Sharks' itching to race, team hasn't lost since league began five years ago
Indoor track
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Sacred Heart has never lost a girls indoor track meet and they want to keep it that way after the 2007-08 season.

The Sharks have posted a 12-0 record in the league, which began five years ago sanctioned by the Monsignor Martin Association but was switched to club level last year.

"The girls coming back know we haven't lost anything in the league," said Sharks coach Rod Sarkovics, who is also league chairperson. "They're aiming to win everything they can get their hands on. They want to get in a race and do something and I want to get out there and coach them."

While the league Sacred Heart runs in is not sanctioned by the MMA, only girls teams from the MMA can compete. The Sharks will be joined by Holy Angels, Mount St. Mary's, St. Mary's of Lancaster, and Nardin. There are three meets scheduled (Jan. 5 and 12 and Feb. 9) from 2 to 4 p.m. at Lancaster High School's Fieldhouse. The dimensions of Lancaster's Fieldhouse and the time constraints will allow for sprinting (55, 300, 4x150 relay), mid-distance (600, maybe open 750, maybe 4x750 relay, 900) and distance (1500, maybe 1050) events as well as the long and triple jump and shot put.

Sarkovics said the MMA Executive Committee would reevaluate after the season whether or not to re-institute the sport into the MMA.

Sarkovics has 21 girls on his team this winter. Nine are new to the sport.

Returning athletes include seniors Brittany Gibbons, Kim Patterson, Carly Hall, Mary Russell, Emily Tutak and Kellieanne Connolly, juniors Melissa Naab, Christine Loftus and Jessica Moses and sophomore Erin Wattengel. Newcomers are seniors Jordan Flowers, Jule McNamara, Natalie Wasilewski, Leah Meridith and Kristen Ilecki, juniors Lindsay DelGrosso, Gabrielle Harrington, and Ginamarie Mule, sophomore Emily Gillig and freshmen Angelica Tan and Alyse Madison.

Gibbons, Patterson, Hall, Russell, Wasilewski and McNamara helped the Sharks' cross country team take second at All-Catholics this past fall. All will run distance events (900 and up) for indoor track; Gibbons may also run a mid-distance event. Gibbons and Patterson took third and seventh, respectively, at All-Catholics for cross country.

Naab, who missed half of the cross country season with an ankle injury, is healthy and should be a force in the sprinting events.

Tutak runs mid-distance, Wattengel is a distance runner, Loftus sprints and jumps, Connolly long and triple jumps, and Moses is the team's only shot put thrower.

DelGrosso, Madison, and Tan will sprint, Harrington, Gillig, Meridith, Ilecki and Flowers will run distance events and Mule can jump and run mid-distance.

Sarkovics' starting 4x150 relay will be Naab, Loftus, DelGrosso and Madison.

Sarkovics feels his distance runners, because of their experience, are the strength of the team but said the team's sprinters will not be far behind as a strength.

Overall, Sarkovics said he is satisfied with how his team is looking but knows they can improve.

Sarkovics will be joined by four assistant coaches. His son, Dave, returns to coach the distance runners. Jackie and Jenna Piecuch, each 2007 Sacred Heart grads, will coach the jumping events. Ali Jenkins, a 2006 Sacred Heart grad, will help Rod with the sprinters.

"It's really satisfying to know that Dave is coaching again," said Sarkovics. To have Jackie, Jenna and Ali shows they still have some attachment to the school."