Valley Girls' Cross-Country Has Another Solid Run in 2011
Coming off a 2010 season in which the Valley girls' cross-country squad won the conference title, the Warriors had a lot to defend in their 2011 season. Despite finishing second in the conference and third in Class SS, Valley ended its campaign with a 14-2 record with its only "losses" coming in the Shoreline Mega Meet and Shoreline Conference Championship, both setbacks due in part to unhealthy runners.
"Did we have a bad year? Absolutely not. Did we do what we thought we could do? Absolutely not. With a little more luck, we probably could've been first or second in states," said Head Coach Lou Luciani. "We weren't lucky and you have to be lucky in these meets. No matter how good you are, if you don't have everything ready at the right time, it doesn't work. I don't think we met our goals because winning the conference and states didn't happen. You can be a big fish in a small pond, but we try to be a bigger fish in a bigger pond, but it just wasn't in the cards for us this year."
Although not finishing quite as close to the top as the team would've liked, Valley still placed first as a team in the Run to the Sun meet, at Coginchaug, the HK Invitational, and finished second in the West Beach Invitational and third at the Windham Invitational.Then, as mentioned, the Warriors finished second as a unit in the Shoreline Conference Championship, losing the title by just five points, and placed third in the Class SS meet, coming in seven points out of second place and just 14 out of first. Both postseason meets saw one or two top runners with an injury or illness, possibly affecting the team's chances to defend its title.
Leading the pack were senior captains Ally Gates (co-Most Valuable Runner, First Team All-Shoreline honoree) and Colleen Gardner (Coach's Award).
"I think they both did a real good job," said Luciani. "They were on top of everything-when I needed something done I let them know, and they got it done."
Also contributing and bringing leadership to the squad were seniors Lindsay Grote, Katie Labonte (Most Improved Award), and Georgia O'Neil (Coach's Award recipient), as well as top runner and junior Amelia Eppard (co-Most Valuable Runner and First Team All-Shoreline honoree), who finished as the Shoreline Conference individual champion. Freshman Phoebe Petrovic also proved to be valuable to the team as she also earned First Team All-Shoreline honors and the Best First-Year Runner Award for her continued improvement in time throughout the season, while Sarah Hammond had a breakthrough season, finishing as a Second Team All-Shoreline honoree. The Most Improved Award also went to Meg Ryan while Morgan Hines was also a recipient of the Coach's Award.
While bidding farewell to five seniors, the always-strong squad looks to its returning runners-including 2012 captains Eppard, Hammond, and Anna D'Agostino-and a mix of incoming talent.
"If everyone returns, and we pick up a few more [runners], this team can be good," said Luciani. "I was very pleased with what [Eppard, Hammond, and D'Agostino] did this year and I think the kids are in great hands next year-they learned a lot over the last couple of years and are ready to put their own spin on everything. I'm pleased those captains will lead the team next year."