Rachel Paul Posts Record in Annual RGBW Scrimmage

The Sachem East girls cross country team opened its season on Saturday, September 3 with the annual RGBW (Red/Gold/Black/White) scrimmage on the Robert McNeill 1.5 Mile Cross Country Course at Sachem East.

In this event the varsity team is divided into four evenly matched "color teams" with seniors serving as captain/coaches and coaches Jaimie Sisson, Dan Schaub, and Pete McNeill serving as meet officials.

With special guest alumnus Maria Michta - just back from her 30th place finish in the 20 Kilometer Racewalk at the World Track and Field Championships in South Korea - serving as race starter, the girls got off to a fast start as All-State harrier Rachel Paul took the lead from the gun and proceeded to set a new course record with a time of 9:01.

Not far behind were All-Division Shannon O'Hehir (9:39) and All-County Danielle Vasquez (9:45).

With All-County Melanie Notarstefano on the sidelines due to illness a number of girls expected to provide depth at the five, six and seven positions battled to try to bring home the win for their "color team".

Kaitlin DeMartino was next across the line in 10:23, followed closely by Nicole Silvestre (10:26), Katie Hempfling (10:32), Sam Maurice (10:35), and Brenna McGuire (11:17). The Black team was the overall winner with 43 points, followed by White (49), Red (58), and Gold (70).

Sisson was clearly excited when she noted, "how much faster than last year most of the team ran. Especially impressive is the large number of girls who ran faster than last years top four."

The East girls cross country team has a pre-season ranking of No. 15 in New York State Class A schools and No. 28 overall in New York.

Their first dual meet will be home against Sachem North on Tuesday September 13, and the team will be traveling upstate to the VVS Invitational (the site of the NY State Championships in November) the weekend of September 15 and 16. With 16 of the top 30 ranked teams in New York competing, including national No. 1 ranked Fayettville-Manlius, Sachem East will be hoping to compete well and perhaps move up even higher in the rankings.

"If the results of the RGBW Scrimmage are any indication, that rise in the rankings is not just possible, but very likely," said Sachem coach Pete McNeil.