Christine Rettew and our handmade sign in the mall during 'study mall'
The Archbishop Carroll girls' cross country team is among the favorites in this year's Philadelphia Catholic League title chase. To gain experience and prepare for the heart of their season, the team followed the Great American XC Festival from its original home in North Carolina, to its new course in Hoover, Alabama. They were the only PA team to make the trip, and they made it worth their time... winning the Blue Division - Small Schools championship with 23 points. As for the race itself, Amanda Bascelli won in 20:34.8 to lead her team. The Carroll boys were 5th in their race. Ben Roy was their top runner with a 6th place 18:37.6. Below, three team members share their thoughts on the trip, along with a few photos.
An excerpt from the 2006 PCL Preview by Cardinal O'Hara coach John McShay
Archbishop Carroll will be strong with the addition of freshman sensation Amanda Bascelli who claimed the Briarwood Individual title last week. Also looking strong at Briarwood was senior Cooie Rettew. Three other seniors figuring to be in their top five are Amanda Cosful, Emily Paffett and Rochelle Yankowich. With the addition of JV individual champ, junior Caitlyn Storbeck (who will gave up soccer to run full time), Carroll has a nice scoring pack to compete for the title.
Amanda Cosfol '07
Thursday, 9/21/06
With permission slips signed and luggage packed, the Archbishop Carroll varsity cross country runners headed off to our next exciting cross country meet. We left school at noon, bound for the Great American Cross Country Festival... in Hoover, Alabama! Okay, so we didn't run there, but it was still quite a trek, flying from Philadelphia to Chicago and then to Birmingham. We arrived at our hotel where we got acquainted with "Sweet Home Alabama" and had a good night's rest in preparation for the race.
Christine Rettew, Amanda Bascelli,
Caitlin Storbeck, Amanda Cosfol, Harmony Mooney
and Carolyn Burns waiting to recieve plaques.
Friday, 9/22/06
The morning began with the hustle and bustle that runners know so well. We relocated from our first hotel to the meet headquarters, The Wynfrey Hotel. The new hotel was gorgeous and actually attached to a mall! When we got there, it was too early to check in to our rooms, so we passed the time in a lobby that joined the hotel and the mall. Our coach, Phil Reilly, had previously designated time in our agenda for a study hall to catch up on the school work missed during Friday's classes. We took advantage of our leisurely accommodations to have our study hall in the plain view of passers-by. It must have been a spectacle. And that was before we broke out the bread, peanut butter, bananas, and honey for lunch. It's memories like these that really bond our cross country team.
After our rendezvous at the "study mall," we moved into our rooms. We put on our bathing suits and loosened up for a few minutes in the pool. Then, we grabbed our running gear and took the shuttle to the course at Spain Park in Hoover. There, we stretched, took in the sights, and did our pre-meet run on the course to scope out the route for the next day. The course surprised us with the steep "Gasp Hill" in the last K. That evening, we avoided a two-hour wait for the Olive Garden for dinner and opted instead for Italian food (pasta, pasta, pasta!) from the food court in the mall. Well-fed and ready for the next day's race, we really got our heads in the game at our team meeting that night. We focused, prepared, and motivated each other. We were relaxed, but definitely ready and intense. Lights were out early so we could dream of victory!
Saturday, 9/23/06
Finally, race day. We woke up and jogged around the hotel to shake out our legs. Next, it was time to fuel, and we had a healthy team breakfast. We packed up all of our stuff and took a shuttle to the meet. To state it simply, it was hot. Coming form Philadelphia, the ninety-degree weather was unusual for late September, to say the least. We were so pumped, though, and ready to put it all out there. The Carroll boys raced the Blue Invite at 12:10. Senior Ben Roy earned a medal for sixth place, and freshman John Ianarelli nabbed one for twenty-fourth place. Jack Barnett, Shaun Paul, and Pat Sabol also contributed to the varsity roster. Next off were the girls at 12:40, also in the Blue Invite. Freshman Amanda Bascelli won the race, with seniors Amanda Cosfol and Cooie Rettew, and junior Caitlin Storbeck all finishing in the top eight. Sophomore Carolyn Burns came in eleventh, and freshman Harmony Mooney placed in the top twenty-five. The girls team won the Blue Division, earning the second consecutive team title for our race at Great American (Last year's meet was held in Raleigh, NC). In addition to our individual medals, we received miniature plaques for the team title, as well as a large one for the school.
The whole atmosphere at Great American was dedicated to love of running and cross country. Tents with Great American attire, Nike trainers and spikes, and running posters were a few of the attractions at Spain Park. We even met Dan Lincoln, the American record-holder in the steeplechase. He had a conversation with us when we saw him in the airport later that day! With an exuberant team spirit and some hardware, we returned home that evening, ready for our next race.
Christine "Cooie" Rettew '07
There's nothing in cross country like traveling hundreds of miles to be surrounded by running enthusiasts and to run in the Great American Cross Country Festival. And that's exactly what it was - a festival where we met teams from all over the country and where we got to represent PA. A lot of people were surprised to hear we traveled all the way from Philadelphia - but we certainly proved our trip to be worth it, taking home the 1st place United-States-shaped plaque for our division. Nike made the meet a lot of fun with music provided, lots of meet memorabilia to buy, and the GHAC truck. They even brought celebrities in - we met and got autographs from Dan Lincoln, Olympian and US record holder in the steeplechase. Great American is one of our biggest trips of the year, and there was no skimping on that tradition in Alabama this year. Though we weren't quite used to racing in humid, 90° weather, it was an experience the team definitely looks forward to for next year.
Caitlin Storbeck, '08
Hi! my name is Caitlin Storbeck and I run xc for Archbishop John Carroll High School and my favorite part of the trip was probably the the second hotel we stayed at we had a study hall in the middle of the mall and we really got to bond with our team and we made peanut butter and honey sandwiches together. This is my first year doing xc and it was a great experiance to travel and race there.
Christine Rettew, Amanda Bascelli, Caitlin Storbeck, Coach Phil Reilly,
Amanda Cosfol, Harmony Mooney, Carolyn Burns, Rachelle Yankowich.
XC senoirs Christine Rettew, Ben Lee Roy, Amanda Cosfol, and Rachelle Yankowich.
The Carroll "triplets" Caitlin Storbeck in red shorts,
Carolyn Burns in yellow shorts and Amanda Bascelli in green shorts.