Friday, September 16, 2011

Procaccio Adds Six Frosh Harriers to the Defending National Champions

Gina Procaccio's has six new freshman runners on her 2011 Villanova women' cross country squad, currently ranked #5 in the national rankings. Here are the vital statistics on each of the new additions.

1. Megan Venables (Laurel Springs, NJ / Highland Regional HS)
Venables spent much of the 2010 cross country season ranked as the #2 high school harrier in the USA. She won the NJ state cross country title in 2010. She finished 4th at the FootLocker Northeast Regional, thereby qualifying for Nationals. In San Diego at the FootLocker national championships, she finished 5th overall. Venables holds the course records at both Holmdel Park (Holmdel, NJ) and at Belmont Plateau (Philadelphia, PA). Her PRs are:
800 meters: 2:24.24
1600 meters: 5:50.27
Two Miles: 11:25.09
3000 meters: 9:45.83
3200 meters: 10:33.25
5000 meters: 17:22.84

2. Courtney Chapman (Fayetteville, NY / Fayette-Manlius HS)
Chapman was a member of five consecutive Nike Cross Country Nationals championship teams for Fayetteville-Manlius. In the 2010 meet she finished 29th overall. At the New Balance Indoor Nationals in 2011 she anchored the Fayetteville-Manlius DMR squad to the the USA all-time #2 finish. Chapman was 3rd at the New York state meet at 1500 meters in 2011, running 4:23. Her PRs are:
500 meters: 1:22.86
600 meters: 1:40.58
800 meters: 2:19.39
1000 meters: 2:54.98
1500 meters: 4:23.01
1600 meters: 5:04.34
3000 meters: 9:43.08
4000 meters: 14:14.30
Three Miles: 16:58.00
5000 meters: 17:25.40

3. Stephanie Schappert (Delray Beach, FL / Pope John Paul II)
Schappert is the sister of recent Villanova All-American Nicole Schappert and the daughter of former Villanova All-Americans Ken Schappert (track) and Jill Ackerman (swimming). She is a two-time Florida 2A state cross country champion, and won both the 800 meter and 1600 meter state championships in both 2010 and 2011. Stephanie's PRs are:
800 meters: 2:10.81
1500 meters: 4:38.01
1600 meters: 4:51.41
One Mile: 4:55.86
3200 meters: 10:49.46
Three Miles: 17:53.88
5000 meters: 17:50.37

4. Amanda Borroughs (Sarasota Springs, NY / Sarasota Springs HS)
Borroughs was a third team all-state cross country runner in 2010, and finished 9th overall at the Nike Cross Country Regionals meet last year. She finished fourth at the New York state indoor meet in 2011 over 1000 meters, running 2:53.17. Borroughs is a very versatile runner, competing in everything from the 400 meter hurdles, 2000 meter steeple, through 5000 meters and cross country. Her PRs are:
400 meter hurdles: 1:04.74
500 meters: 1:19.82
600 meters: 1:37.34
800 meters: 2:11.26
1000 yards: 2:51.60
1000 meters: 2:53.17
1500 meters: 4:48.10
One Mile: 5:00.84
2000 meter steeple: 7:04.30
4000 meters: 15:12.18
Three Miles: 17:34.81
5000 meters: 18:04.80

5. Leanne Tucker (Tewksbury, MA / Tewksbury Regional HS)
Primarily a sprinter, and with no high school experience in cross country, Tucker is admittedly an experiment this fall. Coach Procaccio has stated about Tucker "we'll explore her potential" in cross country. Tucker was 2010 Massachusetts division 2 indoor state champion at 100 meters, running 2:58.87. She was 5th overall in Massachusetts in 2010 at that distance, running 2:58.31 at the all-state meet in February. In the outdoor season, Tucker was the Massachusetts state runner-up at 800 meters, running 2:12.99 in the finals. At New Balance outdoor nationals in June 2010, Tucker ran a new PR of 2:09.13, placing 6th. Her PRs are:
400 meters: 1:01.04
800 meters: 2:09.13
1000 meters: 2:56.98

6. Sydney Harris (Colorado Springs, CO / St. Mary's HS)
Harris is Villanova's second Coloradan, joining Summer Cook in that category. At the 2011 Colorado outdoor state meet, Harris showed her versatility and strength in achieving honors in the 800, 1600, and 3200 meters. She was third in the 3200 meters (11:41.37), 5th over 1600 meters (5:16.00), and 6th in the 800 meters (2:24.02). Harris finished 5th at the 2010 Colorado 3A State cross country championships. Her PRs are:
800 meters: 2:23.71
1000 meters: 3:16.41
1600 meters: 5:13.42
One Mile: 5:36.42
3200 meters: 11:41.19
5000 meters: 18:24.60

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