ED GRANT'S WEEKLY ROUNDUP

   Brandon Jarrett of St. Benedict’s put the cap on the New Jersey 2007 cross-country season last Saturday when he finished 
sixth in 15:16 in the Footlocker Finals at Balboa Park, San Diego.He also, for a second year in a row, embarrassed the state’s 
“leading” newspaper which a few days earlier again omitted him from its “all-state” team.

                                Jarrett was also the top runner for the Northeast team, finishing two places ahead of Donn Cabral of Glastonbury, 
Ct., who had set a record for the Van Cortlandt Park 5K course two weeks earlier in the regional trials, a race where Brandon had set 
a fast pace only to slip from second in eighth place in the homestretch. He took no chances this time, laying back around 10th place 
before kicking past Cabral and three other runners in the final 440 yards.

                                Brian Leung of West Windsor-Plainsboro South, the state’s all-group champion, finished 15th in 15:47, while 
Andrew Brodeur of Brick Memorial was back in 38th spot in 16:17. In the girls’ race, sophomore Chelsea Ley of Kingsway was 18th 
in 18:04 and Katie McCafferty of Oak Knoll 28th in 18:36. All-group champion Melanie Thompson of Voorhees was absent, having run 
a week earlier in the national team race at Portland, Ore., placing 13th in 19:36 over the usual muddy layout.

                                Voorhees wound up a disappointing 13th in the team standing as Chris Curtis fell some three minutes off her 
all-group team while her teammates lost about 90 seconds to the sub-par conditions. The Vikings had no one to pick up the slack. 
Don Bosco, which had qualified for the boys’ race as a wild card, was satisfied with its 10th-place finish, led by Robert Molke, who 
finished 21st in 16:40.

                                Jarrett’s absence from the Star-Ledger all-state team is nothing new for the St. Benedict’s star. He was left off the 
Star-Ledger all-state and all-county teams last year in all three seasons and will face the same treatment no matter how fast he runs the 
1600 and 3200 indoors and outdoors this year. Last spring, for example, he ran 4:13.06 for 1600 and 9:08.48 for 3200 without gaining 
more than first team recognition in the “prep” school category. He is, by the way, a true “scholar-athlete” who will enter either Penn or 
Harvard next fall after the regulation four high school years.


 

                      Melanie Thompson of Voorhees announced that she has hung up her basketball shoes after scoring a stunning 
upset of Jillian Smith of Southern Ocean Regional in the New Jersey all-group cross-country championships on Saturday at 
Holmdel County Park.

                        It was not so much that Thompson won the race as the way she did it, outkicking Smith, a 56-second 400-meter 
relay runner, in the final drive to the finish line after coming out of the woods. Pre-race speculations had Smith a sure winner if she 
was close to any of her rivals in that final 200 meters, but Thompson—who had run third for much of the race behind Smith and 
third-place finisher Chelsea Ley of Kingaway—shattered that theory.

                        All three girls finished the hilly 5K layout under 18:10, taking the 8th, 9th and 10th places on the all-time Holmdel 
list, which is still headed by the 17:35.5 run by 1983 national Champion Janet Smith of North Edison. Thompson clocked 18:03, 
Smith 18:03 and Ley 18:08. And they will do it all over again next year since the first two are juniors and Ley only a sophomore. 
(Smith holds that class record with her 1981 all-group victory at 18:01.5.)

                        Thompson, who has been a starter with the Voorhees basketball team as a freshman and sophomore, will now devote 
herself exclusively to what looks like a very promising running career. She led her team to its first all-group title, 60-122, over Roxbury, 
as well as a new team average mark of 19:01 and, this coming weekend, will skip individual efforts at the Northeast Footlocker Trials 
to lead the Vikings in the national team qualifying meet at New York’s Bowdoin Park where Voorhees won a preliminary meet in September.

                        This will leave Smith to head the New Jersey entry at Van Cortlandt Park with Ley and fourth-place Katie McCafferty 
of Oak Knoll following. The New Jersey crew will be a strong one overall as most of the other girls who finished at 18:50 or below should 
also be present.

Just as the Manhattan Invitational battle between Doug Smith of Gill St. Bernard’s and Brandon Jarrett of St. Benedict’s had fizzled last 
month when Jarrett dropped out at the mile mark, so did Smith’s meeting with Manhattan leader Brian Leung of West Windsor-Plainsboro 
South bomb out with Doug cutting off his race in the bowl after running with Leung for the first half of the race. (Jarrett, of course, was not 
on hand since St. Benedict’s is only an affiliate member of the state association.)

                   Leung was thus an easy winner over Andrew Brodeur of Brick Memorial in 15:33, his fastest of three wins at Holmdel this 
year and fifth best in course history, right behind 1991 national champ Brendan Heffernan of North Hunterdon. Third in this race was a
real surprise, Ryan Coles of Msgr. Donovan, who had finished in that same position a week earlier in the Parochial A meet.

                   With Smith a very doubtful starter this weekend, it will be up to Leung and Jarrett to carry the Garden State banner at the 
Footlocker Trials. They last met at this meet a year ago with Jarrett placing eighth to qualify for the Nationals (there he placed 12th) and 
Leung 36th. Needless to say it should be a lot closer this time with the definite possibility of a 1-2 finish. Aside from Jarrett’s mishap at 
the Manhattan meet, both are undefeated this season.

                   Don Bosco will join Voorhees at the team trials after scoring a smashing 69-150 defeat of Christian Brothers in the all-group 
boys’ race. The Ironmen, who last won this one in 1992, had the 11th best all-time performance at Holmdel with a 16:25.8 average, led by
 junior Bob Molke in 8th place at 16:08. The victory concluded an undefeated campaign for the Don Bosco varsity—its only “loss” coming 
in the New Jersey Catholic Track Conference meet where it held out its top seven. 

                   The very young Haddonfield team was a close third in this one, with three sophomores and a freshman in its top five. It may 
have to wait another year to take over the top position, however, as four of Don Bosco’s top six return, two of them also sops, Rafael Vargas, 
who was the fifth man over for the Ironmen in in 16:42, and Howard Rosas, who finished in 17:01. 

                   Voorhees has just three of its top five returning and a big gap to its other runners. Roxbury loses its top pair of Laure Penney and 
Ashley Cromartie, but could get a boost if Ariann Neutts decides to return after playing soccer this fall. The team to watch, however, may be 
Toms River North which finished fifth with four freshmen and a junior in its lineup.

                                    Even with Smith dropping out, there was an unusual number of underclassmen in the top ranks of the boys’ race led 
by juniors Robby Andrews of Manalapan and Brett Johnson of Ocean City who finished 4-5. Molke was the third junior in the top 10 and Jon 
Vitez of Haddonfield led the sophs in 12th at 16:12. Freshman Joseph Rosa of West Windsor-Plainsboro North continued his fine season, 
placing 16th in 16:18, while his win, James, who has been battling Lyme disease all season, ran 17:17.     

                                           

  BOYS                                                                        

                                         

  1. Don Bosco                                                                                

  2. Christian Brothers                                                                     

  3. Haddonfield                                                                              

  4. Millburn                                                                                     

  5. West Windsor-Plainsboro North                                              

  6. Jackson                                                                                     

  7. West Windsor-Plainsboro South                                            

  8. Msgr. Donovan                                                                                                                                                             

  9. Cherokee                                                                                   

  10. Old Bridge                                                                               

 

  GIRLS

                                         

1. Voorhees

2. Roxbury

3. Ridge

4. Immaculate Heart Academy

5. Toms River North

6. Red Bank Catholic

7. Msgr. Donovan

8. Haddonfield                                                                                    

9.  Colts Neck

10. Southern Ocean




                     Another stellar performance by the Voorhees girls and some of the fastest races in meet history featured 
the 89th annual New Jersey group cross-country championships last Saturday in just about perfect weather at Holmdel 
County Park.

                        The Vikings established themselves as one of the great girls’ teams in state history as they lowered the 
team average record to 19:04.8 as they won their fourth Gr. III titles in five years, 45-87, from Ridge with Roxbury a close 
third at 90. As an extra bonus, Voorhees junior Melanie Thompson reversed an early season Holmdel loss to Chelsea 
Ley of Kingsway, winning a three-way duel with Lauren Penney of Roxbury at 18:18.

                        The irony of the Voorhees record performance was that it was greatly aided by the presence of Penney 
and her senior classmate Ashley Cromartie, who had helped set the previous mark of 19:09.5 two years ago. Both 
Voorhees, with soph Katherine Petruzzellis 5th and senior Katrina Spratford 9th, and Roxbury, with Cromartie 6th and 
freshman Mary Migton seventh, had three girls under 19:00. The Gaels would have giving Voorhees quite a run for the 
team title and the record had not Ariann Neutts decided to return to soccer this fall.

                        Thompson was not, however, the fastest girl in the six-race program. In the final race of the day, senior 
Katie McCafferty of Oak Knoll won by almost a minute from Pingry frosh Olivia Tarantino in 18:13, a time that has been 
beaten at the group level only by the likes of 2005-06 champion Danielle Tauro of Southern Ocean and the now legendary 
Janet Smith of North Edison, who followed up her 1983 victory by setting the still-standing course record of 17:35.5 at the 
all-group meet and then winning the national title in San Diego.

                        And yet, neither Thompson nor McCafferty will be the favorite when the field lines up at the all-group meet 
this Saturday. That spot is reserved for Tauro’s accomplice in last year’s Penn Relays and National distance medley triumphs, 
junior Jillian Smith, who took up the fall sport for the first time this year. Undefeated this year, Smith coasted to a 70-yard win 
over Montgomery soph Jillian Prentice in 18:29. She ran 18:13 at Holmdel two weeks earlier at the Shore Conference meet 
and her devastating speed gives her the edge over her rivals.

                        The other individual winners on Saturday were Marielle Hall of Haddonfield, leading her team to its third 
straight title in 19:30, Elise Brevet of Metuchen in Gr. I, avenging at early-season loss to Olivia Clyde of New Providence 
in 20:05, and Sarah Pagano of Immaculate Heart Academy who took Parochial A from Chelsea Delaney of St. John 
Vianney in 19:20.

                        While Voorheees will be a prohibitive favorite for team honors this weekend, the order of finish behind the 
Vikings is anyone’s guess. At least nine teams have a solid chance for the silver medals, including three of the group 
winners: Toms River North in IV, Haddonfield in II and Msgr. Donovan in Parochial A. The other races went to Haddon Twp 
in I and St. Rose in Parochial B.

                        The young TR North team---four freshmen in its top five, including its second and third finishers, Ashley 
Kotran and Andrea Mathis---took a rubber match, 108-119, from Southern Ocean, which had defeated the Mariners in the 
Ocean County meet and lost out in a third place deadlock in the Shore Conference on a sixth-girl comparison. Southern 
Ocean lost out when its usual No. 2 runner, Kate Armstrong, was its fourth finisher this time.

                        Both Parochial races were very close. Msgr. Donovan, which had lost the New Jersey Catholic Conference 
title to Red Bank Catholic by a point a week earlier, won this time over the Caseys, 61-71 with favored IHA at 73. The team 
averages were wining two seconds of each other. St. Rose overcame a big deficit against Mater Dei in the B race to win a 
three-way battle from Our Lady of Mercy and the Seraphs, 90-95-98, it win led by a pair of freshmen, Nicole Donahue and 
Taylor Shanley.

                        The finish of this race had a bizarre touch. McCafferty came out of the woods apparently in second place 
with an unknown runner slight ahead. Katie soon passed her and it turned out the young lady was from the previous race 
which had started 25 minutes earlier. This was the second week in a row that McCafferty had upstaged Thompson; her win 
at the NJCTC meet followed Thompson’s Gr. III victory in the North Jersey II sectionals at Warinanco Park and was a dozen 
seconds faster.

                        In the boys’ action on Saturday, the two all-group favorites, Brian Leung of West Windsor-Plainsboro South 
and Doug Smith of Gill-St. Bernard’s took the first and last races of the day, Leung winning Gr. IV by 125 yards from Andrew 
Brodeur of Brick Memorial in 15:41 and Smith lowering his Parochial B record by three second in a 300-yard win over Curtis 
Jenson of Mater Dei in 15:44.

                        The third fastest boy of the day was a real surprise as senior Teddy Brinkofski of Bishop Ahr won Parochial A 
by 50 yards from Mike Sheehan of Holy Cross in 16:04, just a second faster then Brodeur had recorded behind Leung and three 
second better than Brett Johnson recorded in a 1-2 finish with teammate Ryan Birchmeier in the Gr. III event.

                        The other winners were soph Jon Vitez, who led Haddonfield to a repeat win in Gr. II in 16:20 and Mickey 
Borsellino who led neighboring Haddon Heights to the Gr. I crown, winning the day’s closest duel from soph Dave Oster of Verona 
in 16:19. This was a bit of a surprise since Oster’s teammate, fellow junior Josh Black, was the favorite, having won at the Shore 
Coaches meet at Holmdel earlier this season.

                        Don Bosco, as expected, led the team performances in its Parochial A repeat, but hardly by the margin enjoyed 
by Voorhees. And the picture behind the Ironmen is just as clouded as with the girls with at least half a dozen teams having a 
chance for the No. 2 all-group finish. They include Cherokee, which won Gr. IV from defending Old Bridge and 2006 all-group winner 
Jackson; West Windsor-Plainsboro North, which upset Millburn and Morris Hills in Gr. III, the young Haddonfield team which had 
two other sophs in its top four, and Christian Brothers, which put six runners across within 27 seconds in finishing second to Don 
Bosco. The other winner was Mater Dei, which had an easy time ending Pingry’s reign in Parochial B.

                        Millburn could be a lot stronger this week if junior Danny Kirschner recovers from last week’s ankle sprain which 
sent him back to a 46th-place finish, more than a minute off his usual performance as the Millers’ No. 2 man. It was reminiscent of 
what happened to Jackson last year in the Gr. IV race where the Jaguars finished third when its No. 2 man took sick during the race. 
He was back in form the following wee as the Jaguars ran off with all-group honors.

                        One long New Jersey cross-country tradition was honored again last Saturday with the presence of no less than 
six pairs of twins in the various races. Two of them teamed up on victorious teams: Frosh Joe and James Rosa as first and fifth 
finishers for WW-Plainsboro North with Joe lowering his No. 2 yearling effort (to Craig Forys) at Holmdel to 16:16. Juniors Lizzie 
and Jackie Sikkema was 2nd and 5th for the Haddonfield girls, with Lizzie 4th in the race at 19:49. And juniors Lindsay and Melissa 
McKeen led North Warren to a qualifying third-place effort in Gr. II. 

                                    The rankings below will probably get quite a shuffling after the all-group race        

 

                                                                  BOYS                                                                                

                                         

  1. Don Bosco                                                                               

  2. Christian Brothers                                                                      

  3. Millburn                                                                                    

  4. West Windsor-Plainsboro North                                                

  5. Cherokee                                                                                   

  6. Morris Hills                                                                               

  7. Old Bridge                                                                                 

  8. Jackson                                                                                                                                                                          

  9. Haddonfield                                                                               

  10. West Windsor-Plainsboro South                                              

 
        GIRLS

                                         

1. Voorhees

2. Toms River North

 3. Ridge

4.  Roxbury

5.  Msgr. Donovan

6. Red Bank Catholic

7. Immaculate Heart Academy

8. Haddonfield                                                                                    

 9. Southern Ocean

10. Colts Neck






                         A smashing performance by the top-rated Voorhees girls’ team featured the first weekend of action 
in the New Jersey state cross-country championships, one that saw a visit from the remnants of an Atlantic hurricane 
which provided strong winds for the morning races, turning into almost perfect conditions as the day wore on.

                        Voorhees was among the late starters in the North Jersey 2 Gr. III race which they won for the fourth 
time in five years over Ridge, 20-62, with Melanie Thompson scoring her third win in a row in 18:35, nine seconds off 
the course record. The team average of 19:10 totally shattered the mark set 25 years earlier by North Hunterdon.

                        On the boys’ side, with top-rated Don Bosco not involved in the sectionals and resting its top seven for 
this weekend’s defense of the Parochial A title, Millburn took center stage, also in North Jersey 2 Gr. III, away with the 
race with a 16:49 average that was two-seconds a man faster than group defender Morris Hills posted on the quicker 
course in the North Jersey 1 event at Garret Mountain.

                        The top two individual performances of the day did not come from the sectionals, however, but from the 
50th annual New Jersey Catholic Track Conference championships which followed the North Jersey 2 meet at Warinanco 
Park. In the boys’ race there, Brandon Jarrett of St. Benedict’s Prep ran the third fastest time in course history, winning by 
225 yards from Jon Juleus of Pope John in 15:40. Kathleen McCafferty of Oak Knoll was only one second off the girls’ record 
as she won by 120 yards from Liz Campbell of Mt. St. Mary’s in 18:26.

                        Jarrett will not be involved in this week’s action at Holmdel County park, his next race coming in the Footlocker 
trials on Nov. 24 at Van Cortlandt Park. But Doug Smith of Gill-St. Bernard’s, who was idle on Saturday, will be on hand to 
defend his Parochial B title.

                        This left Brian Leung of West Windsor-Plainsboro South to lead the way in the sectionals as he won a loaded 
Central Jersey Gr. IV race from Andrew Brodeur of Brick Memorial and Bobb Andrews of Manalapan in 15:28 at Thompson Park. 
The only ones close to that were Jermaine Coore of Franklin in Gr. IV and Peter Murphy of Millburn in Gr. III who both ran 16:08 
at the longer Warinanco course.

       The state’s top two girl runners won their races easily at the South Jersey meet at Delsea, both going under 18:00. Chelsea 
Ley of Kings-way took the Gr. III race at 17:56 and Jillian Smith of Southern Ocean took Gr. IV at 17:59.

      The big individual breakthrough, however, was the 18:39 victory for soccer-convert Taylor Collins of Livingston in the NJ 1 Gr. 
IV race at Garret Mountain, just a second behind Lauren Penney’s time for Roxbury in the Gr. III race. The leader in the Central 
Jersey meet at Thompson Park was Brianna Jackucewicz of Colts Neck who won her third sectional title over the day’s strongest 
field in 18:13.

        Leung and Coore will, of course, go head-to-head in this weekend’s Gr. IV meet at Holmdel. The other sectional winners, 
Matt Mitchell of Bergen Tech in NJ 1 and Alex Yersak in SJ, will have trouble getting into the top five with Leung’s CJ followers.

                           Defending AG champ Jackson won the major Gr. IV sectional race in CJ from last year’s winner Old Bridge, 66-73 
with West Windsor-Plainsboro a close third and these teams could go 1-2-3 again this weekend over the other sectional winners, 
Ridgewood (for the sixth year in a row), Hunterdon Central and Cherokee. This race should also produce the two wild card qualifiers.

                          If Morris Hills is to repeat, it will have to be by getting a big boost from its fifth finisher this weekend. Central Jersey 
champ West Windsor-Plainsboro North will probably round out the qualifying group.

                        The individual battle will also be a Morris Hills-Millburn affair between Sean Pohorence and Murphy with the other 
sectional winners, WWPN frosh Joe Rosa in CJ and Brett Johnson of Ocean City in SJ in a battle for the third spot.

                        Defender Haddonfield should have little trouble repeating in Gr. II after taking its fourth straight SJ crown. Holmdel and 
Red Bank, which had their expected close race in that order in CJ and neighbors Summit and Berkley Heights, 1-2 in NJ 2, are the main 
contenders for the other two AG spots.

                        The individual picture here is more clouded than most with at least four boys having a chance for the gold: SJ winner 
on Vitez of Haddon-field, NJ 1 champ Jerome Perkins of Indian Hills and the 1-2 finishers in CJ, Danny Stiles of Somerville and George 
alasso of Holmdel.

                        The Gr. I race will be a repeat of SJ, where Haddon Heights defeat-ed defending Pennsville, 35-44 with a 1-2 finish from 
Josh Black and Mickey Borsellino. NJ 1 champ Verona and CJ winner Metuchen will conest the third AG position.

                        Black and Borsellino could repeat their finish this weekend, but Verona soph David Oster, who won in NJ 1, and Julian 
Fensterheim, the CJ champ will have something to say about that.

                        Don Bosco will no doubt repeat in Parochial A over CBA, which won its 27th NJCTC title, 50-93, over Delbarton.  Msgr. 
Donovan, Pope John and Red Bank Catholicwill battle for the third spot, while defending Mater Dei, Pingry and Moorestown are the likely 
Parochial B qualifiers in that order. Individual favorites are Robert Molke of Don Bosco in A and, of course, Smith in B.

                        No question about the outstanding performance here as Voorhees, led by Melanie Thompson, annihilated the team record 
in the NJ 2 meet at Warinanco Park, averaging 19:10 in a 20-62 defeat of Ridge which will likely be the third Gr. III team to qualify for the 
AG meet this weekend behind the Vikings and NJ 1 champ Roxbury.

      Colts Neck put in its bid for a Gr. IV repeat with a 69-70 victory over Howell in that CJ race. These two are almost certain AG qualifiers 
with the third automatic spot much in contention among the 1-2-3 finishers in South Jersey, Toms River North, Lenape and Southern 
Ocean, and Hunterdon Central which scored a strong win in NJ 2. One wild card spot may also go to this group.

                        Smith is the obvious individual favorite, having already beaten Brianna in the Shore Conference meet at Holmdel with Collins 
and Randolph frosh Joelle Amaral from NJ 1, NJ 2 winner Rashmi Singh and a flock of runners from CJ filling out the top 10.

                        CJ winner Hopewell Valley is the only other Gr. III team with a chance to qualify and it will need more help from its 4th and 
5th runners to do so. The individual race has three solid all-state candidates in Ley, Thompson and Penney, all of whom should be well 
below 19:00.

                        Haddonfield seems a cinch to take its third straight in Gr. II after scoring the day’s low of 16 points in the South Jersey meet, 
led by individual repeater Marielle Hall in 18:24. Holmdel looks like No. 2 after averaging 20:04 in its CJ win at Thompson Park. Chatham 
should be third after Kat Grimes and Jessica Villars ran 1-2 to lead an easy win over Bernards at Warinanco.

                        Hall has only one serious rival for the individual title, CJ champ Julia Mark of Hopewell Valley. Grimes, who followed her brother 
as a sectional winner, and NJ 1 winner Kaitlin Chegwidden of Wallkill Valley, who extended her family’s string to four in NJ 1, will be battling 
freshman Shannon Nelson, who led Holmdel’s win in 2nd place in CJ, and others for third.

                        What looked at the start of the season as a Gr. I romp for New Providence changed radically when a special grouping was put 
into place for cross-country. The Pioneers won handily at Warinanco but their 21:48 average works out about equal to those posted by Mountain
Lakes, Metuchen and Haddon Twp, the other sectional winners.

                        New Providence soph Olivia Clyde remains the individual favorite but Elise Brevet of Metuchen and Holly Gallagher of Haddon 
Twp ran comparable times last weekend in winning their sectional races.

                        Immaculate Heart Academy, No. 2 in the state, did not run the NJCTC meet where Red Bank Catholic scored a narrow win 
over Msgr. Donovan with Pope John third. All four of these teams could make the AG meet and 2006 Parochial A champ Holy Angels can 
not be counted out. Mater Dei, fourth in the NJCTC meet, looks a sure winner over Pingry in Parochial B with Mt. St. Mary’s probably getting 
third. McCafferty is a prohibitive favorite in B, while IHA leader Sarah Pagano should take A.

 

 

                                                   BOYS                                                          

1. Don Bosco                                                                                  

2. Millburn                                                                                      

3. Christian Brothers                                                                  

4. Morris Hills                                                                               

5. Jackson                                                                                       

6. West Windsor-Plainsboro North           
                                    
7. Old Bridge                                                                                 

8. Cherokee                                                                                     

9. West Windsor-Plainsboro South                                                                                                                                                                                                  
10. Haddonfield                                                                              

                                         
  GIRLS

1. Voorhees

2. Immaculate Heart Academy

3..Roxbury

4. Colts Neck

5. Red Bank Catholic

6. Msgr. Donovan

7. Toms River North

8.  Southern Ocean

 9. Haddonfield     

10. Howell                                                                                                                                            




                       Jillian Smith of Southern Ocean ran the race that everyone had been waiting for since she quit soccer as she 
won the Shore Conference title this past Monday by 100 yards from Brianna Jackucewicz of Colts Neck in 18:15, ninth fastest 
time ever on the state championship course at Holmdel County Park.

                        Heavy rains overnight had caused the two-day postponement of the meet which climaxed five days in a row of 
county and conference action leading into this weekend’s opening of the state championships at four sectional sites around 
the state. The Shore race was the last and best of the series with the first 17 finishers beating 20:00 in the girls’ race and the 
first 19 under 17:00 in the boys.

                        The girls’ event followed advance predictions with Jackucewicz setting a fast early face and Smith taking 
charge coming out of the “Bowl,” among a mile and a quarter from the finish. It was Jillian’s fifth major victory of the season 
and the first in which she was really tested; her time was 1:09 under what she had run at Holmdel in her first excursion there 
at the Shore Coaches Invitational three weeks earlier.

                        The girls’ team race was, also as expected, a real sizzler with five teams with 10 points of each other. Msgr. 
Donovan wound up on top, 129-135, over Colts Neck despite the absence of their usual leader, Kris Loretto. Molly Kempton 
took over top spot, finishing 8th in 19:32, and Briana Crowe was 14th in 19:47. The next three teams all finished at 139, Toms 
River North getting the nod for 3rd on a comparison of the sixth girls for each team, ahead of the respective county champs, 
Red Bank Catholic (Monmouth) and Southern Ocean (Ocean).

                        The first four finishers for Southern Ocean were the girls who will probably line up for the defense of the school’s 
various distance medley titles next spring. Smith is due to move up to the 1600 leg, replacing the departed Danielle Tauro, 
while Chelsea Cox, who has had an excellent initial cross-country campaign (23rd in this race at 20:15) and Kate Bergin take 
care of the 800 and 400. The newcomer will be soph Kate Armstrong, who finished 12th on Monday in 19:45.

                        Christian Brothers had its 24th win in 27 tries in the boys’ race, 80-89, over defending Jackson. Vin Ferrer led 
the Colts in 10th at 16:39 and three more came home within 21 seconds. The team average of 16:52 was the best at Holmdel 
this year. In a match of county champions, Andrew Brodeur of Brick Memorial (Ocean) finished 60 yards ahead of Bobby 
Andrews of Manalapan (Monmouth) in 16:00.

                        Only Thursday’s actually fully escaped the rain with six meets being held the length of the state. Chelsea Ley 
of Kingsway and Kathleen McCafferty of Oak Knoll topped the action that day, Ley winning the Tri-County Conference meet 
at the flat Cumberland High School course by 67 seconds over Maria Ruiz of Williamstown in a course record 17:31 and 
McCafferty taking the Union County crown by exactly a minute from Olivia Clyde of New Providence in 18:30. Team honors 
went to Williamstown over Kingsway, 44-57, and the Clark for first time over Scotch Plains in Union on another sixth-girl 
comparison after both teams tallied 104 with their first five.

                        In the other girls’ meets that day, top-ranked Voorhees repeated over Ridge, 52-92, as Melanie Thompson 
and Katrina ran 1-2 with Melanie breaking her own course record at 18:00; Pope John won its fifth straight Sussex County 
title, 29085, with Sarah Cariati and Marissa Galante finishing in a virtual tie at 18:35; Haddonfield had six of the first seven 
finishers, led by Marielle Hall in 18:31, in the unscored Colonial Conference “All-Star” meet and Jena Peacock repeated in 
the Cape-Atlantic race as Millville took four of the next five places for an easy 57-123 victory over Ocean City.

                        Pope John also won its fifth consecutive boys’ title in the Sussex meet, 33-85, over Vernon with Jon Juleus 
finishing 85 yards ahead of Edwin Torres of Jefferson Twp in 15:28. The Union title went to Westfield, 65-66, over Summit 
with Pat Doliber of Scotch Plains defeating Evan Friedman of Westfield in 16:42. Hunterdon Central took the Skylands race,
77-85, from Bridgewater with Danny Stiles of Somerville edging Jermaine Coore of Franklin in 15:46. 

                        With no team title at stake in the Colonial Conference meet, the Haddonfield boys did not go all-out and it 
was a 1-2 finish for Josh Black and Mickey Borsellino of Haddon Heights in 15:59 and 16:07 as their team assumed the 
favorite’s role for Gr. I honors in the state meet over defending Pennsville, which lost the Tri-County meet that day to Highland, 
39-67, as Kyle Gorczynski of the winners defeated Mark Kearney by 20 yards in 16:16. Ocean City had a 1-2 finish from Ryan 
Birchmeier and Brett Johnson in the Cape-Atlantic meet, but Mainland had a 42-45 margin over the Raiders in the league’s first 
scored open championships.

                        The rains came on Friday, but Essex County and the Olympic Conference went ahead with their meets. In 
Essex, favorites Millburn in the boys’ race and Livingston in the girls had easy wins behind their individual leaders, Peter Murphy, 
who ran 15:36, and soccer-convert Taylor Collins, who clocked 18:24. Shawnee freshman Casey Doyle took the Olympic girls’ 
title by 100 yards from Alexandra Davis of Eastern with Lenape taking four of the next eight places for a 51-77 win over Paul VI,
while Alex Yersak led Cherokee to an easy win in the boys’ event, defeating Shawnee soph Dave Forward by 50 yards in 16:38.

                        Three meets dared the adverse conditions on Saturday with the Bergen boys’ race paying the heaviest penalty. 
Two of the individual favorites, Mike Mitchell of Bergen Tech and Maxwell Bruno of Indian Hills, dropped out after falling in the 
last mile leaving Don Bosco junior Robert Molke to lead senior teammate Anthony Belgiovine over the line by 150 yards in 15:26 
as the state’s top-ranked team routed Ridgewood, 37-119. Immaculate Heart Academy, the No. 2 girls’ team, topped the Maroon, 
22-95, with Sarah Pagano duplicating her county Gr. IV race of the previous week over Erin McKenna of Ramapo in 18:25.

                        Old Bridge, the defending Gr. IV champs, had its best race of the season in the Middlesex County meet, 
defeating East Brunswick, 28-147, with Travis Mahoney outkicking Teddy Brinkofski of Bishop Ahr in 16:38. The girls’ race was 
much closer with South Brunswick edging Bishop Ahr, 42-47, led by Sophie Ginez who won in 19:46. The third meet that day 
saw Memorial taking a close Hudson boys’ meet, 62-64, from St. Peter’s with Deshawn Hill of University Academic becoming 
the first charter school athlete to win a county title in the state, defeating HCIAA champ Daniel Rondon of North Bergen in 17:03. 
Kearny won the girls; meet as Tellisia Williams of McNair Academic completed a local hat trick in 21.34.

                        Roxbury had a fourth straight victory in the Morris County girls’ meet, 71-97 over Randolph, on Sunday on the 
state’s toughest course at the Kraft/Nabisco plant in East Hanover. Lauren Penney repeated as individual champ for the Gaels, 
finishing 80 yards ahead of teammate Ashley Cromartie in 19:03, slowed by a very heavy surface. Morris Hills, the No. 2 boys’ 
team, had no trouble regaining its boys’ crown as its all-junior team defeated Delbarton, 55-95, with Sean Pohorence the 
individual winner in 16:55 in the slow-paced race.        

 

                                                   BOYS                                                         

1. Don Bosco                                                                                  

2. Morris Hills                                                                               

3. Christian Brothers                                                                      

4. Millburn                                                                                     

5. Jackson                                                                                       

6. Haddonfield                                                                               

7. West Windsor-Plainsboro North                                                

8. Toms River North                                                                     

9. Old Bridge                                                                                 

10. West Windsor-Plainsboro South                                             

                                         

                        GIRLS

1. Voorhees

2. Immaculate Heart Academy

3..Msgr. Donovan

4. Colts Neck

5. Toms River North

6. Southern Ocean

7. Red Bank Catholic

8. Haddonfield

9.  Lenape

10. Howell

                                         

  

  





                          The first title confrontation of two of the state’s “Big 6” girl runners takes place this Saturday when 
Ocean County champion Jillian Smith of Southern Ocean and Monmouth County winner Brianna Jackucewicz of 
Colts Neck takes place this Saturday at the Shore Conference championships at Holmdel County Park.

                        Smith led the Rams to only their second Ocean County title last Saturday at Ocean County Park, 
running a strictly team race as she led home Kate Armstrong in a 1-2 finish in 19:00, a least a minute slower than 
she would have run with an all-out effort. Southern Ocean also got solid efforts from junior Chelsea Cox, who finished
7th in 19:28 and freshman Shalynn Risden, who was 12th in 19:40 as it defeated Toms River and Msgr. Donovan, 
43-52-64.

                        This trio will go at it against this weekend in a race t hat will have five of the state’s Top Ten teams, 
the others being the 1-2 finishers in last week’s Monmouth County meet, Red Bank Catholic and Colts Neck. Both 
of these teams went out of state last Saturday, RBC for a 36-38 loss to sixth-ranked Haddonfield in the A race at the 
Fordham Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park, and Colts Neck for a third-place finish to Warwick Valley  at the New York 
Section 1 Invitational, 60-84. 

                        Jackucewicz had a photo finish there with Emma Miller-Bedell of Tappan Zee, losing a lean at the finish 
as both clocked 18:48. It was her second sub-19:00 race in five days and showed that she may have finally recorded 
from the back problems that had kept her inactive through much of her sophomore indoor and outdoor campaigns.

                        Of the other top six, Melanie Thompson led top-ranked Voorhees to an easy defense of its Hunterdon-Warren 
County title last Friday at Delaware Valley High School, lead home teammate Katrina Spratford by 90 yards in 18:28 and 
Chelsea Ley ran the second-fastest time ever at the Gloucester County College meet the same day, finishing a full 80 
seconds ahead of Jena Peacock of Our Lady of Mercy in 18:04. Kathleen McCafferty of Oak Knoll and Lauren Penney of 
Roxbury were awaiting their respective county meets as this is being written with both expected to score runaway victories.

                        The top-rated boys’ team, Don Bosco, and the No. 2 girls; squad, Immaculate Heart Academy, were both 
easy winners at last Saturday’s Bergen County group meet at Darlington Park. The Ironmen, in fact, used only one regular 
in defeating Ridgewood, 34-56, in the boys’ A race while the Golden Eagles topped the Maroon, 23-61, in the girls’ event 
The meet of championships comes up this Saturday and both will no doubt repeat with Don Bosco probably field its first 
team for that one.

                        Senior Anthony Belgiovine was the lone regular to run last Saturday, mainly to go for the individual crown, 
which he lost by 65 yards to Mike Mitchell of Bergen Tech who had the day’s top time of 15:38. Anthony ran 15:51 and was 
followed over the line in 4th place by his sophomore brother Michael. The other boy team winners in this one were Indian Hills 
in B with Jerome Perkins repeating as individual winner in 16:00, the combined Park Ridge-Emerson team in C where Mike 
Wilkens of Leonia won in 16:44 and Bogota in D where Paul Kuehnle of Saddle Brook repeated in 16:19.

                        Sarah Pagano continued her fine season for IHA, winning the girls’A race by 225 yards from Erin McKenna 
of Ramapo in 18:23. Holy Angels threepeated in B, 24-80, over Tenafly as second-generation star Jill Rothscild of Demarest 
followed older sister Andrea as an individual winner in 19:30, soph Alexandra Clinton led Ramsey to the C title, 41-70, over 
Mahawah and Waldwick threw its hat into the state Gr. I picture with a 26-98 rout of Palisades Park in D, Ewelina Marut of 
Becton taking the gold in 20:12.

                                    There was an odd coincidence in the South Jersey girls’ county races last Thursday and Friday, 
three of them winding up as ties to be decided by the sixth finisher in each case. Mainland got the nod in Atlantic after a 
72-72 deadlock with Absegami, Paul VI in Camden after a 46-46 tie with Cherry Hill East and Williamstown in Gloucester 
after matching Kingsway at 66. 

                        It was no such case in Cumberland where Millville’s top four of Lindsay Bertulis, the Kott twins and Alyssa 
Barron swept the first four places in a 21-57 defeat of Vineland. This all-underclass foursome, who ran a sub-9:20 3200R 
at the Nationals last spring, would be a major contender for Gr. IV honors if it id not have a three-minute gap to its fifth girl. 

                        The Ocean County boys’ race was also a hot item with Jackson defeating Toms River North, 57-61, in 
preparation for their Shore Conference meeting with Monmouth County champ Christian Brothers. Andrew Brodeur, the 
individual favorite this weekend, won the race by 100 yards from Austin Santillo of Jackson with Joe Kotran of TR North 
and Monroe Kearns of Jackson following. 

                        The Haddonfield boys finished third in the boys’ Eastern championship meet at the Fordham Invitational 
with soph Jon Vitez finishing second to Dan Lowry of LaSalle of Philadelphia in 12:58. Red Bank Catholic was 2nd in the 
B race to Fordham Prep, 44-46, with Bobby McGann 2nd in 13:34 and Rick Bond 3rd in 13:38. Kevin Byrne Jr. made his 
varsity debut for the Caseys in this one, placing 11th in 13:57.                

                        

 

                                                   BOYS                                                          

1. Don Bosco                                                                                  

2. Morris Hills                                                                               

3. Christian Brothers                                                                      

4. Millburn                                                                                   

5. Haddonfield 
                                                                             
6. West Windsor-Plainsboro North   
                                            
7. Jackson                                                                                      

8. Toms River North                                                                      

9. Old Bridge                                                                                 

10. Bridgewater                                                                             


Girls

1. Voorhees

2. Immaculate Heart Academy

3..Southern Ocean

4. Toms River North

5. Msgr. Donovan

6. Haddonfield

7. Red Bank Catholic

8. Lenape
9. Colts Neck

10. Howell

                                         
                                         



                      The top South Jersey runners and teams were, as usual, absent at Manhattan, competing instead at their 
open meet at Delsea, but many will be on hand this Saturday at the Fordham Invitational. Haddonfield, a double team 
champion there, will attempt to do the same at Van Cortlandt with sophomores Marielle Hall, the Div. I girls’ winner at 
Delsea in 18:52, and Jon Vitez, second in the boys’ race, leading the way.

                        Chelsea Ley, the state’s top girl runner at present, was just three seconds off Danielle Tauro’s course 
record at Delsea as she won the Div. 2 race at the South Jersey meet in 17:54 and may take a crack at the new Van 
Cortlandt mark of 13:55 set last Saturday by Cary Seymour of Central Cambria, Pa. Megan Arnold of Timber Creek 
was the Div. 3 winner in 18:47.

                        The boys’ winners at Delsea were soph David Forward of Shawnee in Div. 3 at 16:13, Kevin McDonnell 
of Camden Catholic in Div. 2 at 15:47 and Mike Sheehan of Holy Cross in Div. 1 at 15:58. Moorestown swept the Div. 2 
titles and Ocean City won the Div. 3 boys while Lenape edged Toms River North in the Div. 3 girls event.

                        The girls’ races at the Iron Hills meet at Freedom Park in Randolph produced a course record 18:02 for 
Lauren Penney of Roxbury in the Iron race and a rather odd finish in the Hills event. Defender Kearsley Olcott of Summit 
won in 19:19, but only because fellow soph Laura Vigilante of Mendham went off course in the last 150 yards, being forced 
then to retrace her steps which produced the odd picture of the two passing each other, running in opposite directions.

                        That same day saw Dickinson end two lengthy winning streaks at the Jersey City meet, snapping a 
13-year string for ancient football rival St. Peter’s in the boys’ race and a 26-year mark for St. Dominic Academy in the girls. 

                        In meets held the day before Manhattan, Maxwell Bruno and Jerome Perkins ran 1-2 to lead Indian Hills 
to the boys’ title in the Northern Bergen IL race at Darlington Park, Bruno winning in 15:52 and sub-5:00 miler Erin McKenna 
of Ramapo took the girls’ event in 18:52, while at Lewis Morris Park, Peter Murphy led Millburn to an easy repeat win in the 
Skyline Division of the Northern Hills meet. 

 

                                                   BOYS                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             1. Don Bosco                                                                                                                                         

2. Morris Hills                                                                                

3. Christian Brothers                                                                    

4. Millburn                                                                                     

5. Haddonfield                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               6.WestPlainsboro North                                               

7. Cherokee                                                                                    

8. Old Bridge                                                                                 

9. Bridgewater                                                                                

10.West Windsor-Plainsboro South                                                

                                         

        GIRLS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
1. Voorhees

2. Immaculate Heart Academy

3..Msgr. Donovan

4. Haddonfield

5. Red Bank Catholic                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
6. Lenape

7. Colts Neck

8. Toms River North

9. Howell

10. Holy Angels Academy

                                         





                       Sophomore Chelsea Ley of Kingsway provided the bombshell performance of last weekend’s massive 
Shore Coaches Invitational at Holmdel County Park when she won the B race in the second-fastest time in meet history, 
18:24, trailing only the disputed 17:59 run in 1998 by Cate Guiney of Middletown North    (that race was certainly faster 
than Ley’s, but was more likely in the 18:05-:07 range with a number of coaches saying that they had timed their own 
girls from six to eight seconds slower than their “official” mark.

                        Ley’s mark was all the more impressive because it came in the face of 80+ temperatures which generally
made the afternoon large-school races slower than their morning counterparts which enjoyed 15 to 20-degree cooler 
weather. Her race was sandwiched between a 19:02 win for pre-season all-group favorite Melanie Thompson of Voorhees 
in the C race and a 19:24 A victory for sub-4:50 miler Jillian Smith of Southern Ocean, who was making her Holmdel debut 
after two falls devoted to soccer.

                        Even so, Chelsea was slightly disappointed by her performance, having 18:10 as her pre-race aim. Three 
weeks earlier, she had broken Erin Donahue’s sophomore mark at the Cherokee Challenge, running 9:55 for 3200M and is 
now rated among the top 10 runners in the Northeast. Unfortunately, she will not be at this weekend’s Manhattan Invitational, 
running instead at the South Jersey Open at Delsea High School. She may appear the following week at the Fordham 
Invitational at Van Cortlandt.

                        Thompson and Smith will be at the Manhattan meet, Melanie leading her team in the Eastern championship
race. Voorhees took solid control of the No. 1 spot in New Jersey as it averaged 20:01 in its team victory last Saturday, 
more than 20 seconds faster than its nearest rival. Thompson was backed by a 4-5-6 finish from sophs Colette Whitney and 
Katherine Petruzzellis and senior Katrina Spratford. Smith will be in the D race where her Jersey rivals will include Lindsay 
Lambert of Howell and Katie Kellner of West Windsor-Plainsboro South, who finished 5th to Ley at Holmdel.

                        Also absent from Manhattan this week will be three other Holmdel winners: Clare Buck of Hopewell Valley 
who won the D race at 19:19; Julia Mark of Delaware Valley, an upset victor over Marielle Hall of Haddonfield in the E race 
at 19:43, and Liz Campbell of Mt. St. Mary’s who stayed with the sourse this week to win F in 19:34. But Campbell’s rival 
for Parochial B honors this year, Katie McCafferty of Oak Knoll, will be on hand in the championship race following her 
runaway win in the rain at the Mountain Valley meet on Tuesday.

                        Joining Voorhees as team winners at Holmdel, in order of performance, were Msgr. Donovan in D with five 
in the top 14, all under 20:45; Haddonfield in E with a 2-3 finish from soph Marielle Hall and freshman Mia Spinelli; Lenape 
in A; Ridge in B as Roxbury was missing No. 2 runner Ashley Cromartie, taking SAT, and Villa Walsh in F.

                        The boys’ focus this week will, of course, be on the A race where the state’s top pair of Brandon Jarrett of 
St. Benedict’s and Doug Smith of Gill-St. Bernard’s will have their first meeting of the season. Leung will be in the F race
 where WW-Plainsboro South, the B winner at Holmdel, will face Don Bosco and Msgr. Donovan, among others. Bosco 
skipped Holmdel, as usual, and ran only its reserves at Tuesday’s Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League; Donovan 
ran there without its senior pair of Ray Coles and George Johnson.

                        With so many of the state’s top runners absent from the boys’ races at Holmdel, there were several 
surprises. Two favorites did join Leung in the winner’s circle, Andrew Brodeur of Brick Memorial taking the A race in 
17:16 and Danny Stiles of Somerville scoring in D at 16:02, second fastest of the day. The newcomers were freshman 
Joseph Rosa of WW-Plainsboro North, who won C at 16:24, third fastest freshman in course history, Josh Black of 
Haddon Heights in D at 16:21 and Philip Wood of Pennington School, who scored in F at 16:22. (Wood is a transfer 
from LaSalle, Philadelphia, not to be confused with Lacey soph Phil Wood who was 6th in the B race at 17:06.)

                        Millburn posted the top boys’ average at 17:03 in defeating WW-Plainsboro North in the C race with its 
first four runners in the top six finishers, all under 17:00. This time was slightly under the marks posted by D winner Morris 
Hills and E champ Haddonfield in morning races. Christian Brothers posted its 22nd win in the meet as it won A over 
Cherokee, 65-96. The F race went to defender Pennsville, 63-81, over Verona. But the Colts’ average was 11 seconds 
slower than the Millers, indication the Colts may have problems regaining their all-group title next month.

                        The championship season got under way last Thursday with the Freehold District meet at Bucks Mill Park. 
Robby Andrews of Manalapan loafed in 17:01 in leading his team to victory, while Lambert took a much stronger girls race 
from Allison Linnell of Colts Neck as her Howell team reversed an earlier loss to the Cougars, 32-43.

                        There was a triple-header on Tuesday. At Darlington Park, Tenafly swept the Bergen County Scholastic 
League American titles with Brian David of Englewood winning the boys’ race in 16:39 and Ally Siegel of Tenafly the 
girls in 20:38. Immaculate Heart Academy had a dominant performance at the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic 
League that day with a 1-2-3 finish from Sarah Pagano, transfer (from Holy Angels) Mary Kate Duff and Sarah Mellea, 
younger sister of New England collegiate champ Pat, while Mike Mitchell of Bergen Tech ran away with the boys’ race 
in 16:03. Team titles mean little in this one, with three divisions of no more than six teams each and as little as three in 
one case, but the IHA effort pushed it into the AG picture.

                        The Mountain Valley affair was the third meet that day and McCafferty’s performance overshadowed 
everything else. The team titles were split here as well, Berkeley Heights and Roselle Catholic sharing boys’ honors, 
Clark and New Providence the girls. Vin Nicastro of RC won a close combined individual race from Chris Johnson of 
Berkeley Heights. 

                        On Wednesday, Paul Kuehnle of Saddle Brook repeated in the Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League in 
16:34 and also led his team to the Carpenter Division title while Sylvia Dziedziec did the same for Garfield in the girls’ 
King Division. The Colonial Hills meet at Pingry saw soph Dave Oster lead Verona to the boys; crown in 16:39 and frosh 
Sylvia Tarantino did the same for defending Pingry in the girls’ event in 19:21.

                        While the Shore Coaches meet traditionally gives some sensible order to the state team ranking, 
the absence of key runners on contending teams this made made things a little hazy. But, here goes anyway:

                                            BOYS 

1. Millburn

2. Haddonfield

3. Morris Hills

4. Christian Brothers

5. West Windsor-Plainsboro South

6. Don Bosco

7. Cherokee

8. Old Bridge

9. Mendham

10. West Windsor-Plainsboro South




                            GIRLS

1. Voorhees

2. Msgr. Donovan

3. Haddonfield

4. Immaculate Heart Academy

5. Lenape

6. Red Bank Catholic

7. Pope John

8. Howell

9. Colts Neck

10. Holy Angels


                       



                       The stage was set for the first meeting of New Jersey’s top boy runners when both scored impressive 
victories last Friday: Doug Smith of Gill-St. Bernard’s shattering Craig Forys’ course record at the Paul Short Invitational 
at Saucon Valley, Pa., and Brandon Jarrett of St. Benedict’s barely missing Forys’ home course mark in the Cougar 
Invitational at Bucks Mill Park, Colts Neck.

                        Smith won the Pennsylvania race by 85 yards from Max Kaulbach of Germantown Friend in 15:10, while 
Jarrett had a130-yard margin over Andrew Brodeur of Brick Memorial in 15:03, five seconds behind the mark set by Forys 
a year ago. 

                        While Smith will be active this Saturday at the massive Shore Coaches Invitational on the state championship 
course at Holmdel County Park, Jarrett will be busy taking the SATs as will a number of other New Jersey seniors from the 
state’s smaller schools who occupy the earlier part of the 25-race program. 

                        Their meeting will come a week later at the even larger Manhattan Invitational over the classic 2.5M course at 
Van Cortlandt Park. While this meet in most cases allots teams to its seven varsity boys’ races by chance, the respective 
coaches of the two Footlocker candidates, Marty Hannon at St. Benedict’s and Ryan Grote at Gill-St. Bernard’s asked for the 
pairing since the two will not meet on New Jersey soil all season, St. Benedict’s not being a member of the New Jersey State 
Interscholastic Athletic Asssociation.

                        There were two New Jersey winners on foreign soil last weekend as Alex Yersak of Cherokee took the Ocean 
State Invitational in Warwick, Rhode Island, in 16:09, established himself as the favorite for Gr. IV honors later this season and 
Sarah Pagano of Immaculate Heart Academy led her team to a second-place finish in the Warwick Valley, N.Y., Invitational 
with a runaway victory in 18:56. The Blue Eagles, still without the services of transfer Mary Kate Duff, lost to Valley Central, 
43-58, while Don Bosco scored over Walt Whitman in its boys’ race, 46-105, with Bob Molke, Anthony Bongiovine and Leighton 
Spencer finishing 2-3-4, all under 16:00.

                        Another impressive team effort came from Millburn in the B race at the 49th annual Stewart Memorial meet 
on Saturday at Warinanco Park. The Millers, with lead runner Peter Murphy in his first major start of the season, had four in 
the top seven in a 32-66 defeat of Mendham. Danny Stiles of Somerville won the race in 16:15 with Murphy just four seconds 
back and teammates Danny Kirschner and Myles Udland finishing 4-5, both under 16:45.

                        Millburn became the hot favorite for Gr. III honors and a strong contender for the AG title with that performances 
as another of the state’s top teams, Christian Brothers, watched from the sidelines. Mater Dei took over the role of Parochial 
B leader as it won the C race from Metuchen, 41-84, behind a 1-2 finish by Curtis Jensen and Pat O’Boyle in 16:46 and 16:49. 
Travis Mahoney led a 64-68 win for Old Bridge over Hunterdon Central in the A race, defeating Doug Jankowski of Phillipsburg 
by 40 yards in 16:26.

                        Sophomores totally dominated the girls’ action in this one. Sophia Ginez of South Brunswick, Rashmi Singh of 
Hunterdon Central and Jillian Prentice of Montgomery had a 1-2-3 finish in the A race, Ginez crossing the line in 19:13 to head a 
52-65 win over Montgomery. Laura Vigilante of Mendham and Dale Kinney were 1-2 in 19:24 and 19:32 in the B event with Dale’s 
Morristown teammate third as the Colonials defeated Tim McLoone’s Rumson team, 70-107, and Olivia Clyde’s late rally took 
the C event in 19:58 as her New Providence team established itself as a clear Gr. I favorite with a 43-59 defeat of Madison.

                        The championship boys’ team race at the Cougar Invitational was a probably preview of the Gr. IV title event 
with Jackson narrowly defeating Ocean County rival Toms River North, 65-68, led by Austin Santillo, who finished fourth in 19:49 
as Shore Conference runners took the next eight places behind Jarrett. Junior Bobby Andrews of Manalapan was particularly 
impressive in this one, last spring’s Gr. IV 800M champ running third in 15:33. 

                          Visiting Unionville, Pa., dominated the girls’ title race with Christine Smith taking individual honors in 18:45 and 
a 51-76 victory over host Colts Neck which was led by Allison Linnell of Colts Neck in second at 18:50 as junior star Brianna 
Jackucewicz remained on the sidelines. 

                        Roxbury had a 1-2 finish from Lauren Penney and Ashley Cromartie to win the A race at Friday’s Maroon Invitational 
at Garret Mountain to head a 49-86 defeat of Clifton. But the Gaels’ hopes of regaining their AG title this fall seem slim with junior 
Ariann Neutts having returned to soccer this fall. Penney had her third win of the season in 18:58. Chelsea Delaney led St. John 
Vianney to a 68-77 win over visiting Pearl River in the B race as she won the race from Aimee Chegwidden of Wallkill Valley in 20:14.

                        Mike Mitchell of Bergen Tech scored an upset win over Nick Roman of Passaic Valley in the boys’ race at Garret, 
winning by 135 yards in 16:01, while James Van der Wiele of Pequannock got his second victory of the campaign over Paterson 
Catholic frosh Anthony Andrews in 16:48. The team winners were Vernon and Wallkill Valley.

                          




                        The major items of the past two weekends in New Jersey have been the appearance of Southern 
Regional junior Jillian Smith on the scene, the record 9:55 victory of sophomore Chelsea Lea of Kingsway at the 
Cherokee Challenge, a 19:05 victory for Melanie Thompson of Voorhees at the Bowdoin Park Classic in Poughkeepsie, 
N.Y., and a near-record 15:33 win for Brandon Jarrett of St. Benedict’s at the Passaic County Coaches meet.

                        Smith, who had played soccer the past two falls, won the junior race at the Sept. 15 Cherokee meet 
by 100 yards in 11:17 over the 3200M course. Lea, one of the top frosh in the state a year ago, took the sophomore 
event and, in the process, erased the 10:58 record set by Erin Donohue of Haddonfield, a member of the U.S. team 
at the Worlds last month.

                        Thompson led the New Jersey contingent at the Bowdoin Park meet, defeating Caitlin Lane of Greenwich, 
N.Y. by 10 yards and, in the process, leading the Vikings to a 71-89 victory over the Empire State team. Katrine Spratford 
and Collette Whitney backed Thompson with a 6-7 finish.

                         Jarrett stepped up to the Gr. IV race at Garret Mountain and won by almost a minute from Jorge 
Beltre of Paterson Kennedy. Brandon will head the New Jersey contingent at the Sept. 28 Cougar Invitational at Buck 
Mills Park in Colts Neck, then take a week off for the SATs before challenging his only rival for New Jersey supremacy, 
Doug Smith of Gill-St. Bernard’s, at the Manhattan Invitational on Oct. 13 at Van Cortlandt Park.

                        On the boys’ side at the Bowdoin Park meet, Sean Pohorence of Morris Hills led the Garden State 
finishers in 6th place at 16:42 with Jerome Perkins of Indian Hills following him over the line in 16:46. Three of the 
state’s top teams were present, Christian Brothers finishing third with 117, Morris Hills sixth with 178 and defending 
all-group champion Jackson eighth with 178.

                        A week earlier, CBA had an impressive showing at the Roxbury class meet, putting five boys over 
the line within 15 seconds in the junior-senior race with Vin Ferrer leading the parade in fourth at 16:05. Smith won 
that one with a course record of 15:19, followed by Doug Jankowski of Phillipsburg in 15:36. Lauren Penney of 
Roxbury followed up her earlier win at the Randolph Invitational as she led teammate Ashley Cromartie over the line 
in the girls’ junior-senior event in 17:49.

                         Pope John took team honors in that race with a new face in the lineup, Paige Boehmcke, a 
transfer from Summit. The Lions had three girls under 20:00 between that race and the soph event.

                         Another strong Parochial A team, Red Bank Catholic scored that day at the St. Dominic Academy 
Invitational at Lincoln Park with a 48-73 margin over Morristown. Colonial soph Dale Kinney won a hot individual race in 
19:39, followed by defending Parochial B champ Marie Walsh of Mater Dei and her soph teammate Liz Shaw.

                         Defending PA champs Holy Angels scored its second win of the season at the Season Opener 
with a 23-69 victory in the A race over Middletown North. Chelsea Delaney of St. John Vianney won the race in 19:58 
and frosh Jen Molke led the Angels in second at 20:11. And, in the Villa Bears meet at Van Cortlandt Park, Msgr, 
Donovan defeated Bronxville, 47-84, with Kris Loretto and Molly Kempton finishing 5-6 in 25:58 and 16:02, while the 
MonDon boys, competing in the Regis Invitational, had a 28-point score with four boys, Ray Coles and George Johnson 
going 3-4 in 13:24 and 13:30.

                        Amanda Herrman and Jillian Prentice of Montgomery duplicated their performance at the Sept. 8 Knights 
Invitational as they again won the senior and soph races, respectively, at the Old Bridge Classic at Thompson mark, 
Amanda running 19:36 and Jill 19:13. Karan Sarna of North Brunswick took the boys’ senior event in 17:06. 

                         Entries were down at last weekend’s meets due to the Jewish holidays, but both the Magee class meet 
at Warinanco Park and the Passaic Coaches affair had over 40 schools on hand. Andrew Brodeur of Brick Memorial was 
the top boy at the Magee meet, taking the senior race from Danny Stiles of Summit in 16:13 and Sophia Ginez of South 
Brunswick topped the girls as she took the soph race in 19:35 from Rashmi Singh of Hunterdon Central. 

                        Red Bank Catholic completely dominated the girls’ side of the Battle of Monmouth that day, Janine Louie 
winning the senior race in 20:23, Emily Rooney the junior in 21:00 and Michelle Capozzi the soph in 20:42. Chris Poss 
of Matawan headed the boys’ action with a 16:44 win in the senior race. 

                        The other boy winners at the Passaic meet were Nick Roman of Passaic Valley in B at 16:34, Ted 
Brinkofski of Bishop Ahr in C at 16:26 and Paul Kuehnle of Saddle Brook in D at 16:50. The girls’ action was somewhat 
spoiled when Liz Campbell of Mt. St. Mary’s, one of the state’s top runners, went off course with a huge lead in the D
 race and Liz Shaw became a very shocked winner at 19:58. Frosh Joelle Amaral of Randolph won the A race in 19:33, 
Stacey Lopes of High Point took B in 20:19 and Delaney scored her second win in as many weeks in C at 19:45.

                        The South Jersey Shootout, with its unique formula of running each team’s top two runners in one race,
the next two in a second and the final three in the third saw Brett Johnson of Ocean City follow up his junior win at 
Cherokee with a 50-yard victory over teammate Ryan Birchmeier in 16:20. Birchmeier haf finished fourth in a loaded 
Cherokee race to the state’s most hidden star, Kevin McConnell of Camden Catholic, who won in a course record 9:45. 
Johnson ran 9:53 and Jon Vitez of Haddonfield won a strong soph event in 9:58.

                        Brianna Rogers of Moorestown, who had won the Cherokee senior event in 11:12, came back to score 
again over Lindsay Bertulis of Moorestown at the Shootout in 19:01. 

                        Also on this weekend’s care are the Maroon Invitational at Garret Mountain on Friday and the 49th 
edition of the state’s oldest invitational, the Stewart Memorial, on Saturday at Warinanco Park.    




                        The 2007 cross-country season got off to an early start in New Jersey last weekend, with several of the state’s 
top girls’ teams showing their wares and, on the boys’ side, the debut of a possible future super-star with a very familiar name.

                        The major meet of the weekend was the Randolph Invitational on Friday, a unique evening meet which had fallen 
victim to rain a year ago. This time, the weather was just about perfect and the Roxbury girls responded with an impressive 1-2 
finish by the two remaining members of the 2005 all-group champions, Lauren Penney and Ashley Cromartie and a fourth place 
by freshman Mary Migton.

                        Missing from the lineup was junior Ariann Neutts, still recovering from an injury which troubled her during the 2007 
outdoor campaign. As a result, the well-balanced Ridge team edged the Gaels, 52-59, for the A title. Penney covered the slightly 
hilly 3.1M course in 18:31, much the best time of the night. Holy Angels, last fall’s surprise winner of the Parochial A title, took B 
honors, 34-52, over Rumson and visiting Park Ridge took C in 20:54. 

                        The new Knights Invitational meet at West Windsor-Plainsboro North, with a class format, showcased another 
top AG contender, Msgr. Donovan, which went 2-3-4 in the senior race and 1-2 in the junior event with two individual winners 
Kris Lortta in that junior event in 11:55 over a 3200-meter course, and Pauline Dabrowski in the frosh race in 12:45. Montgomery 
stars Amanda Hermann and Jillian Prentice won the senior and soph events, respectively, in 11:58 and 11:43. 

                        At the Lancer Invitational in Livingston, Tori Berard of Morris Knolls set a meet record on 19:30, while the host 
school took team honors, 39-58, over the Golden Eagles.

                        Juniors Michael Franklin of Mendham and Sean Pohorence of Morris led the varsity runners at Randolph, respectively 
taking the A  and B races in identical times of 16:33. Pohorence also led his team to a 39-53 victory over Red Bank Catholic, while 
Mendham was 2nd to Bridgewater, 41-65. In the C race, James Van Dder Wiele of Pequannock won in 17:04 with Madison 
surprising even itself with a 69-75 victory over Hopatcong.

                        But all this took a back seat to the record freshman victory by Kevin Byrne Jr. of Red Bank Catholic, son of the two-time 
Millrose Mile winner of the late 70’s, who still holds the record for that prestigious race at 4:08.0. Young Kevin had compiled an impressive 
elementary school record despite training lightly while also pursuing a soccer career, now obviously part of history. His marks included a 
52-second 400, indicating that he may have the same range as his father, who also ran 1:24.6 for 800Y, 2:13.2 for 1000Y, 3:48.0 for 
1500M, and 8:59.7 for 2M, still the state indoor record.

                        Millburn had an impressive debut at the Lancer meet, getting a 1-2-3 finish from Myles Udland, Dann Kirschner and 
Tyler Udland in a 40-68 win over Morris Knolls. The Gr. III favorites held out their top runner from 2006, Peter Murphy, who is still 
nursing the Achilles injury which sidelined him last spring.

                        The Knights Invitational was dominated by the host team which had John LiPuma win the senior race in 10:01 
and Jon Squeri take the soph event in 10:21.

                        The coming weekend will be much busier with six meets evenly divided between class meets and  the standard team 
formula. The Cherokee Challenge (at 3200M) will probably draw the strongest fields with. Led by the powerful Haddonfield boys and 
girls’ team. The other class meets are a Horseshoe Lake Park, Roxbury, and Thompson Park, Spotswood, site of the Central jersey 
championships. There will also be the St. Dominic Invitational at Lincoln Park, Jersey City, the Season Opener at Darlington Park, 
Mahwah, and the Newark Academy Invitational on the campus of the state’s oldest secondary school in Livingston. The latter will 
see the season debut of one of the state’s two Footlocker candidates, Brandon Jarrett of St. Benedict’s.

                        It is now pretty certain that Jarrett will meet with his rival for individual honors this fall, junior Doug Smith of Gill-St. 
Bernard’s at the Manhattan Invitational on Oct. 13 at Van Cortlandt Park. The two will have no direct confrontations on New Jersey 
soil this fall even though they will probably share the same course in different races at the Shore Coaches Invitational at Holmdel 
County Park on Oct. 6 and at the state prep meet at Blair Academy on Oct. 31.

 

                        Now for a look at prospects  for the 2007 season

 

BOYS

The team picture is not a bright one this year. Christian Brothers may be ready to resume its usual place at the top of the heap, but their strength lies in balance and depth, not individual brilliance. Defending AG champ Jackson was hit hard by graduation; runner-up Don Bosco likewise, but with some young talent to fill the gaps. Haddonfield had the state’s best frosh team in a generation last fall, but is probably a year away; the other contenders are scrambling to fill out their lineups. As usual, we list what looks in advance like the top 10 teams and 25 individuals in alphabetical order:

TEAMS

CHEROKEE: Alex Yersak and Chris Applegate, both top 50 finishers in last fall’s AG meet, head a team which returns almost its entire lineup which placed 9th in 2006. Among their teammates will be two “legacies,” soph Steve Burkholder, whose sister starred for the Chiefs a few years ago, and junior Sean Hartnett, son of 1970s Villanova star and Irish Olympian John Hartnett. CBA: A solid lineup headed by Brendon Pierson and Vin Ferrer and including two younger brothers of former stars, Ben Horel and Kyle Havard. DON BOSCO: The top holdovers from last year’s No. 2 team are juniors Leighton Sepncer and Rob Molke with senirs Anthony Belgiovine and Stephen Wyka next in line. The Ironmen also had a strong frosh team last fall. HADDONFIELD: The Haddons finished third a year ago, but three of the top four graduated. This team will depend almost exclusively on sophs, led by outdoor county distance champs Jon Vitez and Colin Baker and also including Ray Schlitt, Daniel Rood-Ojalvo and Erich Donohue, Erin’s kid brother. INDIAN HILLS: Has one of the top 1-2 punches in the state with Maxwell Bruno and Jerome Perkins and some promising younger talent in Will Savage and soph Mark Filandro. Much will depend on whether both stars stay healthy; Bruno faded at the end of the 2006 CC season; Perkins missed most of outdoors. JACKSON: Monroe Kearns and Austin Santillo remain from the top five who carried the jaguars to their first state title last all. Also returning are Ben Forrest, the No. 6 man, and Ed McQuade, MILLBURN: It has been a long time since the Millers were considered for statewide honors, but they have a top trio of Peter Murphy, Myles Udland and Danny Kirschner and need just to find two others in the low 17s range to reach the AG meet. MSGR. DONOVAN: Another team with a top pair in Ray Coles and George Johnson who could both be top 15 finishers in the AG meet. Finished only 10 points behind Jackson in the Ocean County meet last fall and all of that team returns, the rest led by Alex Pereira. POPE JOHN: Some heavy losses here, but two solid leaders, Nick Beese and Jon Juleus, and the usual depth behind them. WEST WINDSOR-PLAINSBORO NORTH: Lots of depth here with seniors John LiPuma and Steve Au-Yeung, junior A.J. Reichert and sophomore John Squeri. What is needed is top hand, but he’s over at WWPlSo—Brian Leung.

INDIVIDUALS

(The numbers in parentheses indicate the finish in last year’s AG meet.) ROBBY ANDREWS, Manalapan (28): Came on very strong last spring to score a major upset in the Gr. IV 800 over J ason Apwah and then run 4th in the AG race in 1:52.65. Also hit 4:17.94 in the 1600. COLIN BAKER, Haddonfield: Injuries just about wiped out his CC season, but he rounded into form outdoors, winning the Camden County 1600. His pre-HS CC record was little less than sensational. ANDREW BRODEUR, Brick Memorial: Another one who lost much of his CC season to injury, including the entire state meet. Came back to run 4:20.73 for 1600 indoors and 4:15.82 and 9:24.16 outdoors. MAXWELL BRUNO, Indian Hills: Still another whose CC season ended early, though he did finish 3rd in the Bergen County MC. Indoors, he had a somewhat controversial 2:27.2 1K---under the old state record---and, outdoors, ran 1:54.15 and 4:20.02, but has still to reach his potential. RAY COLES, Msgr. Donovan (11): The third highest underclass finisher in last fall’s AG meet, he ran 16:11 in that one. But, injuries dogged him indoors and out and he settled for a best of 9:31.27 in the 3200. JERMAINE COORE, Franklin (23): One of the state’s top frosh three years ago, he had a good junior season though upstaged by senior teammate Chris Gonzalez. Not really a track runner, he had a 9:41.63 3200 indoors. GEORGE GALASSO, Holmdel: Really came along last outdoor season with marks of 4:18.07 in the mile and 9:24.16 in the 3200 which made him the state’s fastest in the former and second fastest in the latter. BRANDON JARRETT, St. Benedict’s: The boy who “floats like the breeze,” Brandon made the most of his limited opportunities last year, winning his Shore Coaches CC race in 15:42 and running 4:13.06 for the 1600 and 9:08.78 for the 3200 outdoors. He also qualified for Footlocker at 15:28.9 and was in the top half at San Diego. BRETT JOHNON, Ocean City (20): The No. 2 soph in last year’s AG race at 16:22, Johnson ran 4:22.22 outdoors for 1600. Should have a strong training mate in Ryan Birchmeier. GEORGE JOHNSON, Msgr. Donovan (26): After his solid CC season, took over leadership for his team when Coles faltered and ran 9:30.28 for 3200 indoors and 4:22.22 for 1600 outdoors. MONROE KEARNS, Jackson (43): Ran in the shadow of Kris Carle in CC, but had great success when he moved down to the 800, running 1:56.4 indoors and 1:55.11 outdoors. BRIAN LEUNG, WW-Plainsboro So (7): Second underclass finisher in last year’s AG race at 16:01, Leung had great indoor and outdoor campaigns, running 9:19.2 for 3200 under cover, the concentrating on the 1600 outdoors with a best of 4:18.63. KEVIN MCCONNELL, Camden Catholic (50): Easily the state’s most “hidden” runner, McDonnell appeared outside Camden County only for state competition, running a 9:26.60 3200 outdoors. ROBERT MOLKE, Don Bosco: The state’s top frosh two years ago, Molke had only a fair CC season last fall, but came on to run 4:21.81 for 1600 and 9:27.5 for 3200 last spring. Now he has the task of leading the Ironmen. PETER MURPHY, Millburn (27): A strong CC season was followed by an indoor campaign that saw him run 9:34.23 for 2M. But that was it, as injuries took him out of the spring season. JEROME PERKINS, INDIAN HILLS (32): Another who loost his outdoor season to injuries, Perkins had a strong season last fall with victories in his county group meet and state sectionals. BRENDON PIERSON, CBA (45): After three years of running with the Colts, Pierson is now vaulted into the position of team leader. His winter and spring seasons were mostly devoted to shorter distance and he had a 2:34.82 1K indoors and a sub-1:57 800 outdoors. NICHOLAS ROMAN, Passaic Valley (24): One of the surprises last fall, Roman improved with each race until he ran 16:28 at the AG meet. His track success was modest with a 9:40.13 3200 indoors. MIKE SHEEHAN, Holy Cross: Only modest success last fall, but strong indoor and outdoor seasons at he 1600 with a best of 4:20.14 and two other races under 4:21. TARA SHIGENOBOU, Ridgewood (48): His surprise success as a soph last fall got Ridgewood within 10 points of the Gr. IV title and a 4th place in the AG meet, but injuries devoured his indoor and outdoor campaigns. DOUG SMITH, Gill-St. Bernard’s (3): His first CC campaign last fall saw him run twice under 15:50 at Holmdel. He followed with a stirring Gr. I 3200 win over Andrew Hanko indoors at 9:08.01 and then ran 4:21.12 and 9:04.52 outdoors. An overwhelming favorite for AG honors this year. DANNY STILES, Somerville (19): Another of the “pure” CC run-ners, Stiles ran 16:21 at the AG meet. No indoor season, of course, but a fair outdoor campaign chasing Doug Smith and the now graduated Chris Southwick. MYLES UDLAND, Millburn: Again, only modest success in CC, but he ran 4:25.44 indoors and then got down to 4:21.08 outdoors as he filled in the gap left by Peter Murphy’s absence. JON VITEZ, Haddonfield (42): Like teammate Baker, Vitez won a county title last spring, in the 3200, after a great frosh CC campaign which saw him play a vital role in Haddonfield’s third-place AG finish. ALEX YERSAK, Cherokee (22): Yersak also belongs to that breed of runners who find HS track distances a little short. His best last spring was a 15:58.20 for 5K. Notes: The group meets shape up this way, teamwise: Jackson could get the Gr. IV title that eluded it last year when No. 2 man Ryan Fenimore fell ill at the 2M mark; WW-Plainsboro North looks and Millburn dominate Gr. III, Haddonfield is a cinch in Gr. II and Pennsville may have enough to retain its Gr. I title. CBA and Don Bosco will battle it out in PB and Mater Dei has a great 1-2-3 punch to carry it to the PB crown.

GIRLS

If anything, this could be a stronger season than 2006, which was one of the best in state history. Most of the leading teams a year ago return with almost intact lineups; graduation did take 11 of the top 12 in the AG race and the individual battle may be essentially---like the boys---a two-girl affair pitting Melanie Thompson of Voorhees against injury-prone Brianna Jackucewicz of Colts Neck. Colts Neck lost only Ashley Higginson and Kris O’Dowd from the team which ran away with the AG title last year, but still may have trouble retaining its crown. Msgr. Donovan returns its “full house” of three senior and two juniors and reportedly has an ace freshman coming in. Roxbury, the 2005 champs, still has three members of that team. And there are half a dozen others waiting for one of these to take a false step. It will be hard to match the AG finish which saw the top 15 break 19:00, an unprecedented number in state history. Only three of that group return, but five others were under 19:10 and others either had a bad day or were sidelined by injury or illness. Last year’s freshman crop was one of the best ever.

TEAMS

COLTS NECK: If Jackucewicz can stay healthy, the Cougars have a good shot at repeating. Backing her will be the Donaghy twins, Allison and Erin, as well as Allie Flott and Allison Linnell. HADDONFIELD: Just as the boys’ team is sophomore led, the girls are dominated by the junior class, though soph Marielle Hall should be the leader. The Sikkema twins, Lizzy and Jackie, are joined by classmates Bria Altieri, Julia Banford and Monica Ramstad. Also contributing will be senior Alyssa D’Orazio HOLY ANGELS: The surprise of the 2006 season was the Angels victory in Parochial A in one of the closest finishes in state history—four points separating the top four teams. Mary Kay Duff, the 2006 leader, has transferred to IHA, but Kat Baselice, Suzana Markovic and Stephanie Gibney return and are joined by frosh Jen Molke. HOPEWELL VALLEY: Ho-Vall lost only Megan Fitzpatrick from the 2006 squad, but she missed most of last season anyway, including the entire state meet. Clare Buck and Mariss Greco return, joined by Julie Jablonski and some new talent picked up last outdoor season. LENAPE: This should be a banner season from beginning to end for the Indians and cross-country will give it a good sendoff. Juniors Miya Johnson and Alivia Royds, senior Erika Griffith and soph Caitlin Orr head the lineup. MSGR. DONOVAN: MonDon has a pat hand with seniors Briana Crowe, Molly Kempton and Amanda Cavallo and juniors Devin Solvik and Krissa Loretto, but, given the history of illness and injury, will welcome whatever the new freshman class can add. POPE JOHN: The loss of Lara Heigis and Lauren Bariexca will hurt, but the return to health of Casey Keller---whose absence was heavily felt last fall---will make up for some of it as she joins junior Sarah Cariati, who blossomed during last years’ indoor and outdoor campaigns. Junior transfer Paige Boehmcke (from Summit) will be a big help. RED BANK CATHOLIC: The founding team of girls’ track in New Jersey had a good season in 2006, winding up third in the AG meet. Two of the top three graduated, but there is plenty left, led by senior Janine Louie and sophs Michelle Capozzi and Emily Rooney. ROXBURY: Lauren Penney, Ashley Cromartie and Ariann Neutts return and have been joined by promising frosh Mary Migton. There is still that fifth slot to be filled, but there are several promising candidates. VOORHEES: Has a potential AG champ in Melanie Thompson and a fine backup in Katrina Spratford. Colette Whitney came along fast as a frosh last outdoor season and classmate Jackie Rumen could also be a big help. The key to success may lie in how 400/800 star Kari Shoolbraid adapts to CC.

INDIVIDUALS

Once again, the numbers in parentheses indicate finish in last fall’s AG meet. TORI BERARD, Morris Knolls (15): Was the fifth underclass finishers in the AG meet last year, then ran 11:03.27 for 3200 indoors and 10:22.08 in the Penn 3K. CLARE BUCK, Hopewell Valley (17): Took up the slack when Megan Fitzpatrick was hit by persistent injuries last year. Ran an even 19:00 in the AG meet and then hit 11:02.52 for 3200 indoors and 11:05.04 outdoors. LIZ CAMPBELL, Mt. St. Mary’s (18): One of the surprises last fall, she ran 19:01 in the AG race, then hit 5:01.66 for 1600 indoors. Injuries limited her outdoor season. SARAH CARIATA, Pope John (33): Was one of the state’s most improved runners last spring, getting down to 5:05.01 for an individual 1600 and running even faster on relay legs. ASHLEY CROMARTIE, Roxbury (16): Had a great junior year, running 19:00 in the AG meet, then clocking 2:16.91 for 800 and 4:58.97 for 1600 outdoors and running even fastest at both distances in relays. AMANDA HERMANN, Montgomery: Injuries bothered her in CC and she was not around indoors, but her outdoor season saw a comeback as she ran 11:14.74 for 3200. Training with soph Jillian Prentice, she should have a fine senior year. MOLLY HIGGINS, Randolph: One of the state’s freshmen last fall, she hit the pool indoors and returned to the track in the spring, running 2:13.01 for the 800 (actually led the first leg of the 3200R final at Penn) and 5:05.81 for 1600. Has a strong family background, being the niece of the various Stickles brothers who starred for Roselle Catholic and Roselle Park a generation ago. BRIANNA JACKUCEWICZ, Colts Neck (6): Top underclass finisher in the AG race at 18:30, Brianna ran a 5:01.08 1600 indoors and 16:54.32 for 5K, but lost the entire outdoor campaign to her persistent back problems. KATIE KELLNER, WW-Plainsboro South (14): The second sophomore finisher in last year’s AG meet, Kellner ran 11:26.5 indoors, but lost most of her outdoor season to injuries. MOLLY KEMPTON, Msgr. Donovan: Ran 2nd at the Shore Coaches in the D race at 19:05 and hit 15.12 at 2.5M in the Manhattan meet, but that was it for her junior year, except for some late relay legs in the spring. DALE KINNEY, Morristown: A brilliant freshman season saw her run 18:58 at the Shore Coaches and clock 18:42 at Warinanco Park as she finished 2nd to Thompson at the NJ 2 sectionals. But she had injury problems after that, though she came back to run 11:17.27 outdoors. DANICA KRIVANOS, Bridgewater (23): Had a fine sophomore year with a victory in the sectionals to go along with her top-25 AG finish. Injuries pretty much wrecked her track campaigns but she returns on a team which could very well crack the top 10 before the season ends. CHELSEA LEY, Kingsway (31): Another member of last year’s brilliant freshman class, Ley had a pretty good CC season, but really blossomed after that, running 11:00.79 and 17:41.90 indoors and then coming close to the frosh 3200 record outdoor with a 10:41.41 at the AG. ERIN MCKENNA, Ramapo: Her CC season last fall was less than expected, but the rest of the year was pure gold. Indoors, she ran 2:59.6 for 1K, 5:04.17 to upset teammate Kesley Ramsey in the Gr. II 1600 and 11:00.84 for 3200. Outdoors, it was 2:14.54 in the 800 and 5:03.50 in the 1600. ALLYSON MOSKAL, Freehold Twp: Another runner who came on during the track season, running 4:59.50 for the 1600 indoors and 5:03.88 before injuries ended her outdoor season. ARIANN NEUTTS, Roxbury (50): If her sophomore season was not quite up to expectations, it didn’t miss by much. Last fall was her first CC season and she was a solid No. 3 behind Lauren Penney and Ashley Cromartie. Indoors, she ran 2:15.64 for 800 and 3:02.53 in the 1K and, outdoors, it was 5:05.02 in the 1600. SARAH PAGANO, IHA (24): Pagano ran 4th in the PS race in 19:56, then dropped 40 seconds in the AG race. Earlier, she had won her Bergen County group race and finished 2nd in the meet of champions. She had steady indoor and outdoor seasons with an 11:15.69 in the 3200. JANEL PARKER, Freehold Twp: Moskal’s senior teammate lost the CC and indoor seasons to injuries, but returned outdoors to run 2:15.31 for the 800 and 4:59.31 for the 1600. They should be quite a team if both can stay healthy this year. LAUREN PENNEY, Roxbury (22): Victories in conference, county and sectional meets highlighted her junior CC campaign---illlness hit her during the group race. Indoors, she ran 2:57.1 for 1K, 5:06.55 for 1600 and 11:13.52 for 3200 and, outdoors, she hit 4:58.69 for 1600 and had a great 1200 leg at Penn. JILLIAN PRENTICE, Montgomery (22): The first freshman finisher in the AG race, Prentice was absent indoors (in the pool), then ran 11:12.8 outdoors. With Herrmann healthy this fall, she will have a suitable running mate. ASHLEY SMOLINKA, Hillsboro (23): The No. 2 frosh in the AG race, Ashley disappeared after that, hit by injuries. She ran 1 9:09 that day, taking 51 seconds off her Gr. IV time. KATRINA SPRATFORD, Voorhees (13): A leading member of the “CC first” school, Katrina is a fine running mate for Melanie Thompson and should make a good college 5K and 10K runners---and possibly the steeplechase, following in the footsteps of Liz Wort. She did get down to 11:08.27 for 3200 outdoors. MELANIE THOMPSON, Voorhees (7): As usual, her running sea-sons were divided by her basketball chores which kept her busy late last winter. She ran 18:35 at Holmdel and, outdoors, has marks of 2:17.15, 4:54.37 and 10:43.53, the latter without running in the AG race. She also anchored an 11:51.76 DMR at the Nationals. LAURA VIGILANTE, West Morris: Got a late start as a freshman, but ran 5:10.52 and 11:03.92 indoors and 2:17.03, 5:01.74 and 11:06.51 outdoors. MARIE WALSH, Mater Dei: Had an off day at the AG, but was 2nd in PB in 19:28 and ran 5:02.84 and 11:07.84 outdoor. Has a good running mate in soph Liz Shaw, 39th in the AG race.
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