at county meet
Freshman leads Lady Jags to third-place finish
at county meet
By Mike White
Staff Writer
Jackson High School freshman sensation Jen Clausen left runners competing at the Ocean County Championships last Friday shaking their heads in amazement.
Clausen captured the individual title with a blistering time of 18:41 to become the first freshman to win the event since 1999.
Jackson finished third in the team competition with a total of 77 points. It marks the Lady Jaguars’ best-ever finish in the event.
Toms River East won the team title with 43 points. Brick placed runner-up with 70.
Clausen edged TRE senior Jen Blank by just three seconds. In fact, it was Blank who was the last freshman to win the Ocean County title three years ago.
"She ran a great race," Jackson coach Glenda Calabro said. "She is a very hard worker. She is still very young, so there’s no telling how good she can be in the coming years. She is doing a great job for us."
Calabro was pleased with her team’s third-place finish.
"We were really hoping to be in the top three," she said. "We accomplished that goal. The girls have had a good season. We’re looking forward to the Shore Conference Championships. We’re hoping to do well there so that we can compete in the sectionals."
The Shore Conference Championships are scheduled for Nov. 2 at Holmdel Park. Clausen will get the chance to compete against the Red Bank Regional sister tandem of Amanda and Katy Trotter.
Jenna Prendergast was sixth overall with a time of 19:16. Megan Smith placed 21st (20:16), while teammates Lindsay Smith was 28th (20:39) and Meghan Faughnan finished 31st (20:49).
For the Jackson boys’ team, senior Mike Rufo’s time of 16:15 placed him fourth overall in the individual competition. Jackson finished fourth in the team competition with 115 points.
"Rufo did a good job," Jackson coach Jason Griffith said. "He was eighth or ninth early in the race and managed to move up to fourth. He ran a very aggressive race."
Toms River North won the team title with 26 points. Toms River South placed runner-up with 79 points and Southern was third (115).
"I thought our guys ran a pretty good race," Griffith said. "We finished right about where I thought we would. We’re looking forward to the Shore Conference meet and maybe more after that."
Junior Mike Nelson was 19th overall in 17:07 and Steve Hoffman was 24th in 17:18.
For Lakewood High School, sophomore Steven Shennells placed eighth overall in 16:38.
Shennells’ best time coming into the meet was 16:55.
"He’s done an incredible job for us this season," Lakewood High School coach Jack Boylan said. "This is only his first year running cross country. He has a lot of potential."