BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer
For the first half of the critical quad cross country meet, Colts Neck’s highly touted, nationally ranked girls cross country team was in trouble.
Racing against two of the best teams, in not only the county but the state, in Howell and Freehold Township, on Wednesday, the Cougars were trailing both teams. But the race is 5,000 meters and not 2,500.
On the second loop around the Freehold Township High School course, the Cougars took charge.
“Our girls run better over the second half of the race,” said coach Joe Lykes. “They finish strong.”
Out front, the Cougars’ Ashley Higginson was setting a pace that no one else was up to, assuring the Cougars of first place against both teams. Behind her, the battle for the dual meets came down to Colts Neck’s wealth of talent. Despite having Brianna Jackucewicz and Allison Linnell sitting this quad meet out, the Cougars were able to turn back the challenge of both Howell and Freehold Township as they began to pick off one runner after another over the second half of the race.
Allison and Erin Donaghy pulled themselves to fifth and sixth place overall, setting the stage for Colts Neck’s wins. The Cougars would beat Howell, 24-31, Freehold Township, 25-34, and Marlboro, 15-50, and all but wrap up the Shore Conference A North Division crown in the process.
“It’s naturally how we have developed and become a good team,” said Higginson. “Our team steps up.
“Everyone has improved and is just running so good,” she added. “There are a lot of girls not in the top seven who are very close to it.”
One of those, who was the team’s fifth scorer Wednesday, is Morgan Clark (20:04). Kristen O’Dowd, who finished 10th (20:00) was the No. 4 scorer, one place ahead of Clark.
Higginson led a parade of very fast times over Freehold Township’s flat course. She cranked out a 17:46, her fastest 5K time.
“I’m happy with my time; it was a good workout,” she said. “I was looking to break 18:00.”
Freehold Township’s Charlotte Walsh (18:54) and Howell’s Lindsay Lambert (18:55) were second and third, turning in outstanding times themselves. They, too, were stronger over the second half of the race.
The Pats’ Janel Parker was fourth (1913).
Rounding out the top 10 behind the Donaghy twins were Freehold Township’s Ali Moskal in seventh (19:37), Howell’s Lauren Rome (19:47), Lauren Wiemken (19:47) and O’Dowd.
Higginson marveled at the depth of talent behind her.
“It’s amazing that we have this much talent in the District,” she said.
This meet was a preview of next month’s Monmouth County Championships, which figures to be dominated by the District’s harriers. The only runner who could crack the top 10 out of the District’s best would seem to be Mater Dei’s Marie Walsh.
Howell and Freehold Township, which have raced for the A North title the past two years with Howell eking out close wins, managed to run to a 28-28 tie. Howell got the victory on the sixth runner tiebreaker. That gave Howell a 2-1 record in the meet that included a 15-50 victory over Marlboro.
The Pats went 1-2 scoring a 15-50 win over Marlboro.
Cougars’ Forys makes
fast 2006 debut
In the boys’ quad, the Cougars’ Craig Forys was looking to put some speed into his legs as he looked ahead to his first big test of the season, the Spike Shoe Invitational at Penn State University on Saturday.
After his most fruitful summer of training (“no setbacks,” he said), Forys wanted to get used to running fast. An opening 4:52 mile was just what he wanted en route to a solo 15:32 effort.
“I felt like I thought I would, a little tired,” he said. “I was looking to run hard to get ready for Penn State.”
Behind the state champion, Howell’s Matt Cook and Colts Neck’s Jason Weiner were impressive themselves. Cook finished second in 16:39, and Weiner, a sophomore, was third in 16:44.
Shane Hart, of Colts Neck, was fourth (17:04), and Howell’s Tim Holleran was fifth (17:13).
Rounding out the top 10 were Colts Neck’s Devin Vivino (17:15), Dan Fiasconaro (17:6) and Rob Smutko (17:17) in sixth through eighth. Howell’s Cody Kulik (17:19) and Freehold Township’s Jack Tarpey (17:21) were ninth and 10th.
Colts Neck was 3-0 in the meet with a 21-39 win over Howell and 15-50 wins over Freehold Township and Marlboro.
Howell went 2-1, beating Freehold Township, 26-3, and Marlboro, 15-50.
Freehold Township was 1-2 with its 15-50 win over Marlboro.
Colts Neck all but clinched the A North public school title with its trio of wins. Oct. 3 is the next big date on the calendar and it will be huge. That’s when the Cougars will host Christian Brothers Academy at Bucks Mill Park. The Colts have a 276 dual-meet win streak over 30 years, and this matchup has generated a lot of interest.
Also this Saturday, Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Manalapan will be the site for the Shore Coaches Battle of Monmouth Class Meet.
Saturday, Howell went to the Cherokee Challenge down in Marlton. It was a class meet, and Lambert led the Rebels, who finished third in the junior race. She ran the 3,200-meter course in 12:05.0. Teammate Sarah Nelson was 11th (12:34.0).
Wiemken was seventh in the senior division (12:24.0).
For the boys, Cook was 19th (10:21.0).