ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
By: Rudy Brandl
BERNARDS Ashley Smolinka has been leading the way for the Hillsborough High girls’ cross country team this season. The HHS girls are in rebuilding mode, so it’s only fitting that a freshman phenom is the leader of the pack.
Smolinka didn’t just lead her team in last week’s Somerset County Championships at Pleasant Valley Park in Bernards. She was the first freshman to finish the varsity race.
The fourth-place finisher in her first county race, Smolinka is the Hillsborough Beacon Athlete of the Week.
HHS head coach Rich Refi has been singing Smolinka’s praises all season. He firmly believes that Smolinka will break the school records at all the major race courses, including Holmdel Park, where she may even do it this year.
Smolinka started running in seventh-grade and was the top runner at Hillsborough Middle School. Now, she’s reached that status on the high school team in her very first year.
Last week, she stayed with the leaders and finished comfortably in fourth place in a time of 19:46. The course was very muddy but that didn’t stop Smolinka from running her race and reaching her goal.
"I was just trying to keep up with the top girls and do the best I could," Smolinka said moments after receiving her trophy. "I just wanted to keep the same pace with the other girls."
Smolinka enjoyed her first taste of victory in a high school uniform in the team’s final dual meet vs. Franklin at Buccleuch Park Oct. 4. She won the race in a time of 21:18 to help her team win to clinch a winning season.
"It felt good, especially because the last race I was in front but then I got lost," Smolinka said. "I kind of redeemed myself."
Smolinka should get used to that feeling of running in front. She figures to win her share of races, both big and small, in her very bright future.

