What Happened @ The Races - Oct. 14 to Oct. 20

NJAC Championships

@ Greystone Park (Parsippany)

Boys-
Pope John, Wallkill Valley and Justin Naselli of Mendham ruled the day with huge victories.
Pope John broke its own course record with a 5-man average of 16:24.2 and a compression of 44 seconds as it rolled to the Large School title, 40-69 over Morristown. Morristown earned 2nd on a tiebreaker over Mendham as Morristown’s 6th man beat Mendham’s 6th runner by one place. Morristown and Mendham will square off again on Tuesday at the Morris County Championships.
Naselli, a junior who had been slowed by cramps caused by a breathing issue in recent weeks, looked like his old self as he came storming from behind in the final mile to repeat in 15:55.5, No. 4 in course history.
Meanwhile, Wallkill Valley, led by sophomore Craig Corti’s victory,  won its 2nd straight Small School title with a 16:27.8 average, No. 3 in course history, and 26 points. Corti won in 15:58.8, No. 5 all-time at Greystone.
The wins by Walkill Valley and Pope John set the stage for a big showdown between the two later in the week.

Girls-
This was all about Sarah Disanza and Megan Curham, who each scored the biggest wins of their careers, ran blazing times, and knocked off  defending champions.
In the Large School race, Disanza, a senior at High Point, sent shock waves reverberating through the park when she came from 25 meters behind in the final mile to chase down and defeat defending champ Mackenzie Barry of Mendham, crossing the line first with a course record 17:48.1, nine seconds faster than Barry’s course record set in 2010. It was the first time in several tries that Disanza beat Barry, the 2011 outdoor Meet of Champions 3,200 winner.  It was the start of a remarkable week for Disanza, who came back five days later to make more history. See the HWS meet further down for details.
In team competition, Mendham put three runners in the top nine and averaged 19:14.7 en route to a 62-93 win over defending champion Randolph.
In the Small School race it was Curham’s time to grab the spotlight. Running against defending champion Colette Richter of Mountain Lakes, Curham, a senior at Villa Wlalsh who is one of the state’s biggest surprises this season, broke away in the final mile on the way to a monumental victory in 18:03.4, No. 4 n course history. Curham’s triumph sparked Villa Walsh to a 61-84 win over defending champion Mountain Lakes.
 

Somerset Co. Championships

@Pleasant Valley Park (Basking Ridge)

Liam Mullett of Pingry and Marisa Ruskan of Bridgewater-Raritan shredded the 3.1-mile layout as each ran the No. 2 time in course history and Hillsborough swept the team titles for the second straight year.
After a hot first mile of 4:47, Mullett, a junior, broke away from Nick McFarland and Andy Adamovics of Montgomery near the midway point in the race and pounded out a 15:43 victory. The only runner to go faster on the course that has been used 1996 is Doug Smith of Gill St. Bernard’s, who ran 15:25.5 in 2007.
The formula for Ruskan, a senior, was much different as she sat behind Jillian Kelly of Montgomery until making a surge up the small uphill right before the final straightaway. Ruskan then powered her way over the final 100 meters, stopping the clock at 17:56, No, 2 all-time. Kelly was second in 17:58, No. 3 all-time. The course record of 17:47 was set by great Lanie Thompson of Voorhees in 2008.

The team races went as expected.
The Hillsborough boys, led by runner-up Nick McFarlane runner-up finish in 16:14, received five PR’s from its seven runners, a compression of 62 seconds from 1-7 and averaged 16:36.0, No. 3 in course history, as it outscored Ridge, 40-57. The score was tied at 7-7 after each team had two across, but Hillsborough’s 3-4-5 outscored Ridge’s 3-4-5 by 17.
Ridge had a strong race in defeat as its top four runners all ran personal bests and it averaged 16:41.
On the girls side, Hillsborough made it four in a row, topping Ridge, 59-89, with a 19:16 team average, the second-fastest average in school history on the course. Kelly Janokowicz led the way by placing third in 18:02, No. 4 in course history.
 

Union Co. Conference Championships

@ Warinanco Park (Elizabeth)  5250 Meters

Westfield swept, and the Union Catholic and Oratory boys and Summit and New Providence girls captured titles.

The Westfield boys put its seven in the top nine in the Watchung Division and averaged 16:57.2 to repeat as champion, 19-50, over Elizabeth. Junior Matt Luppino led the way for Westfield as he edged Elizabeth junior Bryant Cardova, 16:45 to 16:46.
In the girls Watchung Division, Westfield had seven of the top 12 finishers and averaged 20:57 as it outscored runner-up Elizabeth, 25-58. Caitlin Glynn of Plainfield won the race in 20:11.

In the Mountain Division, Summit, led by Gillian McIlroy’s victory in 19:48, bunched five runners in the top eight and averaged a meet best 20:12 en route to an 18-59 win over runner-up Cranford.
On the boys side, Union Catholic averaged 17:13.6 and outscored defending champion Cranford, 31-47, to win the Mountain Division. Sophomore Leland Jones of Summit won the race in 16:31.

Oratory and Matt Boscia of Roselle Catholic won the boys Valley Division championships. Oratory averaged 18:02.6 and outpointed runner-up New Providence, 31-51. Boscia crossed first at 16:50. In the girls Valley race, New Providence averaged 20:39 and edged Kent Place, 34-38, and sophomore D’ne Florence of Roselle continued her breakout sophomore season by finishing first in 20:12.
 

Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex

@ Deer Path Park (Flemington)

The eagerly anticipated boys rematch between state powerhouses Pope John and Wallkill Valley, Sarah Disanza’s second course record attempt in five days, and the N.J. No. 1 Voorhees girls took center stage in this one.
When the dust settled, Pope John came out on top by 20 points to avenge its loss two weeks ago at the Shore Coaches Invitational, and Disanza ripped up another record.
In the boys race, things went pretty much as expected as Pope John and Wallkill Valley were even, 13-13, after three runners crossed for both teams. But then junior Tim McGovern came up with the race of his life to finish fourth for Pope John and 11th overall, and Michel Campbell was 15th to secure a second straight title for Pope John,
McGovern, usually Pope John’s No. 6 man, beat Wallkill Valley’s No. 4 runner by one place, and Campbell finished 19 spots ahead of Wallkill Valley’s No. 5 man.
Individually, Craig Corti continued his sensational sophomore season by winning his second major title in five days in 16:05.6. He won the NJAC Small School race on Tuesday.
In the girls race, Disanza hammered a very strong field as she blasted her way to another course record with an 18:12.5 to win by 22 seconds. Disanza also broke the course mark at Greystone Park five days earlier at the NJAC meet. Freshman Kelly Shaffer of South Hunterdon finished second in 18:34.5, No. 2 all-time at Deer Path.
Voorhees blitzed the competition to repeat as team champions by placing 4-5-6-7-14-15-16 and averaging 19:10.8 on the way to a 36-71 win over North Hunterdon.
 

DeWitt Clinton Invitational

@ Van Cortlandt Park, NYC

Junior Steve Maine finished first over the 2.5-mile course in 13:22.3 to spark the Highland Regional boys to a 45-47 win over Midwood of New York. Highland’s first five runners placed in the top 13.

Friends Schools League Championship