All-group champions Tyler Udland of Millburn and Melanie Thompson of Voorhees head the NEW JERSEY TRACK 2008
all-state cross-country team, as usual the only such team open to athletes from every school in the state.
Thompson, winning the girls' AG race for a second year, went undefeated through the scholastic season, not only
sweeping her races within the state, but also winning the Eastern championship at Van Cortlandt Park and the Bowdoin
Park Invitational. Udland, the outdoor AG 3200-neter champion last spring, lost only one New Jersey start and finished
2nd at the Footlocker Trials. Both will be running this weekend in the Footlocker Finals at Balboa Park in San Diego.
The boys' team also includes sophomore Joe Rosa of West Windsor-Plainsboro South, who won the Eastern championship
race and, this past weekend, placed 4th in the Nike National team race in Portland, Ore. Rosa led West Windsor to its first state
all-group title and to a fifth-place finish in the Nike event.
Collectively, the 2008 teams are among the best in state history. A record number of eight athletes, four boys and four girls,
qualified for the Footlocker finals even with Rosa dn Sean Pohorence of Morris Hills, another first-team choice, competing that
day at the Nike trials at Bowdoin Park.
The selection process, as usual, gave greatest importance to the championship phase of the season, the state, county and
conference meets in the last five weeks of the campaign. It was complicated this year, particularly on the girls' side, by the
unusual number of top runners whose seasons were affected by illness or injury.
The upcoming edition of NEW JERSEY TRACK will include, in addition to the all-state teams, a list of class and sectional
all-star teams, as well as the selection of the top runners in each of the state's 21 counties, Copies may be ordered, at $2 apiece,
from Edward J. Grant, 101 Greenwich Court, Madison, NJ 07940.
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BOYS
FIRST TEAM
Robby Andrews, Manalapan Sr.
Brett Johnson, Ocean City Sr.
Joseph Rosa, West Windsor-Plainsboro North So.
Sean Pohorence, Morris Hills Sr.
Doug Smith, Gill-St. Bernard’s Sr.
Leighton Spencer, Don Bosco Sr.
Tyler Udland, Millburn Jr.
Philip Wood, Pennington Sr.
SECOND TEAM
David Forward, Shawnee Jr.
Michael Franklin, Mendham Sr.
George Galasso, Holmdel Sr.
Mark Leininger, Colts Neck Sr.
James Rosa, West Windsor-Plainsboro North So.
Pat Schellberg, Delbarton Jr.
Taro Shigenobou, Ridgewood Sr.
D.J. Thornton, Union Catholic Jr.
THIRD TEAM
Chris Banafato, Bridgewater Jr.
Joe Kotran, Toms River North Jr.
Michael Mazzaccaro, Christian Brothers So.
Robrt Molke, Don Bosco Sr.
David Oster, Verona Jr.
Michael Rankin, Paul VI Jr.
Daniel Rondon, North Bergen Jr.
Jon Vitez, Haddonfield Jr.
GIRLS
FIRST TEAM
Briana Jackucewicz, Colts Neck Sr.
Katie Kellner, West Windsor-Plainsboro South Sr.
Chelsea Ley, Kingsway Jr.
Sarah Pagano, Immaculate Heart Academy Sr.
Jillian Smith, Southern Ocean Sr.
Melanie Thompson, Voorhees Sr.
Megan Venables, Highland So.
Laura Vigilante, Mendham Jr.
SECOND TEAM
Clare Buck, Hopewell Valley Sr.
Julie Jablonski, Hopewell Valley Jr.
Julie Mark, Delaware Valley Sr.
Jillian Prentice, Montgomery Jr.
Angela Rugino, Toms River North Sr.
Ashley Smolinka, Hillsboro Jr.
Marie Walsh, Mater Dei Sr.
Colette Whitney, Voorhees Jr.
THIRD TEAM
Angelica Brinkofski, Bishop Ahr Sr.
Sarah Cariati, Pope John Sr.
Dana Guglielmo, Ridge Sr.
Megan McGlinchey, West Deptford Sr.
Marielle Hall, Haddonfield Jr.
Caitlin Orr, Lenape Jr.
Maria Ruiz, Williamstown Sr.
Ines Simoes, Roselle Catholic So.