Holy Smokes!!!
The Union County Championships at historic Warinanco Park on Thursday was absolutely lit!!! It was a meet for the ages!!!
There were so many red hot performances thrown down and intriguing storylines, which added up to make this arguably the most memorable meet in its 85-year history.
Let's get right to it.
There may never be a race in meet history that can match the sizzling show that Peyton Hollis of Union Catholic and Lindsay Hausman of Kent Place produced as the two stars traded surges and ran side-by-side almost the whole way around the 3.19-mile layout. After they hit the first mile in 5:40 and the second mile in 11:16, there was no doubt that the course record was going down. But who would get it?
As they hammered down the homestretch with the huge crowd going wild, Hollis had a step on Hausman with about 25 yards left as they both dug down deep and started to pour it on. Hausman hit the gas one final time with 15 yards left to pull just about even with Hollis.
Hollis, a junior running in her first season of XC, responded with her own surge, and then the two stormed across the line together, both stopping the clock at a jaw-dropping 17:49! It was nearly impossible to tell who won, but Hollis was declared the winner of this breathtaking showdown by the slimmest of margins. Before the times were rounded up to the full second, their times were recorded at 17:48.42 to 17:48.77.
The 17:49 is a whopping 37 seconds under the old girls course record of 18:26 that was set by Victoria Vanriele of Gov. Livingston in 2017!!
After they torched the course, the undefeated Hollis, who broke the CR at Oak Ridge Park last week, and the Duke-bound Hausman gave each other a high-five in the chute and simultaneously collapsed to the ground after spilling everything they had in their tanks in a race that will go down as an all-time classic.
FASTEST TEAM EVER
The 17:49 by Hollis helped propel Union Catholic to the greatest team performance ever as the Vikings, ranked No. 1 in the state, put five runners in the top nine and ran a blistering course record average of 18:54 on their way to a 24-55 victory over No. 11 ranked Kent Place. No. 16 Westfield was third with 98. It's the second straight title for UC and its fifth overall.
UC, despite missing two of its usual top five runners, still chopped 34 seconds off the course record of 19:28 that was set by Westfield at the 2013 Union County Conference Championships.
The four other scorers behind Hollis for UC all ran their best times ever on this course. UC senior Kaleigh Gunsiorowski also ran one of the fastest times in course history, placing third in 18:35. Junior Courtney Kaiser, another first-year XC runner, was fourth in 18:46, junior Leilani Gibson finished seventh in 19:36, and senior Victoria Urbaez finished ninth in 19:48.
There certainly was a cloud hanging over the boys race when Union Catholic star Jimmy Wischusen didn't run due to an injury that may sideline him for the season. His absence raised a couple big questions!
Could Union Catholic, No. 2 ranked in the state, overcome such a huge loss in its lineup and still win its third straight title in a row in its showdown with No. 4 ranked Westfield? And without Wischusen, who was second last year and was the presumptive favorite, who would grab the glory of being crowned county champ?
Those questions were answers empathically by Union Catholic and Elizabeth senior Lucas Reguinho.
Union Catholic embraced the challenge it was faced with and rose to the occasion as several runners stepped up to spark the Vikings to a 44-56 victory over Westfield. No. 7 Summit was third with 82.
Junior Alex Saldana led the charge for UC, by placing third with a PR of 15:46, the 7th fastest time in course history. Saldana, who said he nearly stopped running after hurting his ankle near the mile-mark, gutted it iut the rest of the way as he ignited a 3-6-8-11-16 finish for UC, who averaged 16:06, the second fastest in course history. UC set the record of 16:03 last year on it way to winning the Meet of Champions title.
UC's scorers behind Saldana were senior Ryan Cichocki, sixth in 15:59, senior Caudell Cajuste, eighth in 16:01, junior Sean Wilson, 11th in 16:16, and sophomore Evan Weber, 16th in 16:28.
REGUINHO'S HUGE KICK GIVES ELIZABETH FIRST TITLE IN 32 YEARS
Lucas Reguinho has been running at Warinanco Park practically his whole life. He lives just a half mile away, and trains on this layout pretty much every day. So what better place to run the best race of his life!
His vast knowledge of the course, longtime quest to become a county champion, blue collar work ethic, and huge heart and kick all blended together to give Reguinho the greatest performance and biggest victory of his career as he defended his home turf in electrifying fashion.
Reguinho found himself locked in tough duel with Westfield junior Avery Keith as the two broke away from the field and waged a great battle. Keith, in his first season of XC, tried to break Reguinho with about 700 meters to go when he made a move up the small incline to open about a 10-yard lead. But Reguinho countered and got right on Keith's heels as they made the turn for home.
Knowing just when to pull the trigger on his wicked kick, Reguinho timed his final rush perfectly, overtaking a game Keith with about 20 yards left. Reguinho kept the hammer down and came blasting across the line with his arms spread wide as he froze the numbers on the clock at 15:39! That's tied with Wischusen for the second fastest time ever run at Warinanco! Keith was second in 15:41, No. 4 all-time!! The only runner who has ever run faster at Warinanco than Reguinho or Keith is Shane Brosnan of Union Catholic, who set the CR of 15:28 last year.
Reguinho's victory was not just a huge personal accomplishment, it was also a great moment for his school as he became Elizabeth's first county XC winner since Jean "The Running Machine" Destine won in 1990.
When Reguinho was done racing, he did what he does everyday, he ran home. But this time he did so wearing the crown as the King of Union County!!!