4 Years in the Making

Well, technically 5....but for our senior laden team it's been a 4 year journey.  After countless 3rd place finishes as a team, and a 2nd place finish this past Cross Country season, we finally broke thru and got the monkey off our back.  In only it's 5th year of existence, our Boys Winter Track Team captured Immaculata's 1st State Championship in either XC or track on Friday night by becoming the Non-Public B State Champions.  Sacrifice was the name of the game for this one, as everyone involved did what was best for the team rather than chase personal times and goals.  Both James Ptack and TJ Harkins completed a grueling quadruple, running and scoring in the 1600, 800, 3200, and 4x400.  Michael Blandino gutted out points in 3200 after being the bad kinda "ill" all week.  Dom Riga gave up his 400 dreams in order to run (and score in) the 800 because that what was best for team points.  And fittingly it was Dom, the heart and soul of this group, who anchored our 3rd place 4x4 which clinched the victory for us.  Sam Jaskolski sacrificed as well, opting to give up his spot in the open 400 and 800 to stay fresh for the 4 x 400 when we needed him the most.  Not to mention inspirational performances and lots of Personal Records by Ethan Russell, Ben Pellizon, Will Neer, Philip Arkoulakis, Joe Kerekes, Stephen Dowe, and Michael Schippnick in their respective events.  A true team effort to get this squad #OntheMap

This isn't the only major development to happen since this site was last updated.  Turns out a lot can happen in 21 months.  Here's a look at a few highlights:

• Tim Albano became NPB State Champ in the Javelin
• Shannon Reinhart became the first girl in program history to make the Winter Track Meet of Champs
• She did so by finishing 5th in the 400 with a school record (until 2 days ago)
• Caroline broke her foot
• Tim Albano became NPB State Champ in the Javelin.....again
• TJ Harkins threw up a few too many Tinman celebrations 
• ...but he got to throw up so many because he was the NPB State Champ in both the 1600 and 3200 last spring, as well as the Sectional Champ in both the 1600 and 3200 along with the 4 x 800, which also included Michael Blandino, Sam Jaskolski, and Jason Rizzo (come back to us please, with the chicken...)
• Caroline realized she broke her foot
• Ali graduated (finally)
• Ali still came to every Cross Country meet (I kid we need her back too)
• TJ had the best Cross Country Season in Boy's team history, as he was: NPB State Champ, Skyland Conference Champ, Shore Coaches Champ, and Bernie Magee Champ, and he broke pretty much every school record along the way
• We also got a new toy
• His name is James Ptack
• Behind TJ, Ptack, and Blandino our Boys team qualified for Meet of Champions as a team for the 1st time ever.  We were 2nd at the NPB State Meet
• On the girls side, we became a very young squad, consisting of 5 sophomores and 2 freshman
• That young squad won the Skyland Conference Mountain Division Title
• We aggressively went after the State Relay Championship in Winter Track.  
• We got 3rd....again
• Kelly kept breaking her own school record in the hurdles, like every time
• Kelly then broke her foot...she realized right away
• TJ and Dom shaved their legs...again
• Ptack won his 1st ever race: the 3200 at NJCTC Champs
• ....he then went on to win 3 more pretty big races: the NPB State 1600, 800, and 3200.  He is now the NPB Indoor State Champ in those events.
• Haley crushed the school record in the 400.  Not only did she break the indoor record by 2 seconds but also her time is faster than the outdoor record
• She did so by finishing 5th in the 400 at the NPB State Meet.  She would have qualified for Meet of Champs any other year but #NewFormatThisYear
• Shannon, Haley, Ivy, and Mackenzie set the school record in the 4 x 400 with a 4th place finish, which also would have qualified for MOC any other year but #SeeAbove
• Mackenzie vowed to come back for Spring Track since she finished the season with a PR split

And there you have it.  The last 21 months in a nutshell.  I'm sure I missed lots of key happenings along the way, but 'tis the price you pay when you neglect this bad boy for so long.

Check back here frequently for updates.  The Spring Track Practice Schedule is up along with the Meet Schedule.  Under the records tab you'll find up-to-date records for each season.  And don't forget to check the updates tab as well as the Twitter (Follow us!) for late breaking news and schedule changes.