Tracy Della Torre (‘99)
Tracy Della Torre was an outstanding distance runner; when she graduated, she held Glen Rock High School’s records on all major cross country courses and in the 800, the 1,600 and the 3,200 meters.
Tracy Della Torre was Glen Rock High School’s first outstanding female cross country runner. In her sophomore year, she won the B-PSL Carpenter Championship, the Group 1, Bergen County Championship and the Group 1, Sectional Championship. She then finished second at the Group 1, State Championship. In the following year, with Glen Rock moving up to Group 2, Tracy won the B-PSL Carpenter Championship and then finished fifth at the Group 2, Bergen County Championship. In her senior year, Tracy finished second at the B-PSL King Championship and then won the Group 1, Bergen County Championship. She then finished second at the Group 1, Sectional Championship and second at the Group 1, State Championship. As a result, she helped lead the 1999 Cross Country Team to a second place finish at the sectional meet and a third place finish at the state meet – the best finishes by a Glen Rock girls cross country team until the 2001 cross country team won the Group 1, Sectional Championship and finished second at the Group 1, State Championship.
Tracy’s Individual Girls Cross Country Sectional Championship in 1996 was the first such championship in the school’s history. When she graduated, Tracy held all of the school’s records for all of the major cross country courses.
Tracy’s accomplishments on the track were just as significant. In her freshman year, she was a member of Glen Rock’s 1996 Track & Field Team that won the Groups 1 & 2 Bergen County Relays Championship and the Group 2, Bergen County Championship before finishing second at the Group 2, Sectional Championship. At the Bergen County Championship, Tracy ran the anchor leg of the 4×400 relay and finished in second securing Glen Rock’s victory over Ramsey by a score of 98-96.
In her sophomore year, Tracy was a leading member (with fellow Hall of Fame Inductees
Melissa Bochiaro and Kate Hanley – The Record called them the “super trio”) of one of the
school’s most dominant track & field teams. The 1997 Girls Track & Field Team won the
school’s fifth consecutive Groups 1 & 2, Bergen County Relays Championship (96-60) (with Tracy a member of the winning sprint medley and distance medley teams). At the Group 1, Bergen County Championship, Tracy won the 800, the 1,600 and the 3,200 and helped lead Glen Rock to an enormously dominant result – scoring 213 points that is still the second highest ever (to the 1995 Team’s 241 points). At the Group 1, Sectional Championship, Tracy again won all three distance races. With her teammates winning six other events (giving Glen Rock victories in 9 of the 14 events) and earning numerous medals throughout the meet, Glen Rock amassed a record setting 204 points (nearly exceeding the 227 points of all of the other teams) that is still the record for most points at this Group 1, Sectional Championship.
At the following Bergen County Meet of Champions, Tracy focused on the 800 meters and finished second.
Finally, at the Group 1, State Championship, Tracy finished first in the 800 and in the 1,600 and third in the 3,200 and, coupled with Kate’s firsts in both hurdles and her third in the long jump, led Glen Rock to a commanding 72-53 victory over its nearest competitor and the school’s third Group State Championship.
In her junior year, Tracy won the 800 and the 3,200 and finished second in the 1,600 at the Group 2, Bergen County Championship and then won all three distance races at the Group 2, Sectional Championship, helping Glen Rock finish third in that meet. At the subsequent Bergen County Meet of Champions, Tracy finished fourth in the 800 meters and then at the Group 2, State Championship, she finished fourth in the 1,600.
Finally, as a senior, Tracy helped Glen Rock win the Group 1, Bergen County Relays Championship, being a member of the victorious sprint medley, distance medley and 4×1600 relay teams. She then won all three distance races at the B-PSL King Championship to lead Glen Rock to a league championship and then won all three distance races again at the Group 1, Bergen County Championship to lead Glen Rock to that championship. At the following Group 1, Sectional Championship, Tracy won the 3,200 and finished second in the 800 and 1,600 and led Glen Rock to a second place finish. Finally, at the Group 1, State Championship, Tracy finished second in the 3,200.
Tracy graduated holding Glen Rock High School’s record in the 800 meters with a time (2:17.31) that is still the second fastest in school history. She also graduated holding the school records in the 1,600 and the 3,200. Her individual honors included eight league, eight Group, County and seven Group, Sectional individual championships in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters.
Tracy attended Franklin College in Lugano, Switzerland where she captained the school’s Varsity Soccer Team