2011 State Group Championships
By: Matthew Murphy
Rumson-Fair Haven Surprises #1 Voorhees
CBA Runs Wild
Next Saturday is arguably the most exciting day of the high school cross-country season in New Jersey, as the best of the best will toe the line for State Meet of Champions. However, there is something about the State Group meet that just can’t be beat. It’s a marathon of cross-country races at Holmdel Park, and when it falls on a perfect day like Saturday, it makes for a tremendous spectator and fan experience. There are 12 championship races run with no breaks in between, each one featuring different match-ups, twists and storylines. So even on a beautiful day where times were inexplicably a bit slow, the excitement, drama and intrigue were as present as ever as we set up for what should be a thrilling season finale next week. Here a few thoughts and observations on yesterday’s races.
The day started off with what promised to be one of the best individual races of the day, as the girls group 3 contest included about a half dozen runners capable of taking the title. Mackenzie Barry of Mendham emerged from the woods first, with Ariana North of Northern Highlands close on her heels. Barry closed quickly en route to victory in 18:38, with North crossing in 18:47. North had been on a tear lately, looking significantly stronger each race over the last few weeks, but the Barry came in confident and remained so even with North pressing her. It was a huge Holmdel personal best for North who now hopes to mix it up with state’s top 5 next weekend. And how about that incredible team race in this one? First off, the Morristown girls might have been the surprise winner of the day, even though the group 3 race was wide open coming in. Overlooked for much of the season, Morristown won their sectional last weekend, then opted to skip the Morris County meet on Tuesday to rest for the group meet. It paid off as they defeated Moorestown 131-162, while the next 4 teams finished within an astonishing 7 points of another. Delsea was third with 165, while Seneca missed the group meet by 4 points finishing with 169, and Mount Olive and Mendham tied with 172. Wow!
The next race up was the girls group 2 race which produced a close but familiar battle along with the team upset of the day. Dana Giordano of Bernards took home the title and made herself look like an MOC threat, running the second fastest time of the day in 18:32. Giordano had to work hard to defeat Tara Hanley of Chatham who finished four seconds back in 18:36. The senior star said she had to rally in the back woods to pass her rival, but was even more pleased with her team’s performance after Bernards finished 3rd to advance to the Meet of Champions. The real team story was upfront, where Rumson-Fair Haven, enjoying a magical season, upset number one ranked Voorhees in a thrilling 63-70 victory. Voorhees was reportedly without one of their top 5 runners who was sick, but they still managed to make it very close behind front runners Nissa Cicitta and Clarissa Modde. Rumson was led by Rachel Christ who earned 5th place, and then put its next four in a pack between 14th and 19th to get the job done. What a story it would be if Rumson could duplicate its performance next weekend and earn a MOC team title. You can bet that Voorhees will be coming right back at them.
Moving to boys action, what looked like a bit of a toss-up coming in, turned into a blowout in the group 3 race as Mendham, clearly peaking at the right team, put together an impressive effort and romped Morristown 75-126. Mendham is typically strong up front and was once again behind talented sophomore Justin Nasseli who moved up from 12th in the last mile to finish 6th. Paul Ehmann was 15th and Mendham stuck its next 3 in the top 34 to seal the deal. The individual race played out in similar fashion, as a tight two man battle was expected between Blake Udland of Millburn and Ben Malone of Pascack Valley. The race was never close after the mile mark as Udland pulled away to a dominant victory in 15:48, the second fastest boys time of the day. Malone finished in 16:20 followed by a slew of runners who broke 16:40. Udland’s Millburn team took the 3rd and final qualifying spot in this race. The much anticipated group 2 boys race did not disappoint, as hometown Holmdel, who could walk to the course, ran to victory behind a stellar pack performance and led 5 teams to a 17:15 or better 5-man average. Last year, only Haddonfield ran faster than 17:20 per man. Holmdel’s 1-5 spread was a very compact 40 seconds, but even more interesting was the wardrobe change the local team made before the race. Holmdel decided to go with its black uniforms with blue lettering, in perhaps a bit of gamesmanship, as opposed to their more noticeable blue singlets which could be picked out by the competition. Whatever their plan, it surely worked as Holmdel finished with 97 points, 21 ahead of rivals Walkill Valley and Morris Hills who tied for second with 118. Walkill was awarded second on the 6th man tiebreaker, and Haddonfield missed returning to the MOC by 9 points. Next Saturday, Nick Baker’s Bulldogs will not be lining up for the Meet of Champs for the first time in 7 years.
The middle portion of the day produced some runaway individual victories on the girls side as well as yet another stunning team upset. Holly Bischof of Bishop Eustace had an easy time of it in winning her first Non-Public A title. Knowing that she would likely be running alone, Bischof, who is an MOC contender, did not push for a fast time and ran a somewhat controlled 18:47 in winning by 50 seconds over Mary Kate Byrne of Red Bank Catholic. Bischof seemed very confident in her chances next weekend. Red Bank Catholic successfully defended its team title, with a pack of freshmen backing up Byrne and helping the Caseys to a 62-113 win over Pope John. IHA was just 7 points off of Pope John, taking 3rd to advance to its first MOC since 2008. It was a story of redemption for Kristen Traub of Eastern Christian in the Non Public B girls race, as Traub returned to the top and earned her second group title after winning in 2009. Traub was defeated in this race last season by Amanda Corbosiero of Mount Saint Dominic who appeared to be battling injury Saturday and struggled to a 5th place finish. Traub opened up a gap on Sarah Quinn of Gill St. Bernards and went on to a 17 second victory in 18:51. Unfortunately for Mount Saint Dominic, Corbosiero was not the only runner who struggled, as a team that had looked so good in nearly stealing the Shore Coaches Championship race from Voorhees, was shocked by Gill St. Bernards. Gill, led by a 2-3 finish from the Quinn sisters, has made huge strides as a program this year and just keeps getting better and better. They packed their first five runners into the top 12 and defeated The Mount by 10, 34-44. Eastern Christian was 57 points back in third place.
Much like Voorhees and Rumson on the girls side, the top two boys teams in New Jersey were paired together in the same race, as the latest edition of the CBA-Don Bosco rivalry unfolded on the trails of Holmdel. In the end, the identity of the number one team in the state, and likely also in the country, was abundantly clear. CBA put on a display of talent as it dominated the field and easily dispatched Don Bosco with an incredibly low score of 18. The CBA parade was broken up only by Bosco’s Christian Costello, as the Colts went 1-2-4-5-6 and put 7 in the top 18. Tom Heath’s elite squad fell a bit short of its own course record average of 16:05, running 16:11 in what was essentially a team workout. The top 4 for CBA ran a few steps behind Costello in a pack for much of the race, then attacked the last mile with George Kelly leading the way for a 16:05 individual victory. Don Bosco put its 5 scorers in the top 14 and averaged 16:36. While Non Public B was much less competitive as always, the great story of Pingry’s Liam Mullett continued. Mullett is a sophomore enjoying a breakthrough season after a modest freshman year, and on Saturday he marched his way to the biggest victory of his young career in taking the Non Public B title. Mullett has been rapidly improving of late, and looked strong in running 16:35 to best Allen Eke of Union Catholic by 21 seconds. Mullet had a lot to say after his race, and gave the impression of someone who really loves the sport and has a grasp on what it takes to work hard and get better. He was aware of how Holmdel plays to his strengths and weaknesses and knew that he had to get away from Eke early in order to avoid falling victim to the track star’s strong kick.
In the final girls segment of the day, one team that emerged on top the cluster of strong group 4 squads surprised everyone but themselves in victory, while another team suffered a heartbreaking defeat- yet again. The Hillsborough girls, a strong and deep group all season long, had a bit of an off day at their sectional and finished second to Ridge, and thus came into the group meet a bit under the radar behind a host of contenders. But coach Rich Refi had his girls ready, as Hillsborough followed the lead of Kelly Janokowicz and packed 4 runners in the top 20 en route to a surprisingly decisive win over Randolph. Ridgewood used a solid pack effort to take 3rd, while Hunterdon Central and Ridge earned Wildcards to advance to the Meet of Champs. Most cross country runners are very tough, but maybe none more so than Megan Lacy who has been an MOC favorite all year long and ran the fastest time of the day in winning group 4 despite a groin injury. Lacy had ice packs strapped to her after the race and said that after having not run the last few days, she was unsure how the injury would hold up and was just hoping to finish. When it became apparent she could get to the end, Lacy’s main concern was qualifying for next weekend but she found herself winning by 7 seconds over Marisa Ruskan of Bridgewater-Raritan. Lacy is hoping to be healthy by next week, and if so may earn that elusive Meet of Champs title. The group 1 girls race was a story of déjà vu. For Mountain Lakes, this was third time this season it had come out on top of rival Kinnelon by less than 5 points, this time earning them their third consecutive group 1 title. For Kinnelon, it was yet another heartbreak as the Morris county school had thought it might have finally broken through and defeated its nemesis, after losing to Mountain Lakes by two at the Passaic Coaches meet and 4 at the North 1 Sectional. Despite a sea of Kinnelon green swarming to the finish line in a pack to break up the blue and orange top 5, it wasn’t enough as Mountain Lakes held on for a 64-66 victory. Mountain Lakes is stronger up front, mostly thanks to number one Collette Richter who surged to the individual title, becoming her school’s second consecutive group 1 champion after Kristen Landry won last year. Richter ran away from a banged up Brianna Feerst of Point Pleasant Beach, and went on to a 34 second winning margin in 18:56. My apologies to Collette who gave a great interview with Rich Bevensee and I, but I accidentally hit the wrong button. Look for her to be in the conversation for top 10 next week.
Finally, the long day of cross-country wound down with two more boys races, as Westfield secured an emotional win in group 4 while Haddon Township represented South Jersey in upending Mountain Lakes in group 1. In what was a loaded-as-always group 4 race, Westfield came in as the slightest of favorites, and while they needed to be at their best to get by West-Windsor South, they also had a little something extra to run for. Westfield coach Jack Martin is retiring at the end of the season after a spectacular career, and his boys team wanted to send him out with his 3rd consecutive group 4 title. They surely delivered as Jack Leahy led the way with a 5th place finish and Westfield packed its next 4 into the top 32, sending them to 35 point victory over the Pirates. Martin will now retire happy, but can still motivate his team for a shot at second place in the Meet of Champs as Westfield averaged just 6 seconds slower than Don Bosco. Ridgewood grabbed the final automatic qualifier, as its third place finish ended a string of seasons where the Maroons had used the wildcard to advance. It was a nice bounce back race for Mike Glynn’s squad who were a bit off in their sectional race. This year’s wildcards went to 4th and 5th place finishers Freehold Township and North Hunterdon. It was amazing to me that both fastest times of the day for the boys and girls were set by runners who were less than 100%. Tim Ball of Piscataway was suffering from a head cold, and consequently a lack of confidence, until his teammates and coaches pumped him up at the line, providing all the motivation he would need. Ball torched the group 4 field and managed a personal best of 15:38 in winning the title by 24 seconds over Shawn Wilson of Cherokee. He was a bit surprised the strong group of runners wasnt’t pushing him more, but when Ball lines up next Saturday as the favorite you can bet he will be tested by the likes of Blake Udland, Stephen Lewandowski and George Kelly. Speaking of Lewandowski, he had a surprisingly easy time of it earning a well deserved group 1 individual title in a big personal best of 16:03. Lewandowski’s biggest challenge was expected from Wallington’s Domenic D’Agostino, who pushed the Mountain Lakes senior for nearly the entire race at the North 1 sectional. This time, Lewandowski blasted open a large gap after the mile mark and D’Agostino wound up a distant 49 seconds back. Lewandowski enters the Meet of Champions as a dark horse contender, but with more competition around him is more than capable of a strong sub 16 minute time. Haddon Township proved that it was able to handle Holmdel after looking very impressive last week at the much flatter Delsea course. Led by Trey Thatcher in 9th, Haddon Heights had tight pack of 3 at the front and put its five scorers in the top 31 to edge defending champions Mountain Lakes 74-81. Haddon Heights squeaked by McNair by 7 points to earn a trip to the Meet of Champs.
Photo by: Dave Folsom for NJRunners.com