Old Bridge is fastest team at Manhattan Invitational
Knights set to defend GMC title on Saturday
The championship season begins tomorrow for the Old Bridge boys cross country team when the Knights defend their Greater Middlesex Conference crown at Thompson Park, Monroe.
The GMC comes on the heels of yet another sparkling invitational performance by the Knights. Last Saturday, Old Bridge traveled out of state to the famed Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y., for the Manhattan Invitational. This prestigious event brings together thousands of runners from all over the country, and when all of the racing was over, it was Old Bridge’s boys who won the day.
Not only did the Knights cruise to victory in the Varsity F race with a score of 56 to runner-up Fayetteville’s 117, but their five-runner average of 13:23.58 over the venerable 2.5-mile course was the best of the day, earning the winners wristwatches.
"We won the E race two years ago, but this is the first time that we had the top average of the day," said Knights coach Rich Gebauer. "I didn’t think we had won it. We won by 12-hundredths of a second. It’s pretty amazing. Everyone ran well."
Gebauer said the biggest concern was the first mile of the race run around the flat soccer fields of the park. It is critical that runners get out fast and stay with the pack because when the race turns into the hilly section in the woods, the trails are narrow and you can drop several positions in the blink of an eye.
"I was worried about the bottleneck when you get into the trail," Gebauer pointed out. "Our runners were in pretty good position at the start of the trail, and they worked together from there."
Rich Lafergola was the first Knight across the finish line in fifth place, posting a 13:12.5. Dan Harding (13:17.4), Ryan Bennett (13:18.3) and Tim Paule (13:19.8) followed as a group in ninth, 10th and 11th place. Justin Marquez, making his varsity debut this fall after spraining his ankle early in the season, polished off the race in 21st (13:49.9), and his time enabled the Knights to win by the scant .12 of a second over Bishop Hendrickson from Rhode Island, the B Division winner with a 13:23.70 average.
Old Bridge slipped to No. 2 in the state rankings after winning the Shore Coaches Invitational A race, but having their five-runner average of 16:44.9 at Holmdel Park be .5 of a second slower than Haddonfield, the E winner, did nothing to harm their No. 17 ranking in the country with their performance at Van Cortlandt Park. If anything, they enhanced it.
Saturday’s GMC will present a different kind of challenge for the Knights because of the nature of the race itself.
"It’s like competing against your neighbor," said Gebauer. "It’s an important race. We’ll be ready to run just like any other race."
East Brunswick, led by Alex Shatskov, has had a solid Invitational season and looms as one of Old Bridge’s top challengers. Gebauer also listed Piscataway and Metuchen’s St. Joseph’s as teams the Knights are concerned with.
Other teams that should provide them with some competition include Souh Brunswick, currently ranked third in the GMC, and North Brunswick, ranked ninth.
After the GMC, the Knights move into the heart of the season with the Oct. 27 state sectionals at Holmdel Park. They are the defending Central Jersey Group IV champions. The Knights will take aim at their first Group IV state title on Nov. 10 at Holmdel. The championship season ends with the Meet of Champions on Nov. 17 at Holmdel.