“Work hard; enjoy the process” was the motto created by senior Nicole Finn for the Fenwick Girls’ Cross Country team this season. This guided the Friars as they continued to impress this year, achieving three meet championships, each for the first time. In their first year racing at the RB invite, the Friars emerged victorious at both the varsity and junior varsity levels, which set them up for two other first time victories: the GCAC Championship and the 3A Regional Championship.
While the season began on a positive note showing near unprecedented progression week to week, the breakthrough race for the Friars occurred about halfway through at Palatine. Many finished with elation having dropped immense time. Franny Lorenzini lost one minute from her season best and beat her personal record by over 15 seconds, Tess Wagner PRed by 45 seconds and Margaret O’Brien got back to her former racing self, finishing almost a minute faster for the season. The story of the meet, though, was Marisa Morella. She ran out of her shoes! She dropped over two minutes from her previous season best and PRed by almost a minute. It is rare to have that type of growth for veteran runners, let alone one meet in the middle of the season. It was an incredible day.
For most of the team, the week of Conference is the culmination of the season’s racing. Despite the harsh wind and softer course, 24 of the 37 racers ran their fastest on that day. For the Varsity squad, it was about earning a trophy. The week before, the coaches laid out the predicted varsity results. Even without each of the O’Briens, who were two of the top five runners and out for a family wedding, Fenwick was estimated to be securely in second place and about 15 points behind Loyola for first. When asking the team how they wanted to approach the race they said, “Let’s take a risk and go for it.” They believed in themselves, racing audaciously from the gun.
Finn, Delaney Gibbons and Laura Durkin were pushing together in third, fourth and fifth places, setting the tone for the Friars. As the race progressed and the field spread out, the girls knew that they had to pass any Loyola runner for a shot at the team championship. Come the finish, Finn defiantly outkicked one Rambler and Durkin used her heroic speed to pass by Loyola’s second, third and fourth. The proverbial nail in the coffin came from sophomores Arlene Amaya and Mary Bridget Donahue who have pushed each other in the spirit of healthy completion all fall. They each passed Loyola’s fifth runner in the final stretch creating a four-point swing and securing the win. The final score was 44–48, earning the Friars their first GCAC Championship in only their second year in the deep, 20 school conference. All five of the Fenwick scorers earned All-Conference honors along with the team championship. The Friars believed that they had a shot and were trusting in their teammates to compete. This race was a testament to the power of faith.
That faith continued to persevere through regionals with not only a 3A Regional Championship but two All-Regional runners, Finn and Durkin. The following week at Sectionals, the Friars finished respectably in eighth place. Finn, who has been a driven leader all fall, earned what she dreamed about ever since freshman year: a trip to State. Just like at Conference, Finn raced boldly from the start. With about 1000m to go, Coach Collins, who was counting places, was jumping up and down and slamming the ground telling her that she needs to get to that next pack to qualify. Finn found another gear passing that pack and earning her spot to State. The entire team was beyond proud of Finn’s accomplishment. How apropos for the runner who gave us our mantra for the season to find such success with it.
There is a strong correlation between leadership and success. Captains Claire Cahill and Margaret O’Brien along with Manager Maria Ritten worked to evolve the team culture to be ever more outstanding. The harriers are now building upon the work they have already done and working ever harder as they focus on track. It is with faith in each other and faith in the process, all the while cherishing the time they have together, that we all look ahead to the 2017 campaign.
