By: Redd E. Patrick
At the beginning of the 2004 cross country season, Amy Rhein expected to be in this position to qualify for the Meet of Champions, while Steve Sample did not.
Yet with the NJSIAA Group IV championship just two days away with a Meet of Champions berth on the line the two South Brunswick High School standouts will both be there when action takes place at Holmdel Park.
Rhein, a senior, qualified by placing 10th at the Central Jersey Group IV championship two weeks ago, with a personal best time of 20:07. Sample, a sophomore, placed sixth in the boys sectional with a time of 16:45 in his Holmdel Park debut.
Both runners are not just satisfied to be here, they each have certain goals they would like to achieve, especially qualifying for the MOC, which would take a Top 10 finish to do so.
"I think I’m prepared and calm," Rhein said. "I’ve competed in the Meet of Champions in track so I know what to expect. My main goal is to qualify for the championship meet and to run under 20 minutes. That would be huge."
Since 1990, only five runners from Middlesex County have gone under 20 minutes at Holmdel Park.
"My goal is to advance to the Meet of Champions and I want to go under 16:40," Sample said. "I’m not just satisfied being here, I want to go on."
Rhein has been recognized as one of the top runners in Middlesex County since emerging as a freshman.
"I’ve accomplished a lot in cross country as far as being All-Area, All-Conference and being considered one of the top runners in the area," Rhein said. "But I’m still determined."
Sample, meanwhile, never expected anything like this.
"At the beginning of the season, I thought I would be the number two man on our team," said Sample, who broke the Vikings home course record last week in 16:26. "But I got fast real quick. When I won the Monmouth Class Meet early in the year, that gave m the confidence I needed. That’s when I started setting higher goals."
REDD ENDS: The Vikings took part in the annual pre-race to the New York City Marathon on Sunday. In a 2.2 mile race through Central Park, Sample and Rhein both earned medals. Sample finished sixth out of 160 runners while Rhein was 10th out of 130.
