Ocean Township distance running star Leah Starkey, sidelined the last month with an injury, is planning to return to racing at the Nike National Championships, her coach Alex Lynch said on Wednesday.
Starkey, a two-time Meet of Champions winner and XC All-American, hasn't raced since Jan. 24 when she ran a personal best 4:48.33 in the mile to place second at the Puma New York Invitational Showcase. Since then, Starkey has been dealing with a slight gluteus medius injury that forced her to miss the state meets.
Lynch said Starkey is on track to run the two-mile at the Nike National Championships on March 13th at the Nike Track & Field Center at the Armory in New York City.
Starkey took the state by storm as a freshman last spring when she ran 10:28.18 to win the 3,200 at the Meet of Champions. She followed that up with one of the best XC seasons in state history.
On the trails this past fall, Starkey smashed several course records, won the Meet of Champions title in 17:15, which is No. 3 in Holmdel Park history, and placed 7th the Brooks National Championships to earn All_American honors.
