Before the season, the Radnor girls looked to be one of the top teams in the state, region and even the country. That was on paper. Now it's on the course, as well.
With experienced senior leadership, a sophomore who proved her talent in 2005, and a great incoming freshman class, the girls knew they had something worth taking on the road. Obviously, they have goals of winning district and state titles. But when they were ranked #4 in the Northeast Region by the Nike Team Nationals ranking committee, and 14th nationally, they decided as a team to look for competition outside of PA to see how good they could really be. They looked up, to New York, and to US#1 and the defending NTN champions from Hilton, New York.
Frosh Kelyn Freedman, 12th in 18:16.0
(Courtesy of Open Photo)
(NOTE: More Radnor Race Photos Below)
And they picked the meet. The Warwick XC Mania meet at Warwick Valley High School, the site of this year's New York public schools state championship on November 11th.
Splitting the regionally ranked teams over three varsity races, Radnor was placed in the same field as Hilton. Northeast #3 Greenwich NY was in the first race. And perennial power Bay Shore NY, ranked 8th in the Northeast, was in the third race. And the field was full of talented teams looking for their opportunity to make a name for themselves in 2006.
Greenwich did their job, winning the first race with a team average of 19:02.6 behind former Saratoga Springs runner Caitlin Lane, who ran 17:29.00. That turned out to be the fastest time of the day.
It was Radnor vs. Hilton in race #2. The top two runners for Hilton were expected to be right at the front, and they were. Radnor head coach Tom Flanagan says the race was with the Radnor pack vs the Hilton #3, 4 and 5. The #3 Hilton runner did finish in front of Radnor #1 Kellyn Freedman, the talented freshman, who finished 8th overall in 18:39.5. She was followed by the next three Radnor girls in a span 26 seconds, with senior Hannah Granger in 18:46.7, senior Liz Milewski in 18:47.3 and sophomore Katie Lally in 19:05.7. Senior Shannon Holm held off Hilton's 5th runner to finish 25th overall in 19:38.3.
"We did basically what I thought we would. We ran well. It was that 5th kid for Hilton who won it for them. She was 15 places behind our 5th and she picked off ten in the last mile." Flanagan says the Holm had a great race. "She hung in there with the 4th Hilton girl the whole race."
Senior Hannah Granger said she was happy with her race, and especially those of her teammates. Early in the race, Granger says she was talking to Freedman. Freedman stayed with Granger, and with a mile to go, "she went" Granger says. "She has heart." At the earlier Bulldog Invitational at Rose Tree, it was Granger who had received encouragement from Holm during a difficult stretch of the race. And, Granger says, that is the strength of their team. "If someone is falling back, someone is looking out for you. We're all out for each other."
Flanagan says that during the race, it looked like they were tied with Hilton at one point. But when the race ended, he was sure it was close, but that Hilton had probably pulled out the win. Then came the announcement that Radnor had won. There was jubilation. Phone calls were made with the big news. Word spread (thanks to me at Carlisle) that Radnor had upset Hilton. The results were supposedly official. But Flanagan didn't feel right. He cautioned his team to be prepared for more news.
But celebrations occur. The Hilton girls and coach came over to Radnor and offered their congratulations. Granger says "they were totally cool with it. It was the best sportsmanship I have ever seen."
But then the news hit that the 3rd Hilton girl had not been scored. Apparently her race tag stuck to the back of another tag, and was not scanned. When the correction was made, the results were reversed, and Hilton was a nine-point winner, 59-68. Team averages were awesome... 18:41.2 for Hilton and 18:59.5 for Radnor.
The roles now reversed, Radnor and coach Flanagan offered their congratulations to Hilton. Observers said both coaches and teams were gracious in victory as well as defeat, something each experienced in a single hour.
Granger says "it was hard to convince Hilton that we had lost. But they had no hard feelings, so why would we?"
The experience probably boosted Radnor's perception among Northeast and national observers. More importantly, it boosted their confidence. "It shows anything is possible," Granger concluded. "I think we have a good chance the next time we race them."
Merged Results from the three races
UPDATED SUNDAY NIGHT
THE PROVIDENT BANK
WAVE MANIA
WARRICK VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
WARWICK, NY
SITE OF THE 2006 NYSPHSAA XC CHAMPIONSHIPS
SEPTEMBER 29, 2006
GIRLS TEAM MERGE
RESULTS BY FINISH RIGHT TIMING
518-312-0886 WWW.FINISHRIGHT.COM
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1. 120 HILTON (18:41.2 93:26.1)
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1 3 Allison Sawyer 17:55.6
2 6 Caroline Schultz 18:03.1
3 11 Shelby Herman 18:16.9
4 41 Sarah Ritchie 19:27.4
5 59 Lindsay Crocetti 19:43.1
6 ( 65) Ashley Jones 19:47.0
2. 140 RADNOR, PA (18:59.5 94:57.3)
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1 14 Kelyn Freedman 18:39.5
2 21 Hannah Granger 18:46.7
3 22 Liz Milewski 18:47.3
4 29 Katie Lally 19:05.7
5 54 Shannon Holm 19:38.3
6 (132) Annie Dyroff 20:35.6
7 (245) Nicole Erkis 22:02.0
3. 202 GREENWICH (19:02.6 95:13.1)
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1 1 Caitlin Lane 17:29.0
2 18 Emily Fung 18:44.7
3 28 Brittany Lane 19:05.4
4 74 Chelsea Borbolla 19:53.9
5 81 Betsy Edinger 20:00.2
6 (144) Brittania O'Keefe 20:42.6
7 (155) Ashley Fung 20:48.6
4. 209 SHENENEDEHOWA (19:15.9 96:19.5)
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1 9 Cara Janeczko 18:12.5
2 35 Tricia Wardwell 19:12.7
3 39 Meredith Peabody 19:22.6
4 60 Christine Sloat 19:43.7
5 66 Chelsea Babcock 19:48.1
6 ( 89) Lindsey Bonk 20:07.5
7 (131) MaryJane Anderson 20:34.3
5. 212 CARMEL (19:10.9 95:54.4)
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1 5 Kristin Reese 18:01.6
2 15 Catherine DeSarle 18:40.0
3 38 Ashley Maurer 19:21.9
4 49 Caity Tully 19:35.0
5 105 Kelley Gould 20:16.1
6 (222) Amanda Holt 21:45.2
7 (358) Danielle Wheeler 23:51.8
6. 215 WARWICK VALLEY (19:14.6 96:13.1)
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1 2 Tori Pennings 17:52.7
2 27 Lillian Greibesland 19:03.8
3 51 Celilie Braadt 19:35.7
4 52 Kristen Peluso 19:38.1
5 83 Megan Connolly 20:02.9
6 ( 90) Kayla Leahey 20:07.6
7 (152) Shannon Farrell 20:45.1
7. 226 QUEENSBURY (19:18.5 96:32.2)
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1 10 Cara Sprague 18:16.0
2 26 Morgan Muller 18:59.8
3 42 Jacquie Brambley 19:28.4
4 72 Shannon Mulshine 19:52.3
5 76 Emily Smith 19:55.9
6 ( 97) Juliann Lajoie 20:10.4
7 (177) Brittany Harrison 21:08.1
8. 313 BAY SHORE (19:32.9 97:44.4)
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1 12 Callie Hogan 18:32.3
2 13 Kim Moran 18:39.3
3 68 Caitlin Knapp 19:50.9
4 109 Stephanie Barnes 20:20.8
5 111 Sarah McCurdy 20:21.3
6 (158) Briana Thompson 20:55.7
7 (226) Kate Cangelosi 21:47.2
9. 314 HOLY NAMES (19:34.6 97:52.8)
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1 19 Lauren Recchia 18:45.0
2 25 Claire Hardwick 18:56.0
3 55 Johanna Ohm 19:38.4
4 73 Laura Isabelle 19:52.7
5 142 Paige Kopp 20:41.0
6 (254) Meredith Apfelbaum 22:06.7
7 (268) Victoria Isabelle 22:11.1
Senior Hannah Granger, 16th in 18:40.0
(Courtesy of Open Photo)
Senior Liz Milewski, 22nd in 18:46.7
(Courtesy of Open Photo)
Sophomore Katie Lally, 28th in 18:59.8
(Courtesy of Open Photo)
Senior Shannon Holm, 53rd in 19:35.7
(Courtesy of Open Photo)