Provost sets course mark at Princeton Day School

By: Sean Moylan
   Although she already owns the Peddie cross country course record (18:51), don’t expect Rachel Provost to slow down any this season. In fact. on September 12th, the Falcons’ super senior set a course record at Princeton Day School campus with a 20:24 time in the Peddie girls’ varsity cross country team’s 17-38 win over PDS. Peddie also beat George 20-35 in the same race.
   "Rachel Provost will probably be one of the best runners in the North," said Peddie head coach Jerry Hart. "She’s won every race she was in at the high school level and most of time she won (by over a minute)."
   Ironically, this year Provost’s main competition may come from her younger sister Melissa, a sophomore who placed second at PDS with a splendid 20:55 time. Senior Sinead O’Dwyer (third place with a 22 minute time) and freshman Kathrine Warren, a tremendous athlete with a ton of potential who placed fifth in the race with a 22:58 mark, are also runners to watch.
   Sophomore Amber Scott is also returning from last year’s great 15-1 team. Freshmen Emma Cottone, Jackie Wong, Alison Huang and Emmie Taylor are also expected to contribute to the team’s success this year. Meanwhile on the boys’ side, Peddie’s C.J. Schlager, a junior, ran a fine 17:45 time to place second behind George’s Chris Bergan, who set a course record at PDS with a 17:43 mark. Brian Hayes, also a junior at Peddie, ran a stellar 18:24, 5th place time.
   East Windsor’s own Robert Warfield, a two-year senior captain, placed 12th with a 20:31 mark at PDS. Peddie defeated PDS 27-29, but George beat Peddie 23-33.
   Hart is also excited about sophomore Jarrett Kunze, who used to be a soccer player. Kunze ran a 20:08 time to take 9th place at PDS.
   "Jarrett is a diamond in the rough, but by the end of the season he’ll be sparkling," said Hart, who will also count on Andrew Washuta (freshman), Chris Rosensteel (sophomore), Dylan Cardoza (freshman) and Jeff Hennessy (freshman), Kris Kalas (sophomore) Zach Mayo (freshman) and a few others.
   "My hope for the boys is we’ll do better than last year," noted Hart, who is being assisted by Chris Bright, Mike O’Neill and Meghan Beucher. "Looking at the boys team, two years down the road they can be a pretty powerful team."
   This past Saturday Peddie participated in the Briarwood Classic at Fairmont Park in Philadelphia with M. Provost leading the way with a 20:50 time and a 9th-place finish. R. Provost was leading the race when she twisted her ankle.
   Nonetheless, Peddie still took 9th place out of 20 teams. O’Dwyer, along with M. Provost, earned a trophy with a 21:31 time, which was good enough for place her in the top 20.
   Schlager took 12th in the boys’ race with an 18:08 mark. And Kunze (19:12), Hayes (19:38) and Warfield (20:49) also ran good times as Peddie finished 12th as a team.
   Peddie’s girls’ team (2-0) is scheduled at Canterbury on Saturday and it is scheduled to take on Stuart, the Hun School and Rutgers Prep next Tuesday. Meanwhile the Peddie boys’ team (1-1) is also scheduled at Canterbury on Saturday and on Tuesday it’s scheduled against the Hun School and Rutgers Prep.