Perez And Langon Lead Strong NJ Presence At Eastbay National

WATCHT THE RACE LIVE ABOVE! Girls 12:15pm ET, Boys 1pm ET.

Angelina Perez never dreamed when she started running cross-country as sophomore two years ago that she would be one victory away from completing arguably the greatest season in New Jersey history, while Marco Langon has been dreaming of becoming a national champion ever since his freshman year.

The two NJ distance running titans, who have taken different paths on their way to stardom, now find themselves with a shot to pull of a rare state sweep of the most coveted titles in high school cross-country when they toe the line at the 42nd Eastbay National Championships on Saturday at Balboa Park in San Diego. The girls race is at 12:15 p.m (Eastern Time), and the boys race is scheduled for 1 p.m.

NOTE: The meet was called the Kinney National Championships from 1979 through 1992, and the Foot Locker National Championships from 1993 through 2019. The meet wasn't held last year due to the pandemic.

In the previous 41 meets, there has only been two state sweeps. In 2005, California pulled it off when Jordan Hasay of Mission College Prep in Arroyo Grande, and A.J. Acosta of El Camino High in Oceanside won the titles. Then in 2015, Virginians Drew Hunter (rande, and A.J. Acosta of El Camino High in Oceanside won the titles. Then in 2015, Virginians Drew Hunter (Loudoun Valley High in Purcellville, Va.) and Weini Kelati (Heritage High in Leesburg, Va.,) captured the championships.

Let's take a look at Perez and Langon's chances of winning.

The undefeated Perez is ranked No. 2 in the nation according to MileSplit. Perez was No. 1 until Natalie Cook of Flower Mound in Texas overtook her after Cook ran 16:04, No. 2 in U.S. high school history, to finish first at the Garmin RunningLane Championships last Saturday in Alabama.

Perez, who set course records this season at Darlington Park (16:44), and Garret Mountain (16:54), and set the Holmdel Park NJ record of 17:07, is seeking to join the legendary Janet Smith of J.P. Stevens as the only NJ girls to win the Eastbay National title. 

Smith captured the championship in 1983 in 16:44, which stood as the course record at Balboa Park for seven years. The 16:44 by Smith and Perez are the two fastest 5K times ever run by a NJ girl.

The 1983 season by Smith, who held the Holmdel Park course record of 17:35 from 1983 until 2010, is considered the best season ever by a NJ girl. But if Perez wins and goes under Smith's 1983 winning time of 16:44, a strong case can be made that Perez's season would be the greatest ever.     

It blows Perez's mind to think that she could be on the verge of winning a national title.

Perez, who played soccer until her sophomore year, said the keys to winning for her are to stick to what has worked all season, and to take advantage of her strength on the hills.

"l'm a true distance runner in the sense that I don't have the strongest kick at the end of my races like a lot of others in this race do,'' said Perez. "So when the time comes that I need to make sure I start distancing myself, that is my plan. I also am going to take full advantage of those hills (there is a very big hill that runners will climb twice). Thankfully, I know the courses I run here (in New Jersey) put me in a really good position compared to others who are used to running on primarily flat courses. At the end of the day though, I just know I need to go out there and focus on running my race. Of course I have times in my head which I want to get to, but I also know that attempting to get a certain time has led me to fall apart during races. I came into this season with a real chip on shoulder, and I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't ever let my nerves get the best of me like they did at the Meet of Champions last spring. So, I'm going to go out there on Saturday, run my race, run smart and give it my all. It's my last high school cross-country race, so I want to make it count!''

In the boys race, the Villanova-bound Langon, who suffered his only loss of the season when he was second to Gavin Sherry of Conrad High in Connecticut at the Northeast Regional at Van Cortlandt Park, is ranked No. 7 nationally.

Langon is aiming to becoming the third boy from NJ to capture the national title. Brendan Heffernan of North Hunterdon captured the crown in 1992, and Edward Cheserek of St. Benedict's Prep won in 2011 and '12.

At the NE Regional, Langon was second to Sherry in 15:09.6, a NJ record at Vanny and tied for No. 3 all-time. The Stanford-bound Sherry won with a course record 15:05.8. Sherry, 14th at the Foot Locker Nationals in 2019 and ranked No. 4 in the country, is the favorite on paper (the top three ranked runners aren't competing).

Langon's confidence hasn't been shaken by the loss to Sherry, and being the underdog and proving people wrong is something he thrives on. So the fact that no one expects him to win has added lots of fuel to Langon's competitive fire. 

NEW JERSEY'S ALL-TIME TOP 20 AT BALBOA PARK