After Leading Basketball Team To Title, Foot Locker Champ Preparing For Track Season

By Mary Albl of DyeStat 

After winning the Foot Locker Cross Country National Final in December, Sydney Masciarelli took a break from running to focus on her other sports passion: basketball.

The ultra-competitive sophomore form Northbridge, Mass., spent the winter leading Marianapolis Prep (Thompson, Conn.) to a 17-8 record and Class A New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Championship.

Masciarelli was the Golden Knights' top scorer, averaging 16 points per game. She was named the MVP of the Class A Championship tournament after scoring 21 points in a 67-59 win against Loomis Chaffee. In the semifinals, she netted a game-high 26 points against Choate.

"It was a little tough (transition) because in basketball you use different muscles. It takes me a couple weeks to get into it," Masciarelli said. "Transitioning from running all the time, to lowering my mileage during the season, to more speed-type of agility workouts, it's different."

Masciarelli didn't stop running completely. On practice days, depending on her schedule, she would get in a 3-5 mile run before or after practice. She took game days off from running.

As a runner, Masciarelli burst onto the national scene in the fall. She won the Foot Locker Northeast regional crown and then displayed an impressive kick to defeat Illinois champion Katelynne Hart for the Foot Locker crown.

Masciarelli admitted it was hard at times this winter seeing all of the indoor track posts on social media.

"I would say to myself, 'Oh, I wish I was doing that.' It looks really fun because I've never done indoor track. So I think it would be fun to try that," she said. "But then again, I know basketball is a good break to have between seasons. I know it's just for the better to take some time off."

This spring Masciarelli is ready to hit the ground running. A year ago, she posted the top freshman time in the country in the full 2-mile (10:49.15) and clocked 4:58.62 for the mile and 2:13.94 in the 800. She said she'll be focusing on those events again this spring.

In her school league, the race distances are 1,500 and 3,000 meters, so her coach, Emily Gaudet, will look to branch out to some other meets.

"I haven't looked into (all of) the meets we are going to be doing with my coach, but we want to do more high-profile races. I just don't know which ones yet," Masciarelli explained. "I'm hoping to be able to run a mile or 2-mile race to prepare me for nationals."

Marianapolis Prep opens the track season April 6 at home against Bancroft School and Portsmouth Abbey. Heading into the season, Masciarelli said she doesn't feel any pressure to run exceptionally fast.

"I just think (cross country and track) are two different sports. I know some people are better at track than cross country or vice versa, so I'm just trying to focus on my own season and however that plays out will determine how I do at the end of the season," Masciarelli said. "(I'm) just focusing on the workouts I have planned to prepare me for the bigger meets."