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# Cardinals relish return to the top of Divison I
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/cardinals-relish-return-to-the-top-of-divison-i/
- Published: 2011-06-04T12:15:58.000Z
- Updated: 2011-06-04T12:15:58.000Z
- Description: MERRIMACK – Cecilia Barowski saved her best for last. The Bishop Guertin High School senior helped the Cardinals 4x400-meter relay team set a Division I record in the final race of the meet, and that, coupled with a number of stellar performances, gave the Bishop Guertin girls their first outdoor ti
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Spring Sports, Bishop Guertin, girls track, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/d1track0527-bggirls8.jpg "D1track0527 BGgirls8")

MERRIMACK – Cecilia Barowski saved her best for last.

The Bishop Guertin High School senior helped the Cardinals 4x400-meter relay team set a Division I record in the final race of the meet, and that, coupled with a number of stellar performances, gave the Bishop Guertin girls their first outdoor title in two years.

Barowski had a big hand in it, winning the 400 and helping get that relay win, accounting for 20 points, as the Cardinals finished 21 points ahead of second-place Exeter.

“It feels good,” Barowski said of the championship.

Bishop Guertin had won six outdoor championships in a row, a streak that ended in 2008, Barowski’s freshman year. A year ago, Bishop Guertin was expected to challenge for the title, but finished second, six points behind first-place Manchester Central.

Barowski and the Cardinals were disappointed, but driven to make up for that second-place finish this season.

They got a first-place finish – and another division record – from sophomore Betsy Garnik in the 100 hurdles. Garnik also took second in the 300 hurdles, fourth in the long jump and helped the 4x100 relay team to a third-place finish.

“If you look at what Betsy Garnick did, she was just a multiple kid,” Bishop Guertin coach Steve Hunt said. “It seemed like every time I looked at her, she had to go to another event. She didn’t have much recovery time.”

The Cardinals also got a first-place finish in the 800 from freshman Molly McCabe, a win that seemed improbable after Central’s Alexandra Conway got off to a fast start and McCabe was last after the first hundred meters. In the middle of the pack one lap through, McCabe turned it on and caught Conway, beating her by almost four seconds.

“She ran a negative split,” Hunt said. “A sub 60 (seconds) on the last lap. She’s raw. Anything two laps and under, she loves it.”

Barowski also finished fourth in that 800 and Bishop Guertin also got second-place points from Jacklyn Dubois (shot put), Melissa LaCoste (high jump) and Sarah Burke (400). McCabe was also came in fourth in the 1,600 and was fourth in the 4x800 relay.

Of all those point scorers, only Barowski is a senior.

“This is going to carry on, that’s nice,” she said. “It was kind of an advantage because we have a lot of senior activities going on this week and next, but we have so many underclassmen on relays and stuff, I think we’re going to have a great Meet of Champions and New Englands because everyone will be focused.”

It may be hard to believe, but Barowski’s day could have been even better, but a false start in the 200 cost her points in that event. Of course, that miscue might have helped her in the 4x400.

“That was my favorite race, maybe of my high school career,” she said. “I felt really relaxed and kind of angry about false-starting in the 200\. I had to pick it up in the 4x4\. I came down the last straightaway and saw the clock at 3:50 and I thought ‘OK, we’re going under 4 (minutes).’ Inevitably I was fresher because I didn’t run the 200, but I had a little angst in me as well.”

The Cardinals will be competing at the Meet of Champions Saturday, which will take place at Merrimack High School.