Lady Cardinals Win Gold in North Carolina

The Lady Cardinals track team from had an unforgettable weekend at the National Scholastic Championships in Greensboro, N.C., breaking school records and receiving gold medals.

The community was very supportive and raised money to make it all possible. The adventure started with the team arriving in Greensboro Thursday. The action immediately began with Michelle Cascio, Gabby Sloezen, Dana Bianchi and Meghan Kocher running the sprint medley relay, achieving school record time with a 4.12.78, which landed them in third place.

Westwood was competing in the Emerging Elite Division, which is a national caliber race. The competition continued on Friday.

"On Friday morning, we came back with Meghan, Gabby, Dana and this time Corinne Myers to run the 4x800, beating a team from California with the come from behind running of Corinne in 9.22.55, also a new school record," said Head Coach George Glover. "This earned them the top spot on the awards podium for gold medals. It is a full team effort, but Corrine was spectacular under pressure. On Friday afternoon, Alexandra Cimino ran the 100 hurdles, just missing qualifying for the finals by 5 hundredths of a second. She too capped off her all-county season with a very respectable performance that we are all proud of."

On Saturday afternoon, the 4x400 team of Rebecca Fasano, Gabby Sloezen, Dana Bianchi and Michelle Cascio finished in fourth place with a time of 3.56.61, which is a new school record. Coach Glover was extremely pleased with their performance against tough competition.

"Again a relay is a total team effort, and Gabby really ran her greatest race ever getting us into contention," said Glover. "Michelle went to the front, which has worked so well for her the whole year, but the running is extremely competitive, and she came close to a win, but not quite. Her effort though, was valiant. She only knows one way to run, take the lead and push to hold on. She has tremendous heart, something I cannot coach, but it is really that quality, her desire and courage, that inspires our team."

It was a great weekend for the team and something that they will not soon forget.

"We will be back next year. This is the end of the line for seniors Meghan and Michelle, but the rest are ready to go at this again," said Glover. "For our efforts here, these girls can claim the title Second Team All-American. It was a great experience, one which makes parents and coaches proud, not for the ultimate outcome, but for the grace, composure and ultimate efforts that these fine young women were able to come up with. This was true a national experience, above and beyond anything we have ever done, and that's a great feeling."