After Coach O'Leary proved that there was an interest for girls to run over the "long haul', the club turned into a fullfledged Varsity team in the Fall of 1977.  Fresh out of college, Miss Toepert, with no knowledge of distance running, but with a willingness to learn, got a team of 6 girls through a season of 12 races.  It was a learning situation for all of them, but it was the beginning of a tradition of girls' distance running that continues today.  At that time, girls were thought to be "oh so frail". Therefore, the courses run were for the most part 2 miles.   The Hills was still in the Iron Division in those days, so to add insult to injury we had to run against the likes of Morristown &  Columbia, who boasted having future Olympian, Joetta Clark on their squad.
What a learning year it was....