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     The girls varsity team of Marie Thompson, Ashley Fornshell, Ali Burkholder, Corinne Lillis, Erin Casey, Allison Zeeger, Shannon Casey and Lexie Alicea placed sixth out of twenty four teams competing in the PIAA AAA State Championships at Hershey Parkview.  It was the first time in recent memory that a Downingtown team ran at states, and was an incredible start to a very bright future in Hershey.  On a crisp, cool day, East tackled the very challenging course and ran a tough race against the very best in the state.  Marie Thompson led the way in her last cross country meet as a Cougar, earning a place on the medal stand with her 14th place, 19:20 performance.  Ashley Fornshell placed 44th overall, the highest up any junior has ever finished at a state meet with a time of 19:53.  Erin Casey, Corinne Lillis, and Ali Burkholder once again was the core of the team and ran together despite an early fall by Burkholder, placing a fantastic 132nd (20:51), 139th (20:56), and 160th (21:04) as underclassman.  Sophomore Allison Zeeger and junior Shannon Casey ran tough as the number six and seven, and finished 208th (21:36) and 262nd (23:14) to round out the varsity seven.  Lexie Alicea, the eighth girl and alternate, did a fantastic job being supportive and calming nerves.  Results with mile splits have been posted.

    Thank you to Coach Read, Coach McCray, and Coach Rupert for their inspiring passion and unwavering dedication to pushing the team to new heights, to Mrs. Ferry for being the unofficial team manager and supportive every step of the way, and to the parents for everything you've done during the season.   Also, thank you to all of the of the family, friends (whether body-painted or not), and administrators for their support on Saturday at the race!!  

     Congratulations girls on your efforts on Saturday, for it was something to be truly proud of.  Congratulations especially on your running the entire season - it has been an unforgettable season and an incredible ride. 

PICTURES FROM SATURDAY HAVE BEEN POSTED!!

     Don't forget about the XC Banquet on Sunday, November 18 at the Thorndale Inn from 5-7 pm.  If you have questions or need tickets, contact Mrs. Ferry (kgreany@comcast.net)

INDOOR:  Physical forms are posted under the Indoor link.  The girls schedule is up and the boys schedule will be up soon.  Practice starts Monday, November 12!!

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Happy Halloween!

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    (Pictures have been posted!)

 The last official meet of the 2007 season ended with some unbelievable and unprecedented performances. 

     Girls Varsity started off the day, breaking records and flying through the Lehigh course to take third overall in team scoring and earning a State Championship berth.  It's the first time the girls team has gone to States in the history of Downingtown East, and the first time in twelve years that a Downingtown team has gone.  Running up front, Marie Thompson and Ashley Fornshell cruised to a 6-7 finish in 18:33 and 18:36 respectively, with Thompson having the highest individual place finish ever for the school, and Fornshell being one of only three underclassmen in the top ten overall and becoming second on the all-time District list.  Junior Ali Burkholder and sophomore Corinne Lillis continued their fantastic season, stepping up to the challenge and running PR's for the season, placing 40th in 19:24 and 44th in 19:26 respectively.  Erin Casey had another strong race, gutting out a 102nd place finish in 20:08 while Allison Zeeger PR'ed when it mattered and ran to a great 165th place, 20:49 finish while being chased down by another solid run by Shannon Casey, who placed 214th in 21:24  The girls will continue their incredible season at the PIAA State Championship meet on November 3 in Hershey. 

     The boys Varsity race, the cool weather did not stop some fantastic personal records and a solid base on which to build for next year.  Pat Ciquera finished in 57th place overall in an incredible PR of 16:21, just missing the state cutoff but running the 5th fastest time all-time by a Downingtown East boys varsity runner with another year left.  Ankit Jain placed second for the Cougars, running to a 141st, 17:03 place finish and the 11th spot all-time.  Fellow junior Nick Ferry was right behind him, placing 148th in 17:05, and he was followed by the neck-and-neck finish of Kyle Brown (178th, 17:17) and Hutton Chapman (179th, 17:17) who rounded out the top five.  Seniors Ian McCreadie and Stu Rial ended their high school cross country career in great fashion, running to 271st place in 18:04 and 286th place in 18:14 respectively. 

     The girls JV had an awesome day, with five girls placing in the top 100 places of a 600+ member race and placing 10th overall as a team.  Lexie Alicea led they way yet again, running a PR 21:02 for 11th place, while freshman Alaina Stockhausen placed 36th in 21:37.  Sophomore Beth Gibbons continued to run well, PRing once again, this time in a 58th place finish in 21:57, with Kristy Elwell (65th, 22:02) and Kate Rial (94th, 22:18) right behind her.  Also grabbing PR's at Lehigh were Courtney Bahlman, Cassie Stockhausen, Natalie Marks, Tara Van Hest, and Amanda Demarco. 

     In the 826 person boys JV race, Downingtown East held their own, placing 23rd overall as a team.  David Whitehead led the way, placing 92nd in 18:09, holding off his own teammate, Joe Linskens, who ran to 94th place in the same time.  Junior Hunter Backenstose (104th, 18:14) and sophomore Matt Ferry (186h, 18:43) ran a great race to round out the top 200 finishers.  Sean Campbell, Nick Giordano, Yancy Liao, Mike DiDonato, and Zach Gentile all PR'ed in their last meet of the season.

Congratulations to everyone on an incredibly successful season, and good luck to girls varsity as they continue on!  A huge thanks to the coaches and parents who have made this season unforgettable!!

Girls results and guys results are both posted, and the Roster PR's are updated.  The All-Time list is also updated, and pictures will be coming later this weekend!!

Don't forget about the TEAM BANQUET on SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18 at the Thorndale Inn!!

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The team dinner for tomorrow  night is at Marie Thompson's house.  On Friday, the bus for Districts LEAVES at 7:00 am...be at the back door of the school by 6:45!!!  Also, forms for the team banquet have been sent home!  The banquet will be held on Sunday, November 18 from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm at the Thorndale Inn. 

Pictures from Ches-Monts have been posted!!

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     The Varsity Boys race started off the day in spectacular fashion.  Pat Ciquera was the lone medal winner, placing eighth in a  loaded field with a time of 16:38.  Kyle Brown led the next surge of Cougars, placing 29th in 17:24 and was followed by Nick Ferry (35th, 17:32), Ankit Jain (37th, 17:39), Hutton Chapman (41st, 17:55), Stu Rial (52nd, 18:38) and Ian McCreadie (60th, 18:57).  The boys had a great race and will certainly carry their momentum into next week's District meet!

    The Girls Varsity Squad continued with their runaway success, scoring an unbelievable 39 points on their way to a first place finish and Ches-Mont Champion title against a few of the premier teams in the state!  Senior Marie Thompson once again led the way with her second place finish in 18:53, while junior star Ashley Fornshell ran a blazing third mile to finish in a fantastic fourth place with a time of 19:20.  Ali Burkholder ran another great race, with her outstanding 7th place finish in 19:58, and the stellar sophomore duo of Corinne Lillis and Erin Casey ran 20:12 (12th) and 20:21 (14th) respectively to round out the top five.  Shannon Casey (38th, 21:23) and Allison Zeeger (45th, 21:53) ensured, once again, the victory of the team.  CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2007 CHES-MONT WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS!

     The JV Races had some very nice times and finishes.  On the boys side, David Whitehead took control with his 18th place finish in 18:35.  However, right behind him were junior Hunter Backenstose (21st, 18:38), senior Joe Linskens (22nd, 18:39), junior Mike Estephan (31st, 19:12) and sophomore Matt Ferry (34th, 19:15).  On the girls side, Lexie Alicea led the way with her 3rd place, 21:33 performance and freshman Alaina Stockhausen (5th, 22:25), and sophomores Beth Gibbons (8th, 22:54), Kristy Elwell (9th, 22:55), and Lauren Perry (14th, 23:20) all medaled! 

Results and PR's are up, and pictures are coming later this weekend!  If you have pictures of the meet you would like posted, send them to webmaster@dehsxctf.net! 

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     The Ches-Mont League Championships will be held this Thursday, October 18 at the Westtown School in West Chester with the races starting at 11:00 am. 

Ches-Mont Schedule:

11:00:  Boys Varsity

11:30:  Girls Varsity

12:00:  Boys JV

12:30:  Girls JV

1:00:  Awards

     Pictures from the West meet, Steel City and William Tennent are now posted and can be found here.

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     The Novice Race started the day, and there were great performances on both the girls and guys side.  On the girls side, Tory Mullane and Beth Gibbons finished third and fourth, and were closely followed by the underclassmen of Cassie Stockhausen (6th), Sophie Fogerty(7th), Natalie Marks (9th), and Courtney Bahlman(10th).  The boys finished strong as well, led by a healthy Matt Ferry in 23rd place and there was strong running by Al Kargbo (31st), Sean Campbell (32nd), Tim Leonhardt (33rd), Nick Giordano (44th), and Matt Bowyer (61st). 

     The girls varsity squad turned heads once again, dominating the race and winning with a commanding 46 points, 65 ahead of second place William Tennent.  The top five all placed in the top twenty, earning medals, and all seven girls were in the top fifty one spots.  Marie Thompson won the Invite with a time of 19:05, and Ashley Fornshell had another great race with her fifth place effort in 19:38.  Junior Ali Burkholder took control to run a fantastic time of 20:03 and break into the top ten with her ninth place performance, and sophomore sensations Corinne Lillis (15th, 20:11) and Erin Casey (16th, 20:12) ran a smart race and finished out the top five with an unbelievable 1:07 spread.  Allison Zeeger and Shannon Casey solidified the win, coming in before most teams' fifth girl and displacing the points to cement the victory.  Congratulations girls on another Invitational win!

     The guys had a solid varsity race, and an incredible final spread of 59 seconds between the first and fifth runner.  Pat Ciquera was the only individual medal winner of the day, placing 19th with a time of 17:03.  Nick Ferry was the number two, running to 32nd place with a 17:39, and Ankit Jain (37th), Kyle Brown (41st), and Hutton Chapman (48th) rounded out the top five.  The boys took seventh overall, out of eighteen teams competing in the meet.

     In Girls JV Race, Lexie Alicea led the way and finished in second place with a great time of 21:20.  Also in the top ten were Alaina Stockhausen (5th) and Kristy Elwell (10th).  However, every JV girl was in the top thirty six and great runs by Logan Carey (15th), Kate Rial (16th), Lauren Perry (31st), and Natalie Tully (36th) gave the JV squad second place overall.  In the boys JV Race, Stu Rial finished first for the Cougars and 4th overall, and was followed by Ian McCreadie (7th), Dave Whitehead (11th), Hunter Backenstose (12th), Joe Linskens (23rd), Yancy Liao (62nd), and Zach Gentile (65th).  The boys JV also placed second overall. 

Results are up, Rosters are updated, and pictures are coming soon!

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    Downingtown East ran at the elite and hilly Steel City Invitational hosted by Coatesville this Saturday.  The boys started off the day, and finished 11th overall in the team scoring.  Four runners made it into the All-Time Top 15 list for the meet, including Pat Ciquera, whose 27th place finish of 17:44 puts him at number four all time, Nick Ferry, whose place of 61st and time of 18:29 puts him at number ten all time, Ankit Jain, whose place of 68th and time of 18:35 puts him at number eleven all time, and Hutton Chapman, whose 80th place and time of 18:48 puts him at fourteenth all time.  You can view the list here!

     The girls continued their outstanding season, taking second overall by only ten points to the number two ranked team in the state, Northern York.  Marie Thompson led the way with her fourth place finish, but was closely followed by a stellar tenth place run by Ashley Fornshell.  Once again, the pack of Erin Casey, Corinne Lillis, and Ali Burkholder was key again and their fantastic finishes of 25th, 26th, and 27th cemented the team's success.  Great running by Shannon Casey and Allison Zeeger shows the depth of the girls side, and the fact that all seven of this year's varsity runners made it into the top 15 All-Time list makes a strong statement.

Results are posted and pictures from Mr. Thompson and Penntrack are up!

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STEEL CITY UPDATE:  There will be no bus to the Steel City Invitational on 10/6/07.  Boys need to arrive by 8:30 am and girls no later than 9:00.  The boys race starts at 10:00 and the girls go off at 10:45 with awards following the end of the girls race.

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Results will be posted soon, as will pictures and PR's!

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     The boys varsity race started off the day, with Pat Ciquera holding off Souderton's Donnie Noble to win the race in an incredible time of 16:29.  Nick Ferry was right behind him, finishing third in a stellar 16:47, and followed by a sub 17:00 minute finish by fifth place Kyle Brown (16:51).  Spectacular finishes by the rest of the varsity, Ankit Jain, 9th in 17:15, Hutton Chapman, 12th in 17:26, Stu Rial, 14th in 17:35, and Joe Linskens, 16th in 17:53, helped the boys team slip by host Souderton 30-31 and capture the team title.

     In the girls varsity race, Downingtown East placed their top five in the top ten to beat North Penn by six points, 29-35.  Senior Marie Thompson led the way for the Cougars, placing first in a time of 18:24, breaking  the 2001 course record by six seconds along the way.  Ashley Fornshell had another spectacular performance, and the junior placed third with a great time of 18:51.  Sophomores Corinne Lillis and Erin Casey and junior Ali Burkholder were once again the crucial pack, and their finishes of 7th (19:30), 8th (19:32), and 10th (19:41) solidified the team victory.  Great running by junior Shannon Casey (15th, 20:33) and freshman Alaina Stockhausen (19th, 20:59) rounded out the varsity squad.

     In the boys JV Race, Ian McCreadie continued his winning ways and once again took first, with a fantastic time of 17:31.  Right behind him was David Whitehead (2nd, 17:33), and the three other individual medal winners of Matt Ferry (6th, 18:10), Mike Estephan (7th, 18:17), and Pat Bertha (8th, 18:32).  In the girls JV race, Allison Zeeger led the way with her fourth place finish in 21:00, and was closely followed by fellow medal winner Kristy Elwell (6th, 21:02).

Results for girls and guys are up and meet pictures are posted!.

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     The girls side ran an inspired race against a very good Henderson team, and won solidly 20-37 by sweeping spots two through six!  Marie Thompson and Ashley Fornshell ran well up front on a hot day, followed in by more fantastic racing by Erin Casey and Ali Burkholder.  However, the day belonged to Corinne Lillis, Alaina Stockhausen, Shannon Casey, Lexie Alicea, and Allison Zeeger, who stepped up and held off the rest of Henderson's varsity to cement the win.  Congratulations girls, who are an undefeated 5-0 in the Ches-Mont League!! 

     The boys held up a respectable score in their loss to Henderson, 22-33, and a win over Avon Grove, 21-38.  Pat Ciquera led the team, finishing fourth in a great time of 17:28, and was followed by Kyle Brown, Ankit Jain, Nick Ferry, Hutton Chapman, Dave Whitehead, Ian McCreadie, and Stu Rial, all of whom broke 19:00 minutes on a tough course and scorching conditions.

Results for girls and guys are up!  Pictures from the Rustin meet are posted, and pictures from the Henderson meet will be posted as soon as some technical issues are resolved!

Information for Saturday's Souderton Invitational:

 THE BUS LEAVES AT 6:00 AM!  THAT MEANS BE AT THE SCHOOL NO LATER THAN 5:50!!

Schedule: 

8:30:  Coaches Meeting  

9:00:  Boys Varsity  

9:45:  Girls Varsity 

10:30:  Boys JV 

11:15:  Girls JV  

12:00:  Middle School 

12:30:  Awards               

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Boys results are up, girls is coming soon, and meet pictures from Chris Fretz and the Rustin meet will be up later today!

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     On the girls side, it was a varsity duel with the host team, Perkiomen Valley.  East finished second overall by only a few points thanks to great running from the entire seven:  Marie Thompson (2nd), Ashley Fornshell (4th), Erin Casey (13th), Ali Burkholder (17th), Corinne Lillis (25th), Allison Zeeger (35th), and Lexie Alicea (44th).  The JV did equally well, led by the five medal winners of Kristy Elwell (3rd), Alaina Stockhausen (4th), Shannon Casey (6th), Kaleigh Tomkinson (8th), Lauren Perry (11th) and Kate Rial taking 21st.

Results are up and rosters are updated, and the Course Records for Chris Fretz have also been updated.  Meet Pictures are coming soon, and pictures from the home meet on 9/12 are up!!

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     It was an exciting race on the girls side, with a near shut-out and four runners making it onto the "All-Time Top 25" list for our home course!  Marie Thompson won in a new course record of 19:39 and was closely followed by junior Ashley Fornshell in 20:05 (tied for fourth All-Time), and the dynamic duo of Erin Casey and Ali Burkholder who both finished in 21:26 which ties them for twenty-fourth overall.  Also, there were impressive PR's from Corinne Lillis, Allison Zeeger, Lexie Alicea, Kristy Elwell, Alaina Stockhausen, and Kaleigh Tomkinson despite the difficulty of our home course!

Over the next couple of days, be sure to check out the All-Time Home Course list, and the Top 10 by Grade lists for boys and girls to see where you stand!  Results are being posted, rosters are being updated, and pictures will be coming soon!!

UP NEXT:  Practice tomorrow (9/13) at 3:00 pm.  There is NO practice on Friday 9/14.  Our next meet is the Chris Fretz Invitational at Perkiomen Valley High School.  Directions can be found here.

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Just a reminder of the home meet tomorrow against Shanahan starting at 4:00pm!!

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     In the girls JV race, freshman Alaina Stockhausen led the way with her first place finish over the two mile course, but was closely followed by juniors Lexie Alicea, who placed third overall, and Kate Rial, who was twentieth.  In the relay style Varsity race, the team of Ashley Fornshell, Ali Burkholder, Marie Thompson, and Erin Casey ran a great, smart race and took second overall in a dual with Henderson while a second relay of Corinne Lillis, Shannon Casey, Allison Zeeger, and Kristy Elwell ran solidly to place twelfth overall. 

     In the boys JV race, the junior duo of Mike Estephan and Hunter Backenstose paced the way with their 22-24 place finish, and were closely followed by junior Pat Bertha and sophomore Tom Higgins.  In the boys varsity race, Pat Ciquera, Hutton Chapman, Kyle Brown, and Nick Ferry ran well against a tough field and placed seventh overall while the team of Ankit Jain, Stu Rial, Joe Linskens, and Ian McCreadie raced well and finished thirteenth.

Both boys and girls results are posted, and rosters are updated!

UPDATE:  Meet pictures from the Coatesville meet and the 4 x XC Invitational have been added!

NEXT UP:  Home meet against Shanahan on September 12!

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     The guys had a great race in their defeat to a state ranked Coatesville squad.  Led by Kyle Brown, the top seven of Pat Ciquera, Nick Ferry, Hutton Chapman, Ankit Jain, Stu Rial, and Dave Whitehead all placed in the top sixteen.

     The girls dominated, sweeping the top five spots in a shut out.  The strong top five of Marie Thompson, Ashley Fornshell, Erin Casey, Ali Burkholder, and Corinne Lillis led the way, and strong finishes by Shannon Casey, Allison Zeeger, Lexie Alicea and Kristy Elwell cemented the victory. 

Results, Course Records, and Rosters are updated!

NEXT UP:  4 x XC Invitational at Belmont Plateau.  Team Dinner on 9/7 at the Chapman's.

SWEATS UPDATE:  The sweats have been ordered, and both sets should be in by Monday, 9/24!

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     On the boys side, the Varsity squad was led by the Kyle Brown - Ian McCreadie team who placed tenth, and closely followed by the teams of Nick Ferry - Matt Ferry (thirteenth), Stu Rial - David Whitehead (fourteenth) and Hutton Chapman - Joe Linskens (sixteenth).  On the JV side, there were some excellent times posted by all.  Hunter Backenstose led the way for the boys with his sixth place finish, and Mike Estephan just missed a medal with his eleventh place overall.  Congratulations to all the guys who ran!

Both girls results and boys results are posted, and meet pictures are posted!

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SWEAT MONEY IS DUE TODAY!  Last minute order forms can be found here.  Checks made to DEHSXCTF.

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     The girls, led by senior Marie Thompson, junior Ashley Fornshell, junior Ali Burkholder, sophomores Erin Casey and Corinne Lillis, junior Shannon Casey, freshman Tory Mullane, junior Kaleigh Tomkinson, and sophomores Kristy Elwell, Allison Zeeger, and Logan Carey, had a strong race and beat Conestoga convincingly, but were defeated by a tough Unionville squad who were just ranked as sixth in the state by the PennTrackXC.com preseason poll. 

     The boys, led by junior Pat Ciquera, senior Kyle Brown, juniors Hutton Chapman and Nick Ferry, seniors Stu Rial, David Whitehead, and Ian McCreadie, sophomore Matt Ferry and senior Joe Linskens had a great day and pulled out the win against both teams. 

Up next:  Friday 8/31 at the Oakbourne Relays.

REMINDERS:  Make sure you get your team sweat and spirit fundraiser money in ASAP and don't forget about the Beef and Beer on October 5th!

PICTURES FROM THE SCRIMMAGE ARE UP!

Go to the XC link and click on "Meet Pictures"

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ALSO:  The cross-country team will be having a "Beef and Beer" for parents as a fundraiser on October 5, 2007, the night before Steel City Invitational.  Any parents, alumni over 21, and friends are welcome.  More details will be coming soon!

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