Dennis, Irizzary lead charge
By: Rudy Brandl
HOLMDEL Even without their best team race, the Hillsborough High boys still had more than enough to win their first Central Jersey Group 4 cross country team title Saturday at Holmdel Park.
Runners-up to Old Bridge last year, the Raiders confidently trained through the sectional meet insisting their best is yet to come. The HHS boys set a team record for five-man average (17:04) but only three of their top five finishers set personal-bests on the state championship race course.
Hillsborough will be among the favorites for the State Group 4 team championship when the NJSIAA series of meets continues at Holmdel Saturday. The Raiders are gunning for their first team trip to the Meet of Champions, also set for Holmdel Park on Nov. 19, the ultimate target date for their peak performance.
"We really didn’t race very well," HHS head coach Rich Refi said. "We trained very hard this week and guys were still sore from the workouts. We didn’t back off one bit. We’re still training for the Meet of Champions. We can still get a lot better."
Refi expects his team’s five-man average to dip considerably below 17 minutes this weekend. Ridgewood and Phillipsburg figure to provide the stiffest competition for the Group 4 team title. The Raiders may need a team effort under 17 to win the championship. The top three teams in each Group race are guaranteed entry into the Meet of Champs.
HHS senior Brian Dennis missed repeating his CJ 4 individual crown by 0.6 seconds when Brick Memorial’s Andrew Brodeur surged past him down the stretch. Dennis (16:12.3) ran 10 seconds faster than last year when he won the CJ 4 race but Brodeur’s kick was lethal.
"I thought I had it," said Dennis, who looked over his shoulder and saw Brodeur make his winning move. "He just flew by with a nice kick. I usually don’t get beat at the end. It was an all-out kick. I couldn’t go any faster."
Dennis ran a relaxed, smart race and stayed within striking range of the leaders. Coming out of the woods, he briefly took the lead but wasn’t far enough in front to withstand Brodeur’s kick. Dennis won’t make the same mistake Saturday.
"It’s definitely not my best yet," Dennis said. "Our team is planning on doing our best in Group 4. We trained through this meet. We knew we were going to win today."
Teammate Fredy Irizzary continued his impressive streak of setting new personal records with a fifth-place finish in 16:24 at the CJ 4 meet. Last year, Irizzary finished 17th in 17:13. Saturday’s performance was also 34 seconds faster than his time at the Shore Coaches Invitational in October.
"I’m happy with fifth," Irizzary said. "I just wanted to keep up with the front pack. Everyone was kicking on the downhill. I couldn’t really pick it up much more."
Senior Tom Visicaro ran the race of his life and finished third for his team. Visicaro, who was 16th in a Holmdel best time of 17:26, may have given his team the biggest lift. He passed two runners from West Windsor Plainsboro South, which wound up in second place in the team standings, during the race.
"It was a big weekend for the Visicaros," said Refi, also referring to Anthony who scored two touchdowns in the HHS football team’s Friday night win at North Hunterdon. "I pointed out two West Windsor runners that were ahead of him and Tommy ran both of them down."
"I just realized I was the third runner for our team so I had to make a stand," Visicaro said. "I had to pass as many kids as I could at the end. I was thinking about what place I had to get to give us a chance."
Eric Rind ran a big-time race and finished 19th in 17:31, by far his best Holmdel race ever. Senior Paul Bernardo (17:50) and junior Joe Bernardo (17:52) finished 26-27. Both ran faster at the Shore Coaches meet and Refi expects them to come back strong this weekend. Refi’s also hoping to have Adam Walzer healthy for the State Group 4 race. He’d replace senior Kyle Figard, who finished 46th in 18:17 at the sectionals.
The season ended for the HHS girls in Saturday’s CJ 4 meet. For the second straight year, standout runner Kelda Nelson missed qualifying for the State Group 4 Championships by one place. Nelson finished 11th in 20:05, two seconds faster than last year’s CJ 4 time but 25 seconds slower than her Holmdel best.
"I was just tired," Nelson said. "I started more in the back and moved up. I wasn’t feeling good at the beginning and it was just a tough race."
Fellow senior Allison Marcsisin ran almost a minute faster than last year and finished 31st in 20:58. Cassandra Steel wasn’t far behind in 33rd (21:05).
Melanie Gingras (62nd, 22:14), Nicole Filipowicz (66th, 22:24), Ashley MacKinney (67th, 22:26) and Megan Davin (91st, 23:47) also raced for the HHS girls, who finished sixth in the team standings.

