CROSS COUNTRY
By: Tim Falls
Matt Hilderbrandt needed to get out in front quickly.
The Hopewell Valley Central High School senior cross country runner wanted to take the lead and build on it to keep Notre Dame from challenging.
The plan worked as Hilderbrandt finished first from the field featuring runners from Notre Dame, West Windsor-Plainsboro South and Lawrence.
Hilderbrandt finished the 3.1 mile Mercer County Park course in 16 minutes, three seconds, a personal best, for his first dual meet victory of his career with the Bulldogs.
Hopewell’s Christian Baumbach placed second behind Hilderbrandt in 16:25 and helped the Bulldogs defeat Notre Dame, 19-38, and Lawrence, 15-50, to improve to 7-0.
Likewise, the Hopewell Valley girls cross country team, with Marissa Greco taking second and Jennifer Pfaff placing third, defeated the Irish and the Cardinals, 15-50, to remain undefeated (7-0).
While Hopewell has enjoyed success against its competition in the Colonial Valley Conference, the Bulldogs will test themselves against teams they will face in the state meets at the Shore Coaches Invitational at Holmdel Park this Saturday. The annual event draws some of the top teams in the state and gives coaches a preview of the NJSIAA sectional and group championships.
To stay undefeated against Notre Dame, Hilderbrandt and Hopewell coach John Zalot knew the Bulldogs would have to take into account the Irish’s 800 runners and their sprinting ability.
"We knew they’d have a kick at the end," said Zalot. "They have a couple really great 800 kids."
To counter that, Hilderbrandt decided to set the pace early and make it one much faster than he usually runs at the beginning of a race.
"I tried to go out much harder than I usually do," said Hilderbrandt. "I tried to lead the pack from the beginning."
The pace helped Hilderbrandt reach a personal record and come close to running under 16 mintues.
"It wasn’t a goal before the race," said Hilderbrandt, "but now I wish I’d gone four seconds faster."
Despite pushing himself harder, the Hopewell senior said the early lead actually calmed him during the race.
"It felt much better being out in front early," said Hilderbrandt. "There was less pressure to make up ground. I felt much more relaxed."
One of the reasons Hilderbrandt wanted to take a lead was Notre Dame’s Gigi Gibilisco. The Notre Dame runner did not have one of his better races, but if he did, Hilderbrandt was sure Gibilisco would have been a threat.
"Gigi’s one of the fastest 800 runners in the state," said Hilderbrandt. "If it came down to 800 meters at the end of the race, I’d put my money on Gigi. I didn’t want it to come down to one last sprint."
Along with the one-two finish, Hopewell’s Pat Jablonski finished fourth in 16:41, Dave Suita claimed fifth in 16:45, Nick Jourjine finished seventh in 17:02, Richard Yu captured ninth in 17:13 and Jared Nespoli finished 15th in 17:25.
In the girls’ race, WW-P South’s Katie Kellner took first in 19:03, while Hopewell’s Greco and Pfaff posted identical times of 21:02. Julie Jablonski finished fifth in 21:16, Sasha Muir came in seventh in 21:17, Claire Buck took eighth in 21:17, Anna Weingart took ninth in 21:18, Maggie Griffiths places 13th in 21:40 and Sarah Mirsh took 15th in 21:56.

