Near miss for HoVal at group meet

Hopewell Valley cross country

By: Shawn Mecchi
   Going into last Saturday’s Group III cross country meet, every runner from Hopewell Valley Central High School had the same goal — taking their team into the Meet of Champions and thereby prolonging their season by one more week. However, despite some top-level performances from both the boys and girls teams, neither were able to muster enough points to earn a team spot.
   Many members of the team, though, will still be making the trip to Holmdel Park in order to cheer on their lone qualifier at the individual level, junior Emily Sherrard. The MOC girls race will commence at 10:45 a.m. Saturday.
   Sherrard knocked 14 seconds off her time at sectionals to finish fifth overall in the Group III girls meet with a time of 19:28.
   "It was one of those things where you kind of expected she would qualify," Hopewell girls coach Aaron Oldfield said. "But there were so many variables, it’s such a difficult course. But again, she’s proven that she belongs among the state’s elite runners."
   Sherrard, Megan Fitzpatrick and Marissa Greco led the Lady Bulldogs to a 10th place finish with 226 points. Although their goal was to place in the top five, only 20 points separated the fifth through 10th place positions in the team standings.
   Oldfield is pleased with the outcome and the valuable experience gained by his runners.
   "This team has something special about them that even (past Hopewell teams) didn’t have," he said. "From runners one through seven, their attitude was always team first."
   Every member of the Lady Bulldogs will be back for next year’s team, along with injured Liz Hotchkiss, who consistently was among the top group of runners before a stress fracture ended her season in early October.
   For the boys, Saturday marked the last performance for three important senior runners: Dan Petty, Andrew Freeman and top finisher Mike Batanian. The crew capped off their career with a sixth-place finish in the Group III meet.
   "There were six really good teams there," Hopewell boys coach John Zalot said. "We knew it would be tough.
   "We had a tremendous race the previous week at counties. To get pumped up again back-to-back is tough."
   Once again it was Batanian who first crossed the line for the Bulldogs, finishing 23rd with a time of 17:12. Sophomore Nick Jourjine finished 41st in impressive fashion, shaving 11 seconds off his time at the sectional meet. Freeman and Patrick Jablonski crossed the line together in 17:39, bringing home 51st and 52nd places, respectively.
   The team total of 212 points edged out seventh-place Ridge by only three points, while falling short of fifth-place Highland Regional by only four. A spot in the top five would have meant a place in the Meet of Champions.
   Jourjine, Jablonski, and Matt Hilderbrandt will return next year, along with Evan Kita, Jared Nespoli and others who will try to fill the shoes the talented senior class is leaving behind.
   With three county titles and a nearly unblemished dual-meet record over the last four years, those are some mighty big shoes. Still, Zalot is hopeful that next year’s team will be able to fill in the holes.