"I was really sick this week," Weiner said, "I was thinking of skipping this race, with the State races coming up soon, but I had to run, I had to win today. I had to do it for James."
James Bliss was a senior at Caldwell High School. On Wednesday afternoon Bliss collapsed and died while training with the football in preparation for their game on Friday night.
"He was such a great kid, nobody ever had a bad thing to say about him, it's such a tragic loss, we are all going to miss him so much," Weiner said.
Weiner is the two time champion of the Northern Highland's Suburban Division, and she really had nothing to prove today. She is the best in Essex County and the best annually in North 2 Group 2. None the less here she was cold and all, lining up with her Caldwell teammates to run this race.
The race is run at Lewis Morris Park in Morristown. Part of the course runs on the grounds of Delbarton High School. The course is brutal. It starts on a baseball field, runs across the outfield to a hill that makes Holmdel look like a sand castle. There are steep hills through out, including an almost 90 degree angle after crossing the Delbarton soccer field. The course ends on a tremendous hill.
Weiner knows the course. She let others take the lead, knowing that taking the lead here and leading wire to wire is impossible. Weiner was in first at two miles, just steps ahead Maddy Quinn of Villa Walsh. However Weiner opened up the lead on that last hill, winning handily.
"So much was going through my mind in this race, Said Weiner afterward, "it's just too much to describe. I dedicated this race to James Bliss, this win was for him."
Anti-climatic to Weiner's win is that Villa Walsh Women won the Suburban Division race.
On the Men's side Tom Poland from Delbarton won the Suburban Division race, with his team also winning. Second place went to Nick Miehe of DePaul.
After the race Miehe spoke about the race. "The key to this course is separation. I need to get to the top of that hill and separate myself from the rest of the pack. Today Tom (Poland) and I did that, and he just ran better."
Tony Salvatore and Steve Abate both from Wayne Valley High School went one-two in the Skyline Conference. Millburn won the Division 52-53 over Wayne Valley.
This was Salvatore's second time he won this championship. He said afterward, "Every year some team comes here and tries to push the pace. They can't do that on this course. I just let them go, and today when we got to the hills on the soccer field I just took off. I thought that Steve would catch me, and I kept looking for him, and he was right behind me at the finish."
Christina Valerio won the Women's side of the Skyline Championship, for the second time also, and her team from West Milford, Coached by Judy Musel, was the top team. Crystal Carlson, Leaane Pelak, Jennifer Paulson, and Alanna Haight, all from West Milford made the All League team.
Valerio commented on the race afterward. She said, "I don't push up that first hill, it's brutal, but at the top I just try to take off and get as much distance in between me and the field as I can. It's a brutal course."
The course is brutal. However that is not the end of the Lewis Morris course. The course is incredibly poorly maintained. There are about 25 turns in the course, with only one arrow pointing the way in all. During the day's races runners from various schools got lost. A runner from Newark West Side was asking directions during his race. The course is full of rocks and tree roots, all concealed by leaves. The same type of course is at Garret Mountain except the leaves are blown away before a race, arrows are painted, and the larger rocks are painted so to prevent injuries. Lewis Morris is a tough course; it should not be a course only for schools that can afford to come up to Morris County and train there to learn the course. Hopefully next year a simple leaf blower and cans of paint to make directional arrows will be used to make this race fairer.
At the end of the day though the students of the Northern Hills League went to school and learned a lesson in class. Alexis Weiner ran with a heavy heart this cold Friday afternoon. This was a very tough race for her and the Caldwell Chiefs. I am sure everybody sends their condolences and prayers to the Bliss family, James's brother and parents, and to their extended family at James Caldwell High School.