By: Carolyn M. Hartko
Carolyn M. HartkoSports Writer
The fact that distance runners have been hardest hit by the lack of training due to bad weather this winter was apparent at the Eastern States Regional Championships held this past Tuesday night at the 168th Street Armory in New York City.
Monroe entrants Ashley Maguire and Nova Roman finished in the middle of the field in the 800 meter race, and the 3200, respectively.
"It’s been tough training the distance runners," Lady Falcon head coach Lew Stonaker said. "We’ve been stuck inside for three weeks. It’s been very difficult, but it’s the same for everybody. I’ve seen a lot of the distance runners struggling not just from our school, but from a lot of schools. The weather’s just been horrible , who was seeded near the bottom of the field going into the 800 on Tuesday night, won her heat with a time of 2:19.96, which bumped her up to a top-ten finish. The event was won by Nana Hanson-Hall of New Rochelle High School who set a meet record at 2:15.17.
"Ashley led from gun to finish line," Stonaker said. "She had to, because it was a slow heat, and to have any chance of finishing high, she had to take it out herself. She’s been (recovering) from bronchitis, or whatever, and she’s having a little trouble breathing, so it’s tough to maintain the speed. But she ran under 2:20, and that’s a good sign for the spring."
Roman ran a 12:03 in the 3200, which put her in the top half of the field. The top three finishers in that event all ran under the old meet record of 11:04.2, which dates from 1997. Lindsay Van Alsteine of Hawthorne Catholic H.S. took the gold medal in 10:44.47.
"Nova ran, not her best race of the year, but a pretty solid race," Stonaker said. "She went out hard. She ran a good first mile. She just didn’t quite have the strength she usually has in her second mile. That’s usually her strong suit that she can run and run and run all day and never change pace."
This was Maguire’s second big meet of the week. On Sunday, she ran the 800 at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions held at Princeton’s Jadwin Gym. Again, seeded 21st going in, Maguire was in the slowest of three heats. And again, her time of 2:21.3 moved her up from her entrance seed.
"It’s not my best," Maguire said of her time. "It’s okay. I would have liked to have done better. I pretty much ran on my own. I won my heat, by a lot. I didn’t run so good at (the Group II Championships), so I wasn’t in that good of a spot to place. But I came in 10th overall."
The unusually cold and snowy weather has affected more than just the distance runners. The Greater Middlesex Conference has declared the winter season over as of this week. Missed dual meets will not be made up, and there will be no division champions named this year. In the White Division, Monroe only got in two of its dual meets, and some schools didn’t have any.
However, based on the limited dual meet competition, and the county relay and individual championships, all-conference and all-division teams were chosen. Maguire and Roman made all-conference, and nine Falcons were named to all-White Division teams. Tom Kowaleski (shot put) was the only boy named to the all-White. On the girls’ side, Bernadette Moke was nominated for the hurdles, and Ashley Theinert and Debbie Stelmaszczyk made it as sprinters. Monroe placed five distance runners on the all-White, including Maguire, Roman, Meghan Farrell, Kristi Motyka, and freshman Liz Segarra.

