On August 29, 2009, the Turpin Spartans began the 2009 Cross Country season at the Brian Plasman Memorial Invitational in William Harbin Park.  Having opened their 2008 season at the same meet, both teams expected to show hard effort and see slow times on the hilly, challenging course.  But the meet still proved to be a good starter for the season, introducing many of Turpin's new runners to the challenges of cross country and prepping Turpin's teams for the rest of the 09 season.

The Lady Spartan's Varsity team was made up of seasoned Turpin athletes and several varsity newcomers.  Having graduated Kaitlin Price and Lauren Young, and temporairly losing senior Meg Plichta to a knee injury, the varsity team was able to introduce sophomores Rachel Lonneman and Michelle Robinson to the varsity squad, along with senior Brittany Newell and junior Adrienne Grogan.  In the race, Bacon, who was out during the 2008 season due to injury, proved herself healthy and reliable by leading the team with a 21:25 finish.  Adrienne Grogan ran her first ever varsity race very professionally with a strong 22:22.  Alexia Yun, Rachel Lonneman, and Michelle Robinson followed right behind Grogan with respective times of 22:47, 23:00, and 23:23.  Brittany Newell rounded out the Spartan squad by finishing her first race with a 24:14.  The girl's team ended up getting 8th place overall, a score which can motivate them to faster times and better results in the future.

The Guys' team came to the Brian Plasman meet not knowing what to expect.  With a summer of hard work behind them, and having only lost Drew DiSabatino to college, the boy's team had the same strong potential they had last year, especially with the addition of sophomore Antony Parnigoni to take DiSabatino's place.  Aiming to not get another 8th place finish like in last year's Brian Plasman meet, the guys were ready to see what this season may hold for them.  Senior Nicholas El-Khoury, having spent most of the summer recovering from injury, lead the team with a 2nd place, 16:55 finish.  Antony Parnigoni, a strong track athlete in Turpin's 09 season, ran his first ever varsity race in 17:08.  Senior Dave Rodriguez ran a strong 17:28 on the hilly course.  Junior Joe Murray, senior Alex Polivka, and senior Jon Risher all finished with decent times of 18:14, 18:34, and 18:49, respectively.  First time varsity and Turpin XC newcomer, sophomore Jake Tracy, ran his first ever race in 19:44, closing up the guys team.  Doing much better than previously anticipated, the guys welcomed their 2nd place finish behind St. X and are looking forward to more success in the 2009 season.

When the freshmen and JV race results are posted, additions will be made to this article. 

Mark Chalifoux
mchalifoux@communitypress.com
August 10, 2009

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Turpin

The Turpin High School girls' cross country team graduated two of the program's more reliable threats in 2008 and will have to replace the standouts with newcomers Adrienne Grogan, Brittney Newell and Carmen Versoza.

Turpin returns Jillian Jaworek, Megan Plichta, Alexia Yun and juniors Lauren Keene and Cassie Bacon, who all should do big things for the Spartans.

"We only lost two girls from last year's team and we have a lot of new help from the track team," fourth-year head coach Melissa Siemers said. "The dynamic on the team has changed a bit, but we still have a good shot at a successful season."

The team finished second in the league and sixth in the region in 2008.

The Turpin boys' cross country team returns FAVC Cardinal Runner of the Year and 2008 state qualifier Nicholas El-Khoury. Along with El-Khoury, seniors Dave Rodriguez, Jon Risher, and Alex Polivka return to the Spartans squad.

Junior Joe Murray is another returning runner and sophomore Antony Parnigoni has been an early standout for Turpin. Other sophomores running well are Spencer Llyod, Jake Tracy and Sean Kennedy. New runners performing well include Connor Twele, RJ Rokosz, Peter Franz, Sean Molloy and Ian Bentley.

Returning runners who are looking to contend for a varsity spot are Scott Wenderoth, Adam Galloway, Trace Zemites, Bryan Morton and Paul Rodriguez.

The boys' team has the highest turnout in program history with 34 boys on the roster, and head coach Jim Gossett said Turpin should be a contender for a fourth consecutive FAVC title. He said the team has 20 runners who could potentially be in the top seven.

"That should propel us to having a very respectable ranking in the city by the end of the season," he said.