Netters:
The weather was really too warm (80-plus with a burning sun) and
humid for maximum efforts at the Shore Coaches Invitational today at Holmdel
County park, but the state's top runners still produced some great
early-season efforts.
Lindaay Van Alstine of Hawthorne Christian, the defending girls'
all-group champion, ran almost a solo race in the F division, finishing
almost two minutes ahead of her nearest rival in 18:29. This held up as the
best girls' time of the day and ties for 13th best time since the 5K course
was introduced in 1979.
The long-awaited Holmdel debut of the Trotter twins took place
several hours later in the C race. Holmdel is almost a home course for Katy
and Trotter since Red Bank is off the next stop on the garden State Parkway.
They were expected to have trouble with Meghan Hughes of Moorestown, a
sub-11:00 2-miler last spring, but she was 100-seconds behind as the twins
trotted over the finish line together, Amanda getting the call in 18:45.
Jesse Mizzone of Passaic Valley, who had led all winners a year ago
in 18:28, won the D race again but was well behind her 2001 performance at
19:19. Jackson Twp super-frosh Jennifer Clausen ran away with the A race in
19:23.
The highly-touted frosh class generally had a good day, even though
National JO 3K champ Brittnee Bynoe of Willingboro was absent. They even
picked up a new member in Ewing's Carolyn Calhoun who finished 2nd to
Mizzone in 20;15. Jen Croghan of Lacordaire finished 4th behind Van Alstine,
Vanessa Wright of Haddonfield was 4th in the E race and Kellee Hand of
Howell was 5th in he B event.
The fastest boys' time of the day also came out of the small-school
F division as two-time Partochial B champ Oskar Nordenbring of Montclair
Kimberley Academy won in 16:11. But three subsequent races challenged that
mark.
In the very next race, junior Jon Anderson of Cinnaminson led his
team to an upset win over Haddonfield, finishing 15 yardsd ahead of another
junior, Justin Scheid of Pope John, in 16:14. Scheid ran 16;17 and state
outdoor 800M champ Robbie Edwards of Bridgeton was 3rd in 16:19.
John Richardson of Ocean City finally broke his Holmdel jinx as he
took the C race in 16:18 from Rob Dennis of Red Bank, who led his team to
victory in 16:30. Greg Hughes led Mainland to a 42-55 victory in the B race
in 16:19 and Keith Krieger of Cherokee, in his first major race of the fall,
took gr. IV in 16:15.
All told, 38 boys broke 17:00, pretty close to a record for this
meet, In 2001, in perfect weather, just 45 boys had sone under that mark.
Mainland took home the team time prize with its 16:52 average. CBA
was next best at 16:57 with an all-underclass team and Hunterdon central was
actually third-fastest, though it lost a 67-70 decision to Old Bridge in the
A race, even though it had three runners across before the first Knight.
Hopewell Valley was easily fastest of the girls' team even though
its usual leader, Kate Williver, was its fifth runner over the line.
Moorestown won its race with an indifferent effort and Southern Regional
chose not to contest the A race, entering just two runners who placed 6th
and 9th, and allowing its frosh star to win that class race.
Next week will see most of the NJ leaders at the mammoth Manhattan
Invitational. The exceptions will be those attending the South Jersey Open,
who make their usual pilgrimage to Van Cortlandt Park the following week.
Ed Grant
PS: The meet also provided me with one of my more embarrassing
moments as an announcer. In the girls' F race, I had trouble idenitying the
second runner and her subsequent teammates who wound up winning he race. It
turned out that Oak Knoll School, the alma mater of my two daughters, had
adtoped new uniforms for the race. It is their greatest victory ever in the
sport and I blew it.
