And the award goes to…

The DGS girls cross country team celebrated the 2015 season at Awards Banquet on Monday night. All of the athletes received their participation awards (freshman numerals, sophomore letter, JV letter, or varsity letter) as well as some special awards that were given.

Two ‘Most Improved’ awards were given out. Freshman, Julie LaLonde earned the award for greatest improvement from the beginning of the season until the end. She improved her time from 26:59 in the first meet down to 21:38 in the final meet (nearly 5 1/2 minutes). Senior, Allie Cheevers earned the award for improvement from the 2014 season to the 2015 season. Allie dropped her time from 20:29 down to 19:29.

The ‘Sportsmanship’ award was given to sophomore, Riya Bhasin. The basis for this award is commitment, compassion, and courage. Riya stood out as athlete who cares greatly for her team and selflessly would do anything to help and encourage her teammates.

Junior, Katie Stapleton was recognized as the ‘Most Valuable Athlete’. Katie has contributed both leadership and enthusiasm to our team. She was the varsity conference champion, the regional champion, and our top runner in every meet we ran. Katie holds the #3 position on the DGS all-time 3-mile record board (17:36).

On a less serious note, our seniors presented the following ‘mock awards’:

• Izzy Taylor (cutest running clothes)
• Katie Stapleton (best stride)
• Melissa Weidner (best kick)
• Katie Meyr (most spirited)
• Annie Engel (most likely to get lost on a run)
• Emily Qualizza (most likely to run an ultra marathon)
• Becky Versaskas (best hair after a race)