Girls Finish 11th, Boys Fail to Place at Morris County Relays

Chatham winter track, back from vacation, started the New Year off by competing in the Morris County Relay Championships at Drew University.

The Chatham girls distance team started the evening off by finishing fourth out of 14 in the varsity girls distance medley. Senior Kathleen Lavelle, junior Katie Hurt, sophomore Julie Williamson and sophomore Tara Hanley combined for a time of 13:17.68 to earn four points for their team.

The Chatham boys 4 x 200 meter junior varsity relay team, however, took first place with a time of 1:45.27. Junior William Smart, junior Kiran Smart, sophomore Charles Zachariades and junior Peter Basso's performance was less than four seconds short of the meet record.

"We were seeded fourth, and I thought we would come in second or third. So it was a pleasant surprise to get first," Zachariades said.

The Chatham girls junior varsity 4 x 200 meter relay team also placed. Sophomore Emma Moran, freshman Allison Kurlak, freshman Emily Hoffman and sophomore Julie Williamson's took third out of 20 with a time of 2:01.17.

Randolph's boys and girls teams took first in 4 out of the first 5 events of the meet, establishing themselves as the team to beat.

Chatham's junior varsity team continued to perform well. The boys 4 x 800 meter relay team took second out of 13 as sophomore Corey Black, sophomore Luke Freeman, junior Chris McAuliffe and sophomore anchor Anthony Malatesta finished with a time of 9:10.20.

Chatham boys coach Pat Barry summed up their season so far: "We're doing well with the younger boys, sophomores and juniors. We are trying to develop them so that in the spring and next winter we can score some more varsity points."

Terence Ferguson, the Chatham girls head coach, noted that his team has a good mix of athletes and a couple of high performing seniors.

"Kathleen Lavelle set the 3200 [meter] indoor record for the school. We also have Kat Grimes, who is an elite runner in the county," said Ferguson, adding, "We also have a great crew of sophomores and freshman. Tara Hanley runs well in the 1600, Julie Williamson is strong in the 800, 400, and 200. Katie Hurt has been performing well also."

For the boys, Randolph won the meet with 61 points. Morristown took second with 52 points. No other team had more than 30 points. Chatham scored no varsity points and remained unranked at the end of the meet.

The girls meet ended with Randolph in first with 52 points—20 more than second place Morristown. Chatham tied with Madison for 11th, as both teams earned four points.