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12/9 - South Mountain Reservation, South Orange, NJ - ACE finished off 2001 with their 4th State Team Championship of the year.  This time it was the 10 mile title as Jodie D'Araino and Madelyn Noe-Schlentz decided to pace new ACE member Jennifer Malavolta to a fast time.  After going through 5 miles in 30:45, they picked up the pace for the last two miles.  The three came though 9 miles together where they surged to finish 1-2-3.  Jodie was 1st in 1:01:04, Jennifer 2nd in 1:01:18, and Madelyn 3rd in 1:01:22.  Since Jennifer won't be able to represent ACE in championship races until March, the 3rd ACE finisher was Christy DeFilippis in 1:06:36.  Added up, ACE finished a little less than 5 minutes ahead of Sneaker Factory. 

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12/9 - Toms River, NJ - Running in her hometown race, the Jingle Bell 5K, for the first time, Noel Whitall made it a winning debut.  Noel hit the mile in 5:45 and had the lead.  She slowed slightly over the last two miles but held on for a 21 second victory in 18:30.

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12/2 - West Chester, PA -  A tough, hilly course was the late season reward for  Madelyn.  The course for the Brian's Run 10K rolls for the 1st 5K and then goes down sharply the 5th mile before a long slow climb to the finish on the college track.  Madelyn hit the mile in 5:38 and the 5K in 17:38.  It was a little too fast as she slowed to 18:42 over the last 5K to finish in 36:20.  She was 7th overall, in the race won by Olympian Ann Marie Lauck.  She also was first masters, ahead of Maryland star Lee DiPietro.

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11/22 - Flemington - Trying to sneak in one last 5k before indoor track, Jodie D'Ariano, Madelyn Noe-Schlentz, and Sue Huelster traveled to Flemington to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Jodie took off from the start and blasted through the 1st mile in 5:18, followed by Madelyn at 5:35 and Sue in 5:41.  The 2nd mile, slightly uphill was 11:00 for Jodie.  Madelyn was 11:30 with Autumn Fogg, 2001 NCAA 1500m 4th place finisher, on her shoulder.  Sue was 11:40.  Jodie continued her hot pace and finished 1st in 17:10, 5 seconds faster than her 17:15 in last year's race.  Madelyn through in a surge after the 2 mile mark to finish 2nd in 17:40.  Sue was 4th in 18:11, a road PB for her.

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11/18 - Basking Ridge, NJ - Needing just one more race in Category III (15k and up) to win the New Jersey New Balance Grand Prix, Madelyn Noe-Schlentz set a new ACE record in running 55:19 to win the Great Swamp Devil 15k by almost 5 minutes. Madelyn took the lead from the start and went through 5 miles in 29:15, running by herself from 3 miles on.  It gives her a 210 point lead in the grand prix and makes it impossible for anyone to catch her.  Megan Phillips can finish 2nd if she finishes strong in her last two races.

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11/18 - Philadelphia, PA - A group of ACE runners traveled to the Philadelphia Marathon 8k to get some fast times.  Jodie D'Ariano came away with her fastest 5k of the fall going through in 17:18 enroute.  She tacked on a 5:35 4th mile (22:20) but faded the last mile to finish 5th in 28:27.  Sue Huelster ran with soon to be a new ACE member Jennifer Malavolta through 3 miles in 17:42 and held on to break 30:00 for the first time to finish 11th in 29:41.  Jennifer ran 29:26.  Christy DeFilippis fighting off a cold ran 30:49 for 14th.

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11/3 - Bridgewater, NJ - Megan Phillips went to Duke Island Park for the Run for the Runaways needing to get grand prix points for category I (5k - 4 miles) and run under 18:00.  She got both as she finished 3rd in 17:59.  It moved her in to 6th place in the New Jersey New Balance Grand Prix and kept alive her chance at 2nd.

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10/28 - Princeton, NJ - The first mile of the Race for the Cure 5k was uphill and against the wind and had a 400 meter section run on grass.  Just before the mile, which was hit in 5:53, Jodie D'Ariano, Madelyn Noe-Schlentz and Emily Kroshus, from Calgary, Canada, broke away from the main pack.  The pace picked up to 5:40 for the next mile as the pack of three stayed together.  With just 600 meters left, Kroshus made a move that broke away from Madelyn but Jodie hung on.  In an exciting race to the finish, Jodie moved ahead with just 30 meters left to win in 17:41.4, the last mile in 5:30.  Madelyn finished 3rd in 17:52.5

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10/21 - Paramus, NJ - A group of the ACE girls traveled up to Paramus for three reasons, get some money, get some Grand Prix points and get a race in.  They accomplished all three as Madelyn Noe-Schlentz went through the mile in 5:35 on her way to a masters team 10k record (35:53) in winning the 10k with Megan Phillips 2nd (38:23) and Christine Corey 5th (40:27).  In the 5k, Jodie D'Araino ran all by herself to win in 17:56 with Christy DeFilippis 2nd in 18:59 and Madelyn, coming back to run with Christy, finishing 3rd in 19:00.

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10/7, Deer Path Park, Readington, NJ -  The ACE girls returned to cross country just a week after running the 1/2 marathon and won the NJ USATF 5k Cross Country title by scoring 20 pts to Fleet Feet (Reebok) 56 pts and Running Company (Nike) 67 pts.  Madelyn Noe-Schlentz won her first NJ 5k XC title finishing in 18:01. Both breaking 19:00 on this course for the first time, Megan Phillips was 3rd (2nd NJ) in 18:28 and Christy DeFilippis 4th (3rd NJ) in 18:32.  Tara Ricciuto 11th in 19:27, Noel Whittal, making her ACE debut was 13th in 19:33 and Christine Corey 14th in 19:42 completed the team.

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10/6, Estel Manor, NJ - Sue Huelster returned to the duathlon in the Great Pumpkin Duathlon.  She ran both 2.2 mile legs under 6:00 pace and did the 15 mile bike in 43:32 to finish 2nd with a time of 1:09:43.

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9/30, Jersey City, NJ - ACE returned to defend their Eastern and New Jersey Championship of 2000 in the Liberty Half Marathon.  They were out fast until they went against the 40-50 mile/hour winds along the boardwalk in Liberty State Park.  Madelyn Noe-Schlentz went through 5 miles in 29:18 and then hit the wind from 7 to 8 miles and ran a 6:40+ mile.  She continued on to win in 1:20:36 (PB).  Everyone else also struggled in the windy conditions and though it effected their times, they all placed high to help ACE repeat as champions by almost 16 minutes.  Jodie D'Araino finished 4th in 1:24:34, Megan Phillips was 6th in 1:25:12, Christy DeFilippis was 6th in 1:26:00, and Christine Corey 11th in 1:29:11. 

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9/16 - Deer Path Park, Readington, NJ - Running in the NJ USATF 8k XC Championships as a tune up for the Liberty Half Marathon in two weeks, the ACE girls ran a controlled race as Madelyn Noe-Schlentz finished 1st in 30:49, Megan Phillips ran 31:10 for 3rd, Christy DeFilippis was 7th in 31:55, Tara Ricciuto was 9th in 32:13 and Christine Corey, despite being sent off course by the course official, finished 15th in 34:24.  Unfortunately, the team never handed in the team declaration form so was unable to win the team title, though they would have scored just 26 pts.

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9/2, Cherry Hill, NJ - Trying only her 2nd duathlon, Sue Huelster hit gold in the Try the Du Duathlon.  She completed the 2 mile run, 15 mile bike and 5k run in 1:19:11 to make her 1st climb to the victory stand. 

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9/2, Woodbridge, NJ - The Crossroads of Woodbridge race features separate 10k and 5k races.  The ACE girls split up to take 1st and 2nd in both races.  On a hot day, Madelyn Noe-Schlentz and Megan Phillips ran the whole 10k together with Madelyn getting the nod for 1st in 38:31 and Megan 2nd in 38:32.  Christy DeFilippis won the 5k by 42 secs in 19:12 with Christine Corey 2nd in 19:54.

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8/25, Rockaway, NJ - Running as Noe-Schlentz for the first time and arriving just 15 minutes before the race began, Madelyn still managed to break 29:00 to run 28:51.  She ran through the downhill 1st mile in 5:35 and 5k in 17:40 to win the open race and the NJ USATF Masters title.  

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8/19, Riverton, NJ - Adding to her summer of debuts, Sue Huelster competed in her first duathlon.  Sue ran 3 miles in 18:48, biked 20 miles in 57:51 (going over 20 mph for the 1st time), and then ran the last two miles in a bit slower 13:32 to finish as the 5th women.  As the summer starts to close, she'll have at least one more triathlon before we see how much stronger her running will be.  

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8/4, Brigantine, NJ - Two weeks after her debut triathlon, Sue Huelster traveled to the Brigantine Island Triathlon and moved up to 6th place overall and again won the age group.  She improved 1:30 on her previous .25 mile swim, biked 11 miles in 33:40, and finished with a 4 mile run in 25:36.

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7/21, Vincetown, NJ - Competing in her debut triathlon, Sue Huelster finished the .25 mile swim in 10:19, the 15 mile bike in 45:23, and then passed a bunch of people with a strong 19:24 5k to finish 10th women and 1st in her age group.

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7/ 14, Teterboro, NJ - Madelyn Noe had fond memories of this race as she was defending champion.  Having won the NJ USATF Open Championship the previous year, she won the overall race and the NJ USATF Masters championship this year, running 17:34 to win by 14 seconds.

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7/4, Cranford, NJ - They ran for different reasons, Cathy Grote needed a race and Megan Phillips wanted to run in her hometown so they both appeared at the Firecracker 4 mile.  In the race that had over 1000 finishers despite the heat, Cathy finished 2nd in a seasonal best 23:24 with Megan behind her in 3rd in 23:56.

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6/28 Milburn, NJ - The President's Cup has always been a big race but this year it was made bigger by being the NJ USATF women's 5K Championships.  Coming at the end of a long season, the Asics girls managed to hold off the Sneaker Factory and the Running Company by just over 30 seconds.  On a hot/humid evening, Madelyn Noe finished 2nd (17:39) to Pennsylvania resident Laura Mason-Byrne and was the first Masters finisher.  Cathy Grote followed up with a 8th place finish (18:26) with Megan right behind in 9th (18:34).

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6/8, Montclair, NJ - Looking to pace Megan Phillips to a sub 17:30 5000 meters, Madelyn Noe and Megan picked the NJ USATF Outdoor track Championships as the race.  Madelyn and Megan were right on target through 2000 meters.  Megan was then forced to drop out with severe stomach pains.  Having no competition, Madelyn coasted the last 3000 meters to win in 17:47.8.

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5/28, Ridgewood, NJ - The 1 mile course is flat for the first quarter, uphill for the next half mile and then the final quarter is downhill, except for a mild uphill with 100 meters left.  The course is said to be 8-10 seconds slow and that is why Kathy McIntyre's Masters 1 mile course record of 5:12 had lasted since 1990.  Madelyn Noe hit the quarter in a too fast 71.  She followed it with an 80 (2:31) at the half and then an 81 (3:52) at the 3/4 mark.  With her legs extremely tight from the first quarter and the hills,  Madelyn summoned just enough to finish in 5:11 for the $500 course record bonus.

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5/26, Spring Lake - Megan Phillips had made a great breakthrough at this race just a year ago to win in 29:56.  This year with much tougher competition amongst the 8000+ entries, Megan finished 3rd but cut 25 seconds off her personal best to finish in 29:31.

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5/20, Far Hills - The Midland 15k is one of New Jersey's best and most competitive races each year on a very challenging rolling/hilly course.  Making their first road race appearance of the year (a wrong thing to do on this course), Madelyn Noe and Megan Phillips went out slowly the first mile.  Both of them moved through the pack and ran the later miles faster than the earlier ones.  Madelyn moved all the way up to 3rd overall/1st Masters in 57:53 and Megan finished 7th in 58:54.  Not bad for their first tour of the course. 

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3/23, Boston, MA - After a long 4 1/2 hour drive up to Boston, Madelyn Noe got out of the car and promptly ran the 1st mile of the National Masters Championship 3000 meters in 5:17.5.  Opening up a huge lead, she continued on to win by just less than one lap and set a new American Masters Indoor record of 10:03.53, breaking the old record set last year of 10:04.9 by Pattie Ford.

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3/18, Freehold, NJ -  Making her debut in the St Patty's Day 10 miler, Cathy Grote jumped to the lead with a 5:50 opening mile and just kept right on rolling despite the hills and strong winds to win in 1:02:03.

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3/3, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA - Jodi D'Araino finishes 6th in the USATF Indoor Nationals running 4:43.85 and Madelyn Noe wins the Masters Mile in 5:10.24.  Jodie, hung back through the 800 meters in 2:19 and moved by four runners the last 300 meters to finish 6th in the field of 15.  Madelyn, after sitting through a 1st 400 of 76, ran the next 400 under 75 to open a lead and held on for the win.  Results at http://www.usatf.org/events/2001USAIndoorChampionships/results.shtml 

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2/24, Prospect Park, NYC -  - Megan Phillips and Tara Ricciuto, looking for a long tempo run, found this race, the Cherry Tree 10 mile, on the calendar and drove up to Prospect Park to run 10 miles and have some fun.  Late in the race , they found themselves near the lead, so they picked it up a little to finish 1st and 2nd, running 66:16 and 67:02, respectively.  Results at http://www.geocities.com/pptc.geo/calendar/cherrytree2001.html.

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2/8, NYC Armory - Madelyn Noe breaks the American Masters Indoor record for the 1 mile running a 4:59.9 to break the old record of 5:02.56 by Christine Gregorek.  This was her 2nd try at the Thursday Nite at the Races series.  The world record is 4:57.71 by Patty Blanchard of Canada from 1999.  Madelyn ran through the 880 yard mark in 2:32.0 and came back over the last 880 in 2:27.9.  Story at USATF-NJ website.

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1/26, Boston University - Jodi D'Araino breaks the club record of 9:21.79 by Kelly Vanasse by running 9:21.03 in finishing 3rd at the Terrier Classic.  Jodi ran the 1st 1600 in 5:01 and the last 1600 in 4:57.  The time betters the 9:30 standard for qualifying for the nationals.  Madelyn Noe set a club masters record in the 3000 with a time of 10:12.43.  To get full results click here.

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1/20, NYC Armory - Jodi D'Araino finishes 2nd to Olympian Amy Rudolph in the New Balance Games 1 mile.  Jodi ran 4:41.02 to qualify for the indoor nationals in Atlanta.  Going through the 880 in 2:21, she came back in 2:20.  She had an official race split of 4:22.91 at the 1500 to make it two club records for the race.  

Elite Women’s Mile Run 1. Amy Rudolph  Reebok  4:28.47,  2. Jody D'Ariano  Asics Club East      4:41.02, 3. Liz Diaz  Asics  4:42.90,  4. Danielle Thornal  Great Britain  4:44.40, 5. Katy Hitchcock   NYAC  4:59.62,  6. Christine Gentile NYAC  5:03.07.    

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1/11, NYC Armory - Jodi D'Araino starts the indoor season off with a bang as she sets two club records in her 1st indoor meet, the Thursday Night at the Races series.  Running the 1 mile, Jodi qualified for the nationals in beating Danielle Thornal of Great Britain by just two yards.  Jodi came back in the 800 to finish 4th but break her own club record of 2:17.0 with her 2:11.5.  Madelyn Noe, trying to break the American Masters indoor mile record, went out a little too fast (2:27) to fall short of the record of 5:02.56.  She doubled back, as well, to set a new masters club record of 2:25.5, short of the american masters record of 2:22.  

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