HoVal reaches Meet of Champions

Cross country

By: Jim Green
   Regardless of what happens this weekend, the Hopewell Valley Central High School boys cross country team can consider the 2003 season a successful one.
   The Bulldogs fulfilled their No. 1 goal for the year this past Saturday, finishing second overall at the Group III Championships to qualify as a team for the Meet of Champions, which will be held Saturday at Holmdel Park. Hopewell finished the group meet with 130 team points, 32 behind first-place Red Bank Regional.
   "We were extremely happy and proud of them (the Hopewell boys)," Hopewell coach Aaron Oldfield said.
   Senior Derek Jablonski again led the way, placing 14th overall with a time of 17:08. Although Jablonski’s placement would not have allowed him to qualify for the Meet of Champions as an individual (he qualified as an individual in 2002), his teammates’ support assured him of a return trip to the championships.
   "He (Jablonski) was just extremely proud that, as a team, we collectively qualified," Oldfield said.
   The Bulldogs, though, would not have been able to entertain the idea of advancing to the Meet of Champions had it not been for Jablonski’s consistent leadership.
   "I think he (Jablonski) understands that he’s our leader," Oldfield said. "He knows that we have a lot of talented runners, and he leads by example.
   "For him to go to the Meet of Champions last year as an individual and this year as part of a team says a lot about him, because he has been a tremendous leader for us."
   Junior Mike Batanian continued his late-season surge, finishing 20th overall at 17:18.
   The veteran leadership of Jablonski and Batanian has helped bring along the Bulldogs’ talented stable of freshmen. Those rookies include Nick Journjine, who placed 37th at 17:37, David Siuta, who finished 48th at 17:47 and Patrick Jablonski, who came in 52nd at 17:51.
   "Experience means a lot," Oldfield said. "They may be freshmen age-wise, but they’re tremendous kids."
   Oldfield said the freshmen have overcome their inexperience with hard work throughout the season.
   "Their hard work and their commitment go hand-in-hand," Oldfield said of the freshmen. "They’re showing up every day, working hard."
   And while the upperclassmen provide leadership to the freshmen, they also benefit from the higher level of competition within the Hopewell program.
   "The upper classmen feed of that (the freshmen’s effort)," Oldfield said. "Inter-squad competition is the best competition there is. They (the freshmen) have raised the bar."
   Unlike Jablonski, junior Annie Carney of the Hopewell girls team could not rely on her teammates to help her reach the Meet of Champions. The Lady Bulldogs did not qualify for the group meet as a team, so Carney was left to fend for herself.
   Carney completed the Group III race in 20:10, good for 15th overall but not fast enough to earn her a place in the state championships.
   "I thought she (Carney) would be somewhere between 12 and 15," said Oldfield, who felt Carney was hurt by her starting position, which was a good distance from where the other top runners were starting. "It (the group meet) was bittersweet. It was nice to see the boys qualify for the Meet of Champions, but it was disappointing to see her (Carney’s) season end like that. She never got a chance to be in that leading group of girls."
   The Hopewell boys will now turn their attention to the Meet of Champions. The boys championship race will start at 11:45 a.m. Saturday.
   "We really haven’t even talked about it (the Meet of Champions) yet," Oldfield said Monday. "The level of competition is so much greater. It (the race) is going to go off so much faster."