Junior distance star wins Most Courageous Runner
By: Justin Feil
Lisa Miller anchored the West Windsor-Plainsboro High South girls’ 4×400 relay to a fifth-place finish to sew up officially the Mercer County Championship title Sunday, but the junior distance specialist really won it earlier with a gutsy last-minute win.
After winning the mile to start her afternoon at Widener University in Pennsylvania, Miller was a late entry into the 800 meters and won it in 2:27.46. She then came back after 15 minutes rest as they ran the boys’ 800s to take second in the two-mile to Pirates teammate Michelle Barbarasch before anchoring the relay.
The fifth-place relay achieved out of the unseeded section was just enough for WW-P South to earn a one-point win over second-place Princeton High, and two points better than Hopewell Valley. And while the team title was as close as it could be, Miller’s back-to-back-to-back exploits easily wrapped up the Most Courageous Runner award for her.
"I’m a little exhausted," Miller said, "but I’m excited because we won everything. That gives you more energy."
Miller and her distance companions came off a long and draining fall cross country season that didn’t end until they medaled at the Meet of Champions. The Pirates also edged Princeton for the county title in the fall, and edged them for third place at last year’s winter track counties. This winter, they haven’t been as dominant they lost to Princeton High in a dual meet the week befpre but they showed they had enough in store for a second county title of the school year.
"This was more of a surprise," Miller said. "It was easier to win cross country because we have such a good distance team. We’re not as much of a sprint team. Being able to win counties with our distance and a little extra was a big deal for us."
Barbarasch proved her mettle as well with a third in the mile and Anna Blake was fifth in the hurdles. The fifth-place relay was Joni Roberts, Emily Piuggi, Barbarasch and Miller.
"Before the meet, it hadn’t crossed my mind," Miller said of winning. "Then I realized we had a close shot at it. We got 18 points in the two-mile and we just had to come in fifth in the relay.
"There were two heats of boys’ two-mile, so that definitely gave me better rest. It was like a half hour."
But the Pirates were in the unseeded section, and had to post a time that stood up through two heats for at least fifth best. They nearly got the fourth-best time.
"It was hard," Miller said of being in the unseeded section. "We pretty much blew away the other teams in the heat. By the time I got the baton, the rest of the team had done so well I had a huge lead. I just had to push myself."
"I knew Lisa and Michelle could get 1-2 in a couple of events," said South head coach Todd Smith. "The big thing was the 800. We weren’t sure who other teams were going to put in what races, and it looked like the 800 was open so we threw Lisa in there. We had Michelle fresh for the two-mile and Lisa came back on virtually no rest for a strong second place."
Miller’s performance stood out on a day that featured a few other surprises. WW-P South’s Joe Ennis surged ahead of the mile field, including defending Mercer County Cross Country champion Morgan Seybert from Hun, for a win in 4:37 to lead the Pirate boys to a fourth-place team finish, tied with WW-P North. Seybert won the two-mile to help Hun to an eighth-place tie with Princeton.
"I was pretty surprised that I won," said Ennis, who was also third in the two-mile. "I knew I was somewhere up there. I wasn’t going for a real time. I was just trying to pace myself so I had something left.
"I stayed consistent for the whole time," he added. "I took the lead with two laps. I decided (then) I had enough energy to sprint the rest."
The Pirate boys also had medal performances by Sifiso Takirambudde, who was fifth in the hurdles, Ruddy Lopez who was sixth in the 800 and the 4×400 relay that came in fourth. For Ennis, who took the fall cross country season off but continued to train, his win in the mile made for quite a return.
"Pretty much everyone there I was kind of intimidated by," said the Pirate sophomore. "It was probably the best race of my life."
The WW-P South team and the rest of the county now gears up for the sectionals that will be run at Jadwin Gym this weekend. After a surprise win at the MCC on Sunday, the Pirate girls hope to emulate Miller’s county example and follow one solid showing up with another.
"I don’t know if we have a shot," Miller said. "The distance girls are stronger and a lot of teams will have stronger sprinters. It’s going to be tough to move on. We just have Groups then and the Meet of Champions. Hopefully some individuals will be able to get out."
After coming off such a thrilling fall cross country season, re-energizing amidst some of the harshest winter conditions in recent years has taken some time. The Pirate girls’ county title showed that they’re still slightly ahead of the rest of the county in the big meets.
"It was a long fall, but we took a while off," Smith said. "We were just talking about how fast the winter has gone. We tried to limit their racing this season. We haven’t done a lot. But when we saw the meet was going to be close, we figured we might as well take a shot at it."
Thanks in part to a gutsy performance by Lisa Miller and some top showings by the Pirates’ stars, WW-P South came away with a surprising highlight to its winter track season.
"The winter hasn’t been great," Miller said, "but it hasn’t been disappointing. It was exciting to be able to win."