Leung endures, conquers county boys’ XC

Pirate junior claims first crown, WW-P North second in race

By: Justin Feil
   HAMILTON — Fortitudine vincimus.
   Famed English adventurer Ernest Shackleton used the family motto, meaning "by endurance we conquer," to christen his ship the Endurance that was part of his historical trip to Antarctica in 1914.
   The West Windsor-Plainsboro South boys’ cross country team has adopted the motto, and its top runner, Brian Leung, continues to conquer, leaving his competition, records and even illnesses in his wake. The Pirates junior won the Mercer County Championship on Friday, covering the 5-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 38 seconds.
   "It’s a great feeling," said Leung, who gave the Pirates a repeat winner after Joe Ennis won the individual title the previous two years. "The last couple strides were absolutely amazing. It was awesome. It’s probably one of my greatest achievements."
   Especially considering all that Leung has fought through to get to this point. Leung, who battled a stress fracture last winter after a second-place finish at the county meet, has been battling shin splints for the better part of the two years that he’s been running for the Pirates.
   "The shin splints haven’t stopped," he said. "But I’ve gotten kind of used to it. And I just got orthotics which help."
   Leung also has been diagnosed with mononucleosis. It was only confirmed recently.
   "I found out I had mono a week ago," he said. "I knew something was wrong since the summer though. I didn’t know what. I felt really bad. I had trouble finishing runs."
   Leung also has developed shingles, a disease not so associated with premier high school runners.
   "It’s usually in old people and pregnant women," Leung said. "It just hurts one side of the body. I still have it. It’s just a nuisance."
   Any one of those medical maladies could knock a runner from a race. Having all three, and still being the best in the county makes for something special.
   "In six weeks of training after his stress fracture," said WW-P South head coach Kurt Wayton, "he was fastest sophomore miler in the state. It speaks volumes to his capability.
   "He is probably the most stubborn, hard-headed, relentless athlete I’ve ever been around, both as a competitor and as a coach. He’s going to be amazing in high school. We’ve talked about things he could accomplish in the next year and three-quarters."
   Winning the county in one of the best times ever run at Veterans Park after all that Leung has had to deal with this year is nothing short of incredible. It was just one of the inspirational stories to come out of Friday’s championship meet that sets Leung and the county teams up well for this weekend’s upcoming sectional meets.
   "His ability to endure as an athlete carries over to his life," Wayton said. "Sometimes life has drastic ups and downs. Your ability to get through it isn’t something given to you by God, I think. You can work on it.
   "Earlier in the year, he was very frustrated by what he was dealing with. I’m trying to get him through workouts. I’m yelling at him. He almost gets teary-eyed, he’s so frustrated. He never gave up. He just kept plugging away. We simply didn’t know at the time."
   Second-place finisher Sean McNulty of West Windsor-Plainsboro North had his own issues. He competed Friday while his father, a fixture at his meets, recovered in the hospital. McNulty produced a time of 15:51 to lead the Knights to a second-place finish behind Hopewell Valley.
   "He ran 16:43 last year so he improved over 30 seconds," said Knights head coach Brian Gould. "When you’re running that fast, 30 seconds is a lot of time. He ran as fast as Ennis. He looked good. Watching the race, I think he hasn’t peaked yet. When he gets out to Holmdel, he’s a guy that will excel over a tougher course."
   John LiPuma was eighth overall in 16:16, A.J. Reichert was 14th, Tyler Corkdale 18th and Colin Chudzik 20th.
   "All seven guys ran their personal bests," Gould said. "All seven were in the top 25. The gap was better. They all raced close together. They all ran personnel bests. It’s a little disappointing to have that sort of day and come up second.
   "I think they look great. It was one of the fastest Mercer Counties. It’s very competitive. In four years, this is by far the best we’ve had. They’ve done a ton of work since Day One. Since it was 100 degrees and out there and they were running at 8 a.m. Friday was a good day. But there are still things to do. Over the next week, hopefully three weeks, hopefully we’ll see more good races."
   In third place, led by an inspired comeback from Dan Cavallaro, was Princeton High. The Little Tigers leapfrogged Notre Dame, who they have twice been beaten by this year. It was the first time they had Cavallaro at his best in more than a month.
   "I had this cough that wouldn’t go away," the PHS senior said. "I had to take about seven days off. It was rough. It was right in the middle of the season. I missed an invitational. I missed a couple dual meets. It took me a while to get back on my feet. I had a couple mediocre races after that.
   "We got kind of lucky. Our meet last Tuesday got rained out. It helped. I think I could just train without worrying about racing. I guess it paid off. I was confident because I’d been training really well for the last couple weeks. I had some good workouts. I just wanted to come in with a really good attitude and I was pretty confident coming into it."
   Cavallaro finished fourth overall in 16:04 and Wray was right behind in 16:07. Dan Gallagher was 13th and Henry Feder 16th overall.
   "I think we did really well," Wray said. "Dan Gallagher was up here running with me for a while. Dan’s been improving a lot over the season. Henry Feder was pretty close behind him as well and this is his first cross country season. That’s really amazing. And Matt Grosshans, he’s stepped up to be our fifth man. We thought Jesse Mostoller would be our fifth, but he’s had some injuries. Matt ran really well today also. He’s just coming off an injury. Especially with all the problems we’ve had, I think we all ran really well."
   Hun, led by Kyle Bremer’s 43rd-place finish, was ninth. Princeton Day School, with Erik Lefebvre in 35th, was 13th overall. The prep schools will compete in their respective prep championships Wednesday.
   Leung led an inexperienced Pirates team to a fifth-place finish. He would have liked to see the team place higher, but he was happy with what he was able to do given that he is not fully healthy.
   "It’s hard training for this," Leung said. "Racing-wise, I just have to go on and do my thing. With mono, I get tired more easily though. If I didn’t have it, it’s hard to say how I’d do. I’m happy I’m recovering from it. I hope to do well in Groups and sectionals.
   "Friday, I was a little nervous. I had all that stuff to worry about and I hadn’t been running well. I didn’t have confidence in myself. I didn’t have that consistency."
   With Friday’s win, Leung’s confidence has elevated. He felt good on his next training run and goes into the Central Jersey Group IV meet feeling better about his chances at a big performance. After all he’s endured already, no one would be surprised at one.
   "I really think now that we’re coming out of it, that month of hardships sets him up to he’s going to be ready to run when it counts," Wayton said. "Cross country is unique. The beginning of the season is forgotten. The middle is not remembered. It comes down to the money meets at the end. He’s going to be ready to run. I think he’ll be hungry."
   Having been through all that he has, his toughness has been tested, mentally as well as physically. It could serve to make him even tougher to beat in the future.
   "I know I’ve been dealing with stuff no one else has," Leung said. "It’s a little advantage for me. When I run, I feel thankful I’m out there."