Leung’s 7th place finish best of locals
By: Justin Feil
HOLMDEL Just qualifying for the Cross Country Meet of Champions is an incredible reward to a season.
That act of qualifying alone made school history for one of the four area runners to reach this year’s MOC. The three others set themselves up for special years to follow by claiming medals as top 20 finishers at Saturday’s Meet of Champions at famed Holmdel Park.
A senior, a junior, a sophomore and a freshman. There was one from each class, one to represent each of four different teams and three different schools. They all came away with an experience they would not trade away.
West Windsor-Plainsboro South’s Brian Leung finished seventh in the boys’ championship. The Pirates junior covered the 5-kilometer course in 16 minutes, 1 second. He was second among non-senior finishers in the race.
WW-P South’s Katie Kellner was 14th in the girls’ championship. The sophomore was just off her own school record, finishing in 18:56.
Montgomery High’s Jillian Prentice was 19th in the same race. The Cougar freshman was five seconds off the school record in 19:04. She was the top freshman in the state Saturday.
West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s Sean McNulty will graduate as the school’s first Meet of Champions qualifier. He capped his senior season with a 49th-place finish in the boys’ championship in 16:52.
THE SENIOR
McNulty had never competed in the Meet of Champions before Saturday.
No one from WW-P North had, as a matter of fact. And when McNulty took his spot on the starting line, he knew there was something special about Saturday.
"I was looking out from the starting line and seeing hundreds if not thousands of people lining up from the start all the way up," he said. "There was maybe one place where there wasn’t anyone. All throughout the woods where normally no one is, there were people there. A lot of my friends and teammates came out and made the trip, so it was nice to have a lot of people behind you rooting for you."
When the race started, McNulty also saw a difference. The Central Jersey Group III champion wasn’t in the top 20. He was in a sea of equally talented runners, something he will see again at the Footlocker Northeast Regionals on Saturday.
"I didn’t get the best start," McNulty said. "I probably should have got out a little harder. I got caught behind early and I was trying to move up and even though the path is 15-feet wide, it’s still crowded back in the 30s and 40s. I couldn’t really get up where I wanted to. It was just not a very good race for me.
"I was happy to get here," he added. "I was hoping to get Top 20 in the state just so I could tell my friends and tell my kids when I have kids, your dad was Top 20 in the state. There’s always bigger and better things. I can go and make up for it with regionals next week or indoor and outdoor. It’s kind of a bittersweet feeling getting here but then not running as well as you wanted to."
McNulty wanted a faster race, a higher finish, but it was hard to feel too disappointed with a first trip to the Meet of Champions.
"He ran well," said Knights head coach Brian Gould. "Everybody here is fast. It’s a different race, especially for the guys used to being in the front. Then they get swallowed up by a pack and it’s a whole different race, it’s a whole different experience. It can drag you along to great things and sometimes it can hurt you. I still think he ran a good race. For the majority of the race, he was sitting around 35th position. He stitched up a little finishing.
"Besides today, he’s done so much for this team, and so much for the school and the program. He’s really changed the face of the whole thing. One of the big goals for this year was to do that, to change the face of the team and I think he did that."
Next fall, it will be the returning Knights’ goal to follow in McNulty’s footsteps and reach the Meet of Champions. Always, though, he will have been the first.
"It’s a great feeling, being a senior and finally making it," McNulty said. "I accomplished my goals."
THE JUNIOR
Leung geared his entire season toward the Meet of Champions.
It set him up for a spectacular success or possibly a colossal collapse. He found the former in his seventh-place run.
"I’m ecstatic right now," Leung said. "It’s the greatest feeling I’ve ever gotten from a race. I’m so proud of myself and so thankful I have my parents and Coach (Kurt) Wayton for supporting me. They’ve been great."
His parents were on hand to offer their congratulations. Wayton, however, had to be reached by phone in Indiana with the good news.
"This is the perfect day for me," Leung said. "I’ve been waiting a long time for this day, and Wayton got me here. I wish he could be here with me, but he’s the announcer at the NCAA Championships. I just called him and he’s crying he’s so happy."
After battling numerous illnesses and setbacks through the season, Leung and Wayton had plenty to be happy about as the final race went just as planned. It was much better than last year’s 39th-place showing, his first MOC experience.
"Last year, I didn’t really care about this race," said Leung, who will also compete at the Northeast Regionals on Saturday. "After groups, I was pretty satisfied with my times. Me being an immature sophomore, I didn’t really know what to expect going into my first Meet of Champions. This year, I was a lot better prepared. I really learned how to race the past two seasons."
It paid off when Leung returned to Holmdel for the MOC. He got out quickly and was able to hold his spot for much of the race. He improved by 24 seconds the time he ran at last week’s Group IV state meet.
"Breaking 16 is a huge goal," Leung said. "I think I just ran 16-flat or just missed it. I really don’t care about the time. It’s all about the race to me. I think that’s the main thing about racing. If you don’t race, you just have to put yourself in the race and you’re going to do fine. You can’t worry about the time."
Leung’s strong finish to his junior season sets him up as one of the favorites for next year. Only four of the top 20 finishers were not seniors. Leung has his sights on building on his seventh-place finish next year.
"Doug Smith finished really well today," he said. "He’s an amazing sophomore. He’s the kid who ran 9:14 for 3200 last spring so he’s amazing. I’m going to be gunning for him next year now that I know I can stick with these guys. This is the first time I’ve been successful in the whole Meet of Champions."
It gives him an idea of where he stands in the state. It also goes to prove that he knew that the MOC was all he had to keep his focus on this whole season.
"I’ve been taking it easy all this week," Leung said. "I know my parents are a little angry because I yelled at them every time they mention the race. Of course, they’re excited for me. Just preparation wise, Wayton has been the greatest. He gave me the workouts. This week was really about resting up. I really cut down my mileage this week and it really paid off. I’ve been waiting for this."
THE SOPHOMORE
Kellner usually gets to the front of races very quickly, so Melinda Neff was concerned when she couldn’t find WW-P South’s top runner.
It was because Kellner was in the middle of the second-tier runners going up the first hill at Holmdel.
"It was probably one of her toughest starts," said Neff, the Pirate girls’ coach. "She got boxed in and the course was slippery. That shows her growing confidence as a runner, that she knew she could break out of it, do some surges and not be totally exhausted to keep running.
"I think another really important factor for her today was all her teammates were out with Katie Kellner special homemade T-shirts on. With her training partners scattered all over the course, she gets constant affirmation from them."
Kellner couldn’t, and didn’t, let them down.
"I felt really good," she said of her second career MOC. "The race went out really fast which was hard for me but I ended up doing really well at the end of the race. I made up a lot of places there.
"I’m pretty happy because I got a lot better than I got last year. I got 26th last year. All my teammates were so supportive. They all made shirts that spelled out my name. I love them and I thank them for doing so much cheering."
They had plenty to cheer for as Kellner made her way through the field little by little. With less than a mile to go, she was in 16th place, but she continued to creep up in the standings.
"Last year, it surprised me how fast the race went out," she said. "This year, I was kind of expecting that. I knew I have to get up that first hill in a decent place so I don’t fall behind.
"I planned it out in my head that my first mile would be probably my slowest, then my second mile in the middle would be faster and put it all out for my third mile since it’s the easiest and it’s downhill. I was planning to do that. That was my strategy."
Kellner followed her pre-race strategy perfectly. She made up ground on those in front of her, held off those behind her and ended up with a top 15 finish.
"That’s one thing she’s done as a runner who’s maturing," Neff said. "Last year, she would just go out as fast as she could and just keep running as far as she could at that pace. And this year, she’s really learned the value of a build, build, build, strong finish. She felt a lot more in control of the race this year.
"Fourteenth is awesome. We had a talk before the race and said, when it’s all said and done the top 20 get a medal. That was our goal so she well exceeded any of our goals. This is her second sub-19 run on this course this year."
Kellner was only four seconds off her best time ever, run earlier this season at the Shore Coaches meet. That Shore Coaches race remains her biggest surprise, but it was in her competitiveness at the MOC on Saturday that Kellner further entrenched herself as a contender for the future. She was the fourth non-senior finisher, but she raced like a veteran of Holmdel.
"After racing the course seven times in her career," Neff said, "she’s getting to know the hills, the flats, the slippery parts, where she can really gain speed and pass, when she had 800 left and she can really start her build. We came and did some speed work on Tuesday and really focusing on the middle of the course and I think that’s definitely part of the race where she showed some strength."
She had to in order to make up for an uncharacteristic start. To Kellner, it was all about the finish.
"This season has been amazing," she said. "I never expected to win counties, run under 19 at Holmdel. All my goals I made at the beginning of the season came true. To be the top 15, I never expected that."
THE FRESHMAN
Prentice was still smiling an hour after the girls’ championship race had been run.
She had plenty of reason after improving 44 seconds over her Group III time to run 19:04 and make the top 20 in the state.
"It was really exciting," Prentice said. "My team came here and spread out around the race. Their support helped me keep going. It was a whole different kind of meet. It was a great experience.
"The atmosphere here is so different. There were a lot of people cheering. You get almost a totally different adrenaline rush."
Under cooler skies than in the group meet, Prentice rushed ahead of the majority of the girls’ field. She did some of her best work in the final straightaway to the end.
"I was 23rd during the race," she said. "People who were in around 20th were far down. I caught up and passed them on the last straightaway where it ended. I started to pick it up after ‘the Bowl’ and I ended up catching up to them.
"I wasn’t expecting a place or a time. I was going to do my best. It’s my last race of the year. I had no expectations."
In so doing, Prentice surprised just about the entire MHS contingent. All that some of them could do was smile at her accomplishment.
"I’m speechless," said MHS coach Jim Goodfriend. "She ran great. We had said anywhere from 30 to 40 would be great, closer to 20 would be incredible and under 20 would be off the charts.
"She ran 19:04. She ran 44 seconds faster than last week. It’s the second fastest time from Montgomery here. It’s incredible."
Prentice had spent part of the week leading up to the race tapering for it, part of the week preparing for the upcoming swim season. She never expected the cross training to have such a positive effect on her performance Saturday.
"I’m surprised at both my time and place," Prentice said. "I’m really happy with how I did. I didn’t expect it at all."
Added Goodfriend: "That’s the best I could have possibly hoped for. She got better and better and better as the year went on. I thought she had her best race two weeks ago. I was wrong. She was remarkable."
There could be more remarkable days ahead for Prentice. She has three more seasons to build on Saturday’s first MOC thrill.
"I hope to make it back next year with the team this time," Prentice said. "I don’t think I’ll put that much pressure on myself because of this race. It was good. It was a very successful first year."
One that left her smiling all the way to the very end of it.

