Congratulations to the Academy of the Sacred Heart CROSS COUNTRY team on becoming the DIVISION 2 REGION 3 ~ TEAM CHAMPIONS ~ They will now move onto the STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS on November 14 in Natchitoches, LA. On a very hot difficult race day the girls pushed through and had a very impressive showing with a team score of 20 points. The idea of the Regional Qualifying meets this year was to help separate the contenders from the pretenders, according to the LHSAA, so they made new divisions by combining some of the previous classes. That move shrank the number of divisions from 7 to now only 5, which in theory should make for more competitive races in all of the divisions. Our meet was held last Friday, November 4 in City Park on an unusually warm , but very breezy morning. Although there are 25 schools in our new region, only 5 teams competed to try and qualify with only 40 runners total in our race. The runners knew that they would have to rely on their pack running training during our practices to push themselves over the course of the 3 miles. As far as races go, it was a very good one heading into the State Meet, because they did exactly what Coach Greg had hoped for. This type of race forced our team of 7 runners to run for place and not worry so much about their overall times, because that is what is going to happen at the State Meet. The duo of Leah Varisco ’26 and Courtney Habetz ’28 took to the front of the race after the first 300 meters and never looked back, running completely by themselves and finished in very respectable times of 19:51 and 20:34. It is never an easy task running alone and even harder doing it in the front of the pack, but these two have done it now for a couple of weeks and are getting more comfortable each time. Colleen Collins ’27, Colette English ’27 and Lily Varisco ’27 ran stride for stride for the 2nd race in a row and helped push the other teams further back while also allowing them to push each other. Colleen and Colette continued this back and forth through the finish line with Colleen edging out Colette by a mere .15 of a second with times of 21:17.87 to 21:18.02 for 4th and 5th place. Lily experienced some tightening in her hamstrings but pushed through it even though she was initially not happy with her performance. She still managed to come in 13th place with a time of 22:49, which is a testament to how strong and talented this young lady truly is in this sport. The return of Charlotte Johnston ’26 in 21:58 for 8th place was a welcoming moment that her teammates waited for over the last 4 races due to a previous injury that kept her sidelined. Her grit and determination allowed her to rehab properly during that month and she is getting back into her running form just in time for her to help her team once again. Abby Truxillo ’26 completed our 7 allowed runners for that race and finished one spot behind Charlotte in 9th overall in 22:13, all while recovering from a sore hamstring.
This next week of training will be focused on rehabilitation and rest while trying their best to stay as healthy as possible for November 14. The forecast is for the State Meet race at 9:45 a.m. is 48* with plenty of sunshine; however, a lot can change from now to then, but the one thing that won’t, is that the Academy of the Sacred Heart Cross Country team shows up race after race. Since this is our last of the year, the runners that will be on that line will most definitely put forth their best effort on that day. They run for so much more than themselves, they run for everyone that has come before them, for their current teammates and classmates, their families and they also run for the future runners that haven’t even taken up this great sport yet. The future of cross country looks stronger than ever!
Race Place & Time
1st - 19:51 - LEAH VARISCO
2nd - 20:34 - COURTNEY HABETZ
4th - 21:17 - COLLEEN COLLINS
5th - 21:18 - COLETTE ENGLISH
8th - 21:58 - CHARLOTTE JOHNSTON
9th - 22:13 - ABBY TRUXILLO
13th- 22:49 - LILY VARISCO
Girls Team Scores
1 - 20 - Academy of Sacred
2 - 38 - St. Scholastica
3 - 90 - Belle Chasse
4 - 99 - Archbishop Chapelle
5 - 148 George Washington Carver
On Friday, during the volleyball playoff game at Sacred Heart had 3 Seniors on the Cross Country team that were honored in front of all of the fans attending the game. It was the first time in Coach Greg’s and Coach Jenny’s 27 years of coaching the sport, that they were able to do this presentation in front of others besides the members of the team and their families. The following senior runners all have participated on the team since their 6th grade: Mariella Congeni ’23, CC Johnson ’23 and Cali Jane Luetkemeier ’23. 7 years of practices, races, injuries, team bonding, State Meets, 3 State Champion Team Titles, 2 State Runner Up Team Titles, All District, All Metro, All State Runners…ALL great accolades and accomplishments; however, GREAT LEADERS & ROLE MODELS are the best words used to describe these 3. They will surely be missed, but the impact that they will leave behind will be remembered for years to come. To quote a verse from a song, “It’s not what you take when you leave here, but it’s what you leave here when you're gone” These 3 Seniors have left their mark and for that, we thank them very much!
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