After winning its first South Jersey Group IV sectional title in 12 years a season ago, the Shawnee High School girls’ cross country team has made it two in a row. Winning sectional crowns just business as usual now, coach?
“I don’t know about that,” head coach Dana Palumbo said with a laugh. “There was a time when Shawnee won 12 straight sectional titles under coach Mike Yurcho, but it’s exciting for us to add to the school’s success.”
Palumbo meets with her team in May before school ends to discuss training over the summer as well as goals for next season. Fresh off a sectional title, one of the goals for this season was clear.
“They knew that after last year it was going to come with a lot of work if we want to be successful, but after winning a sectional title and because it had been so long, all the girls were excited and were like ‘we want to do that again,’” Palumbo said.
The team returned four contributors from last year in seniors Morgan Arena, Nina Bendixen and sophomores Kara Bonner and Cara Keevey. Palumbo credited those four girls for “changing the atmosphere” within the team.
“They’re not resume runners. Their focus is on the team’s success and the team doing well. They know that comes with individual success, but team success has come first,” Palumbo said.
Helping with that culture change were freshman standouts Georgia Larzelere and Claire Rankin as well as junior Hannah Brown who is in her first year on the team.
“Having freshmen come in and run so well was really important for us. They made a huge impact,” Palumbo said.
Brown battled a hip injury most of the season, but after a couple of strong showings in JV events, she was able to claim the sixth runner slot on the varsity team.
With five underclassmen contributing for Shawnee, Palumbo is hopeful the future remains bright for the team.
“The hope always is that we can stay injury free and continue to improve each season,” Palumbo said.
