ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
By: Rudy Brandl
READINGTON How much faster can Fredy Irizzary run?
The Hillsborough High senior may be wondering that himself after shattering his personal-best by over a minute in two straight championship meets on different courses in late October. Irizzary finished second in the Somerset County Championships in a time of 16:04 at Pleasant Valley Park in Bernards on Oct. 19 and ran 15:51 to place fifth in last Friday’s Skyland Conference Championships at Deer Path Park in Readington.
Irizzary, who shaved 1:06 off his previous best at Pleasant Valley and ran 1:05 faster than his prior Deer Path standard, is the Hillsborough Beacon Athlete of the Week.
"We’re a year older and we really put in a lot of hard work," Irizzary said. "We put in the miles over the summer."
All the extra training has paid huge dividends for Irizzary and his teammates. Irizzary has been racing smart, pacing himself early before running hard at the end.
"This year, it’s a lot about the third mile," he said. "For the last few races, I’ve been trying to finish as quickly as I can. I go out slower and start catching people."
Irizzary’s recent surge has given the HHS boys’ team a potent 1-2 punch at the front of the pack. Fellow senior Brian Dennis, who won the Central Jersey Group 4 and State Group 4 titles last year before finishing third at the Meet of Champions, has some company at the front of the team pack.
If Irizzary continues to stick with Dennis, he figures to break his personal record at Holmdel Park sometime in November. All this success has changed Irizzary’s perspective on the rest of the season.
"At first, I just wanted to get a p-r (personal record) every race and come down to around 16:10 at Holmdel," said Irizzary, who’s considering Penn State, Cornell and MIT as his college choices. "Now I’ve set myself up to do even better. I’d love to break 16 (minutes) at the Meet of Champions."

