BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer
EDISON — The J.P. Stevens High School boys cross country team heads into this weekend’s action at the Greater Middlesex Conference Championship at Thompson Park with a record of 3-4.
Despite a season with its share of ups and downs, the Hawks can erase all that with a strong showing at the county meet.
“We’re hoping to put together a complete race from top to bottom,” Stevens head coach David Allen said. “We’ve been too inconsistent this season. Some days we’ll have three or four guys really on with the rest having an off-day. We’d like to get it all together for Saturday and try to crack the top seven.”
In order for a top-seven finish to become a reality for the Hawks, senior Josh Safran will need to continue his strong campaign. Safran has led the team on a consistent basis in 2005, posting a personal best of 17:06 at Donaldson Park in a meet with Edison earlier this year.
Last week, Safran ran a 17:23 at Thompson Park and is hoping for a top-20 finish this weekend.
“He’s put himself in a good position to run under 17:00 at the county meet,” Allen said. “With his lead, we hope we can put three guys in the top 30. That would be a big lift for us right now.”
Juniors Brent Scott and Robert Gulya, the Hawks’ No. 2 and No. 3 runners respectively, are the team’s other hopefuls to run alongside the county elite.
“Brent has been a real pleasant surprise this season,” Allen said. “He’s a hurdler on the track team, and he came out last year to stay in shape for the track season. Now, he’s running in the mid-17s, and he’s our No. 2 man this year. He’s just a true athlete and he likes to compete.”
Gulya began the season with some nagging injuries but has returned to top form just in time for the big meet.
“Since he overcame his injuries he’s been consistently in the mid-17s,” Allen said. “I know he can finish in the top 30 this weekend as long as he stays injury-free and focused.”
Classmates Chris Salvarani and Ron Lai have also been in the 17:00 range this season and might be ready to step up their games on Saturday.
“They both have the potential and, hopefully, they can put it together for the county race,” Allen said. “Juniors Dan Chang and Jigar Patel, our No. 6 and No. 7 runners, also have the potential to hit the 17s.”
A pair of freshmen, Kenny Pu and Kyle Wysoczynski, finished in the 18:00 range at Thompson Park last week and should make some noise in the freshman race.
“They both show a lot of potential and they’re very talented,” Allen said. “I’m looking for them to finish in the top five.”
With a wealth of young talent, the Hawks are probably just a year away from really turning some heads at the county level.
“With all of the juniors on this team and the strong freshmen, we should be really solid next year,” Allen said.
“But that’s next year, and we’ll talk about that next year. Right now, we want to get ready to put together a solid race this weekend.”