By: Genevieve Cottingham ‘23 and Megan Groo ‘25
On Sunday, January 29th, the track stars of ND gathered at the New Balance Track and Field Center for the CHSAA Sectional Championship. The New Balance Track and Field Center is an indoor track facility located on W168th street in Washington Heights. Notre Dame is part of the Catholic High School Athletic Association, also known as the CHSAA. Our track and field team was one of 31 schools from across the five boroughs to attend this competitive meet. The ND Dragons were represented in a total of 8 different events throughout the day that included various sprints, distances, relays, and field events.
The long meet day started at 9 am with assorted individual events. On the straightaway, Nathalie Caruzzo ‘25, Sarah Figueroa ‘24, and Harper Small ‘25 broke both personal and school records in the 55-meter dash. The 55-meter dash is a sprinting event, which means that having a perfect start is crucial for a good time. Also on the straightaway was Ruby Pechtimaldjian ‘25, who leaped over hurdles to take second place in ND’s record books for indoor hurdles in the 55-meter. Another sprinting event, run by Nathalie Caruzzo ‘25 and Megan Groo ‘25, was the 300-meter dash. Both runners set new personal records by a significant margin.
At the same time as the 55-meter dash, the 3k race was happening on the track where Peyton Aninos ‘23, Kate McCullagh ‘23, and Sophie McElroy ‘25 all set substantial personal records in the 3K race. All 3 runners now hold the top five times for the ND 3K. Dolores Maxwell ‘25 also broke records, speeding through the 1500-meter run for fifth place in the city and section. She also ran the second best time for the 1500-meter race in all of ND history.
In the mid-distance events, Madeleine Alderson showed her training by running a perfectly paced 1000-meter race. She earned fifth in the section at the meet and secured fifth place in the ND record book. Alivia Rokeach ‘25 and Gabriella Giancaspro ‘25 also ran in a mid-distance event, the 600-meter run. Placed in a very competitive heat together, Alivia and Gabriella made new personal records and earned the team a score in the meet. The pace was ferocious, but both runners were so impressive that not once, but twice, the announcers called them out by name for their movement on the track. Alivia and Gabriella are both in the top three all time 600-meter record holders at ND.
Away from the track, at the long jump pit, Ruby returned from setting school records in hurdles to jump a personal record placing her at fourth place all-time for ND. Genna Cottingham ‘23 not only jumped far enough to set a personal record but scored points for the team by placing third in the section. Her personal record was improved, and remains the first place record in ND indoor track history!
After a long day at the armory, our 4x400-meter relay team did not disappoint. This all-sophomore relay team consists of Madeline Alderson, Dolores Maxwell, Alivia Rokeach, and Gabriella Giancaspro. They got second place in the city and broke their own school record for the 4x400 relay! Next, was the 4x800 meter relay run by Camila Torres ‘26, Sophie McElroy ‘25, Peyton Aninos ‘23, and Kate McCullagh ‘23. They all got personal best splits in their 800 and placed 3rd in our section amongst Manhattan, Bronx, and Staten Island schools!
The day ended with the 4x200, where the A-Team consisted of Harper Small ‘25, Genevieve Cottingham ‘23, Sarah Figueroa ‘24, and Gabriella Walters ‘26. They all received personal bests in their split and ran our fastest time of the season.
While this particular meet saw many new records and successes, that isn’t the only meet they performed well at this season! The Notre Dame track team continues to train impressively every day, to improve on their times and make the school proud. Keep on breaking those records, Dragons!
Photos Courtesy of Sarah Figueroa '24 and Genna Cottingham '23
Edited by: Faith Lam '23, Katarina Radulovic '24, Natalia Cseh '23, and Ms. Brilliant
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