It's a fact. Having good times on the cross country course at the sacrifice of good grades in the classroom, is a waste of time. Colleges look for the whole package, so the top athletes must be a stellar runner and a standout student.
An outstanding runner is one who champions the cross country course, while dealing with stress of doing well in their classes, handling projects, and SAT preparation and college essays. Last year, for example, Christina Valerio won a Sectional championship and two hours later was in the library doing research for a biology project.
Ask any runner and they can probably recall a time where stress had taken their strong legs and turned them into spaghetti. Kudos must go to those that can handle it all. Here are 5 women among the best from North Jersey on the cross country trails and in the classroom.
Emily Naranjo (14) Emily attends Montclair Kimberly Academy in Montclair. She is just a sophomore, but one who will be prominent. In her first race ever, the 2005 Verona Labor Day 5K, she finished in 21:00 minuetes and did not know if that was good. In her freshman campaign she finished 2nd in the Essex County championship behind Alexis Weiner, 3rd in the State Parochial Group B Championship and 41st in the State Meet of Champions.
"I used to play all sorts of sports," said Naranjo, "and I played a lot of field hockey. The best part for me was running up and down the field, so I decided to give up field hockey and start cross-country."
Naranjo is an honor roll student, speaks fluent Spanish and is a musical genius. "I love to write music, I am so happy when I am writing." She plays the piano, drums, trombone, guitar, saxophone, and trumpet.
Kristen Crawford (16) JFK Paterson. Now in her junior year, she was the Passaic County Champion in her freshman year. Last year she placed 5th at the Passaic Championships, 1st at the Maroon Invitational, and 8th in North 1 Group 4 Sectionals.
Crawford has a 4.25 Grade point average, and lists Harvard as a college possibility. "I want to go into law one day." Crawford said, "I read all the time. If I'm not in school or running, I'm reading."
Lauren Penny (15), Roxbury. Already an experienced junior, she placed 5th in the Morris County Championship, 4th in State Sectionals, 8th in the State Group 4 Girls Championship, 16th in the Meet of Champions, and 27th place at the Nike National Cross Country Championships. The significance of running on this team does not escape Penny. "I remember watching this team when I was younger. Now I feel it's a real honor to run for Roxbury." She said.
"I ran about 50 miles a week at running camp this past summer," Penny said, "but now I've toned it down to 35-40 miles a week."
Penny is in all "Level A" classes and says she did "pretty well" on her PSAT. Penny has big shoes to fill with the graduation of several Roxbury seniors (Ennis and Stevens). "This year is tough; I not only lost my team captains, but they were my best friends."
Christina Valerio (17), West Milford High School. Last year she placed first at the Northern Hills Skyline Conference Championship. The significance of that win is that it is held at Lewis Morris Park near Morristown and might be the toughest cross country course in the State. Five days later she won the Passaic County Championship, later the North 1 Group 3 Sectional. She placed 5th in the State Group 3 Championship and 28th in the Meet of Champions.
Valerio is ranked first in her class academically, and is interested in becoming a veterinarian. "I have all sorts of animals at home," Valerio said, "including a few chickens."
Alexis Weiner (17), Caldwell High School. She won the Northern Hills Suburban Conference Championship held at Lewis Morris Park. She is the two time Essex County Champion. Last year she also went on to win the North 2 Group 2 Championship, was second in the State Group 2 Championship, and 37th at the Meet of Champions.
Weiner is a standout student at James Caldwell High School and was named runner of the year for Essex County.