Hand Girls' XC Looking to Improve in 2009-'10

Last year was a successful one for the Hand girls' cross-country team as the Tigers posted a ninth-place finish in the SCC and then took fifth in Class M. While Hand has moved up to Class L, Coach Mike Simeone is aiming to improve on last year's finishes and fare well in the postseason.

"We would like to qualify as many athletes as possible for the State Open and New Englands and hope to qualify for indoor Nationals, as we did outdoors," said Simeone, who is assisted by Steve Swift and Chris Henninger. "Hopefully we can set some new school records in the process."

Senior captains Samantha Tiscia (sprints) and Erica Deshpande (hurdles/multi) will lead the charge with many talented athletes returning. Tiscia was a member of last year's SCC champion 4x200 relay and a member of the school record-holding 4x200 and sprint medley relay teams.

The Tigers also boast a strong junior class. Meghan Derken is an All-State quality sprinter, who was a member of the distance medley relay team that competed at the National Championship in North Carolina during the outdoor season, a key member of the sprint relays including the 4x200, 4x400, and sprint medley. Derken is also a school record-holder in the 600, 4x400, 4x200, and sprint medley relay. Juniors Jacqueline Kos and Alex Solin are versatile sprinters who are new to indoor track after being key relay contributors during the outdoor season. Rachel Johansen will add depth to hurdles as well as sprints and field events.

Several juniors are coming off strong cross-country seasons and should contribute to the middle- and long-distance events. Megan Lynch is a member of DMR relay, was a New England qualifier as a freshman in the 1,000, and is the current indoor school record-holder in the 800, 1,000, 4x400, and 4x800. Malin Althin is a member of the school record-holding SMR, DMR, and 4x400 teams. Anna Guidi is new to indoor track, but is expected to contribute greatly to relays this season.

There are also several strong sophomores. Sarah Cotton, another athlete coming off a stellar cross-country season, holds the school record in the DMR for indoors and the 1,600 and 3,200 for outdoors, holding the SCC record in the 3,200. She was also a member of the DMR that competed at Nationals.

Other sophomores expected to contribute are Shaelin Gottlick, a versatile sprinter looking to have a breakthrough season and contribute to relays; Kendall Daub, who is new to indoor track, who should be a key contributor to multiple relays and is a member of the outdoor school record-holding 4x800 team; and Ciara Collins, a distance runner coming off a breakthrough cross-country season, who is looking to make an impact in her first indoor track season.

"Coach Swift has done an incredible job with the distance runners in the past and looks to continue to build on that success with some added depth and new talent this season," said Simeone. "Coach Henninger will join us for the first time indoors to coach our throwers, which should lead to huge improvements."