Bennici named Montrose athlete of week

BY MEGHAN SPELLMAN

Meteor Chronicle

SAMANTHA BENNICI

A strong desire to succeed and a tremendous work ethic paid off for freshman Samantha Bennici, a member of the Montrose girls’ varsity cross country team, on Oct. 27 when she placed seventh at the District II AA Cross Country Championships with a time of 20:37 over a 3.1 mile course.

Her finish qualified her for the state meet to be held in Hershey Nov. 6.

“I was really proud of myself for meeting my season-long goal [of qualifying for states],” Bennici says.

Daughter of Antonino and Suzanne Bennici of Harford, Bennici was named Athlete of the Week for her success this season, cross country coach Dean Brewer says.

“She is our number one runner on the girls’ team,” Coach Brewer says.

Bennici will prepare for states similarly to how she had prepared for districts.

“I am going to continue to work hard for states and train with dedication,” Bennici says.

Coach Brewer attributes her strong performance throughout the whole season to her good work ethic. In addition to daily workouts and runs during the season, Bennici runs and does strength training exercises throughout the offseason in order to maintain and improve her performance.

Bennici has shaved a minute off of her time since the beginning of the season, which is good progression for a cross country runner, she says. She hopes to continue this improvement over the course of her career.

“I want to qualify for and medal in the state meet every season,” Bennici says. “I also want to work on improving my time.”

Athlete of the Week is sponsored by Doug and Cindy Lattner of McDonald’s in Montrose.