Some of the most competitive and crowded girl’s races this fall are likely to take place at Tamaques Park when the Westfield Girls Cross Country team conducts its time trials as it tries to whittle 94 runners into a varsity unit of 12, which will eventually be pared down to seven runners for later championship meets. Veteran coach Thom Hornish and assistant Jen Buccino face the challenge of trying to replace their top three runners from a year ago, Nicole DiBenedetto, Kim Legones and Ayn Wisler as well as Jen Danielsson, Beth Budnick, Hope Skibitsky, and Marissa Goldner.
DiBenedetto and Legones showed vast improvement throughout the season and by the end of the year were the top 1-2 punch in the county. “Nicole and Kim’s improvement began when they took their summer training seriously last year.and when they came to realize how much they really loved the sport and let that passion take them to the next level.,” said Buccino.
Thus far, Buccino has not had any runner separate themselves from a large pack of 15 runners in a first group with 15 more right behind. “The team is shaping up nicely, after the first week. It looks like all of our large number of runners are in for the long haul,” said Buccino.
“ We have a really solid group of 15 training together and another 15 right behind. The time trial went very well. Summer training was taken more seriously this year by many. A lot can happen between now and November, but the spirit and enthusiasm is very high and the new crew has already blended well with the veterans,” Buccino added.
Buccino finds it very hard to single out more than a few girls that she knows will be in the lead group. “I think we are going to have an ever evolving top seven. There is a very healthy competition within the team..The rookies are not afraid to challenge the veterans, and the veterans welcome it and encourage everyone to be her best,” said Buccino.
Among the group vying for the top seven include seniors Rose Driscoll, Marissa Mumford, Tessa Schaaf, Caitlin Burke, Lindsay Tishberg, and newcomer Jaclyn Kirna,juniors Aileen and Bridget Grogan, Moira Smith, Alexis Constantine, Liz McCarthy and Alli Lowenstein, sophomores Megan Pulliam , Becky Castaldo and Karaugh Ball and freshmen: Angela Tata, Abbie Kwok, Alyssa Hatch, Alex Frankel and Meghan Suriano
Among the 25 freshmen are three sets of twins, making the coach’s goal of learning all names in the first week more difficult.
Driscoll, Marissa Mumford and Josie Reinhardt are this year's captains, and combined with Alli Lowenstein, Aileen and Bridget Grogan, and Liz McCarthy make up the returning members of last year's varsity 12. Seniors Caitlin Burke, Tessa Schaaf, Lindsay Tishberg, Marlee Austin, Dylan Wallace...juniors Alexis Constantine, Moira Smith, and Marie DiIorio, and sophomore Karaugh Ball clearly made it their business to come back in shape this year in an effort to earn a spot on this year's top twelve to make up for our loss to graduation.
We have some fresh faces that are really showing promise for some additional depth in the potential varsity line up. We are very excited to have seniors Jaclyn Kirna and Dylan Wallace, junior Casey Reimlinger, and sophomores Becky Castaldo and Megan Pulliam who converted from other fall sports and are helping lead the way in workouts. And finally, Angela Tata and Abbie Kwok are leading the pack of freshmen thus far...with several that are sure to rise through the ranks as the season progresses.
If there is strength in numbers, then the Westfield Girls’ Cross Country team, with its remarkable group of over seventy runners should be formidable once again.
“We have a long time tradition of success so we like to set our expectations high. These girls over the years have been very good at responding to challenges,” said Hornish.
One the of the keys to the team’s long time success has been coaching, where the Blue Devils have been fortunate to have Jen Buccino, in her eighteenth year in the program and an accomplished runner, who still competes in road races. Buccino is also the head coach of the successful Westfield Girls Indoor Track team and was Union County Track coach of the Year in 2005.
The Blue Devils lost an outstanding senior class quartet of captains; Jen Danielsson, Beth Budnick, Hope Skibitsky, and Nicole DiBenedetto. Danielsson, the most accomplished of the four, was a sectional 3200 meter champion as a sophomore but was held back by injuries last season.
Seniors Ayn Wisler,. Fellow seniors, and Kim Legones team last spring, competing in the sprints, hurdles and jumps.
Hornish is counting on big things from
Regaining Union County supremacy in 2007 will be an uphill fight for Westfield. The coaches are expecting strong challenges from Summit and Scotch Plains among other teams as the Blue Devils try to regain the county crown last won in 2003.
“There is tough competition out there but he team is off to a great start. The interest, enthusiasm, and desire are all there from this year's team, and all things are possible when you have that going for you. ,” said Buccino.
The Blue Devils open against Kearny on September 12 at Hudson County Park in Kearny before competing in the St. Dominic Invitational at Lincoln Park in Jersey City
on Saturday, September 16.
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