Scouting Report: Bishop Kenny Girls

Bishop Kenny returns five of it's top seven runners from the 2011 season. The team finished fourth in a tight battle with Jacksonville rival Bolles and Cocoa Beach. The Crusaders are on a mission this year to crank the podium and will be lead by a trio I like to call the "MA" girls. Senior Mary Thyfault finished 17th at the state meet, junior Macy Kaczorowski who finished 27th, and sophomore Mackenzie Maisler who placed 34th. Bridget Reid returns for her junior season as the team's number four runner with Alessandro Campos rounding out the top five. Bishop Kenny has solid depth. Coming into the season they have a 1-5 split of 37.28 seconds which is pretty incredible. Thyfault comes in with the season's fastest time of 19:23.32. 

Those tight knit times are also evident when you look at the season bests during the outdoor season. Eight girls ran under 5:54 for 1600 meters. Macy Kaczorowski ran 5:31.25 at the Red Knight Invite only to better Mary Kate Thybault's time of 5:32.28 set at the Bulldog Classic the week before. Isabella Campos and Bridget Reid are neck and neck at the 5:35 mark. Annie Kennedy, Danielle Hartless and Emily Crissman have run between 5:45 and 5:47.

Although last year's team finished fourth,  Coach Bryan Haffey believes this group is more mature and focused. He says the group has put in mileage over the summer and as a whole, is the best prepared group he has seen in three years. The key to this group being successful will be if they can stay healthy. Carrollton looks strong once again as does rival Bolles, and American Heritage, so it will be to see how 2A pans out.

Coach Haffey Says...

"We have two or three freshmen who look like they might be contenders for the front pack.  There’s more depth up front this year so it’s going to be more of a challenge to crack the top seven. That said, there’s invariably at least one that does every year.  What’s as exciting from my perspective is seeing some of our upperclassmen who have been running JV races for a while who now look like they might be ready to take it to the next level."