet 2001

Cross Country

WEEK IN REVIEW
States 2001

Division 1 Girls: Caesar Rodney
The Caesar Rodney Riders became the first Henlopen to win the Division 1 title and they did it in a way that left no doubt who was the best team . Veteran coach Charley Bell's squad started the season strong and just got better. Jill Hajec concluded her brilliant career with her 2nd individual State title but the key was the outstanding performance of the Codner sisters, Kashante (11) and Kasheka (10) and freshman Elizabeth Paul who ran 6-7-8. Frosh Natalie Robbins capped it off with a 21:37 in 22nd place while promising Ashlee Miller (9) and Mido Hartman (10) rounded out the team. Padua once again saved their best for last as the freshman dominated team (5 of top 8) grabbed 2nd ahead of defending champ Brandywine. Coach John Lannutti's team used a 36 second spread effectively as they had done all year. Freshman Jessica Walsh, soph Beth Meany and frosh Janet Cleary and Annie Hartnett did a great job but special mention to seniors Colleen Reid who had her best race in her last one and Erin Lord who finished a fine career in great fashion. Freshmen Sarah McCartan and Jen Ogden and soph Kate Hendrickson all made big contributions during the season. Brandywine had been very close to CR at Lake Forest and Bellevue and high hopes of defending their title but it wasn't their day. Senior Jenn Kutney gallantly led the team as she has for 4 remarkably successful seasons (State meet finishes: 1,3,1,2) while 9th grade standout Jessica Leitsch was 3rd. Leslie Wason, Hilary Taylor, Alison Sanchez, Dana Stoltenborg all were major contributors as the Bulldogs wrapped another fine season under coach Michelle Flanagan.

BOYS DIVISION 1: SALESIANUM

Sallies concluded another fine season with a dominant performance at States, running 1-2-3-7-15 with a 47 sec spread. Tommy Lord emerged late as the key man and won easily, once again coming from way back to get the job done. MOC 1600 champ Ryan Hamill was second and Mike Zeberkiewicz third. Early season leader PJ Meany was 7th and Liam Corey 15th. All are juniors .... heads up in 2002. Soph Sean DeCecchis and frosh Joe Donnelly rounded out one of Coach Ralph Heiss' strongest squads ever. The Middletown Cavaliers grabbed second with an outstanding team effort. The Cavs put their 3 returning All-Staters on the line for the only time this season and were sparked by senior Jeremy Lambert's great 5th place finish in his last race. Jeff Wilber, injured for half the season, and Blue Hen champ Matt Ayars ran 10th and 14th. Joe Berry and Erich Carlson with Steve Blanco and Chris Bramwell rounded out the team which had a 43 second spread. Zak Golladay and Chad Darlington paced St. Mark's who had their best team race of the year (40 secs) and needed it to hold off hard charging Newark for third.

GIRL'S DIVISION 2: LAKE FOREST

The Lake Forest Spartans once again held off main rival Seaford and won it all with a fine team effort under Coach Jim Blades, reversing last year's result. Four year stalwarts Lena Ewing (4) and Holly Wilson (7) led as always and Holly's freshman sister Allyson had a huge race (11th). Lauren Jumper and Monica Thomas filled the crucial 4th and 5th spots. Jen Roe and Brandi Maull rounded out the squad. The defending champ Seaford Blue Jays gave it everything they had and actually got their 5th runner in before Lake but couldn't match the Spartans top 3. Outstanding soph Caitlin McGroerty was 3rd in 19:58. Greta Knapp, Christina Garmendia and Kate Laprad went 13-16-17 and Christy Tobin filled the almighty 5th spot, running a personal best by 86 seconds. Kathleen McLaughlin Ursuline to a third place finish over upstart Tower Hill whose sensational freshman Lisa Klein passed Meredith Lambert in the last 100 yards to win the individual title.

BOYS DIVISION 2: CAPE HENLOPEN

The Cape Henlopen Vikings came up huge in their highly anticipated showdown with Archmere, putting six guys in the top 15 (24 second spread !!!) to edge the Auks 47-61. The last minute relocation to Division 2 seemed to spark the Vikings as they came on strong in the last 3 weeks and peaked perfectly for Coach Pat Pollock. Four seniors led the way at States: Nick Adams (4), Andrew Freeman (6), Matt Riggin (10) and Henlopen winner Matt Jackson (13). Underclassmen Nick Lemmon and Greg Swift were right behind (14, 15). Archmere finished the season ran in the same inspired way they raced all year but came up a little bit short. The "Fab Five" of Soph Peter McBride (3), seniors Rich Heffron (9) and Mike Manlove (12), along with Jr Eric Longo and soph Jason Nista had a great year under coach Noel Breger . Sophs Pat O'Neill and Billy DiNardo came on late and show potential for next year. Wilmington Christian was a solid 3rd behind the efforts of Luke Holbrook, Chris Lucernoni and Jeff Raybould. Tatnall soph Kyle Kershner emerged as a star, winning the individual title with Tower Hill's Carl Smith 2nd in a super senior season.