Princeton Packet Boys’ Runner of the Year

Ennis’s return lifted WW-P South

By: Justin Feil
   After a record-breaking freshman year, Joe Ennis tried to step up his training for his sophomore season of cross country but went a bit overboard.
   "When I was a freshman, I would run nine miles in morning," Ennis said. "My sophomore year, I did preseason. I burned myself out. I figured I ran so well as a freshman, so I’m going to do more than nine miles. I did 13 miles every morning. I held it up for two or three weeks. I could barely walk."
   Ennis didn’t run for the West Windsor-Plainsboro South boys’ cross country team that year, and the Pirates and he suffered. WW-P South went 7-5 and was seventh in the Mercer County Championships. Ennis lost out on the chance to compete against the county and state’s best, but fortunately didn’t miss a chance to run with his teammates when he returned for his junior season this fall.
   "The year I quit cross country," Ennis said, "there were no varsity guys that graduated. So it was the same team. I did kind of miss the team. I kind of regret quitting sophomore year. My team is really great. I liked spending time with them. During the summer, we did a lot of that. We were able to get along as friends."
   Ennis had more company on his runs when he returned as the Pirates runners had all improved in the year he’d been away from the team. Ennis was able to see just how strong the Pirates were when he built and maintained the team website complete with calendar, race results and class records for each course. The website had been an idea of Pirate head coach Chris Bond, but it hadn’t been done before Ennis.
   "It sort of opened my eyes to how our school’s done in the past," Ennis said. "A lot of my teammates didn’t realize it either until I put it on the Internet. I didn’t know whatever was the best time. It sort of connected our team together more.
   "Coach Bond kept a record of all the best times in our school. He would e-mail them to me. And I would put them on the website."
   Consistently this season, Bond was e-mailing that Ennis had set a new record for any Pirate junior, and Ennis was posting a near-flawless racing record. Ennis was unbeaten in dual meets while leading the Pirates to a 12-1 record. He won the Mercer County Championship for the first time and helped WW-P South within one point of the title. He was part of the Pirates team that advanced to the Group IV state meet, where he qualified as an individual for the Meet of Champions. Ennis capped his season with a personal-best 16:24 to finish 20th in the state’s biggest meet.
   Joe Ennis is the Princeton Packet Boys’ Cross Country Runner of the Year.
   "What I found most impressive," Bond said, "he’s finding how the team’s individual and team performances come together to help each other. He told me he was thinking about the season. He said that if it wasn’t for the team, I wouldn’t have made it to the group meet, and I wouldn’t have made it out with an individual time. In a lot of races, the team benefited from me being there. And I benefited from them."
   "As far as invitationals or state meets, I felt a lot of pressure," Ennis said. "My team was pretty good this year. To get a good position would help team a lot."
   After giving the Pirates a single point in most races all season, he got a lift from his teammates’ presence to root him on at the Meet of Champions. It was part of a special day, a day that made his season.
   "I already thought the year was a pretty good season," Ennis said. "I guess it gave me a lot more confidence. It makes you believe what sort of potential you have. It makes the whole season look better. It’ll help me out a lot next year rather than this year."
   Ennis’ confidence culminated with his Meet of Champions performance. His time was 31 seconds better than he’d ever run the hilly Holmdel course before. Having raced to a 16:24 clocking changes not just the feeling about this season but his potential for next year. Things might have been different had Ennis run a time in the 16:40s or 16:50s.
   "I would have been stubborn," Bond said. "I would have thought Joe had this race in him. Next year, I’m going to keep punching this idea through. Now that he’s run 16:24, who knows? Can he run sub-16 at Holmdel?"
   Ennis isn’t likely to log 13-mile days to find out, but his body is able to handle more than it did as a freshman. He trained smarter this season and it paid off.
   "This year, it was probably the same amount of miles but more intense," Ennis said. "We did a lot of base training over the summer. We did six or seven miles in the morning. Then every other day, we’d meet at night and run three.
   "I definitely think I’m stronger and the team is. When I was a freshman, it would be me and one other guy. This year, the whole team was there. We could run seven or eight together."
   The Pirates had raised their own level in Ennis’ absence. They raised it more with his presence.
   "He’s never been a vocal team leader," Bond said. "He’s at every practice. He does what he needs to do. The other guy cuts it short, he does a little extra. He’s not just doing it for himself. He’s doing it for the team. What more can you ask for?"
   In races, the Pirates could count on Ennis to pull away for a win. He ran 15:44 at Mercer County Park and recorded a 15:48 to win the Mercer County crown. With each race, he got a bit faster all the way until his season-ending Meet of Champions showing.
   "This year, since I’m an upperclassman now, I’ve had a lot of experience running," Ennis said. "I had confidence since I won a lot as a freshman. I was able to do more things than I expected to. Everything kept building off each other."
   And by the end of the season, Ennis and the Pirates had built themselves into one of the best teams in the area. That both the team and the junior reached new heights came as no coincidence.
   "Losing him was a big part of the reason why we didn’t do as well last year as we would have done," Bond said. "In a way, it made the rest of the team realize that we couldn’t count on Joe."
   This year, the Pirates could. He kept the Pirates connected with a team website. The team stuck with him on training runs. And from start to finish of every race, Joe Ennis delivered for the WW-P South boys’ cross country team in record-setting fashion.