Manville girls became a team, officially

Shields, Harodetsky led female harriers

By: Rudy Brandl
   When Manville High cross country coach Jim O’Connor took over the program three years ago, he had many goals, not the least of which was to field a full girls’ team.
   Mission accomplished.
   For the first time in school history, Manville put the required minimum number of five female runners on the course in a meet to compete as a full team. The MHS girls didn’t win any of their regular season or championship meets, but that wasn’t the issue. O’Connor was thrilled to make history and accomplish one of his major goals for the Manville program.
   Manville made history when Arielle Mizov crossed the finish line as the fifth runner in the team’s dual meet loss at Belvidere in September. The MHS girls ran a few more regular season events as a full squad and made history again in the post-season by sending five runners into battle at the Skyland Conference Championships.
   "For the first time, we had two teams," O’Connor said. "It’s twice the fun and twice the number of concerns, but the girls really liked it and there was a good camaraderie. We achieved one of our goals to get a full girls’ team. It was three years in the making and we finally did it. Now we just need more runners."
   The next piece of history will be made when the Manville girls win their first meet. Despite the winless regular season, O’Connor entertained hopes of qualifying for the State Group 1 Championships. The MHS girls weren’t able to put five runners on the course on that early November day at Thompson Park in Jamesburg, but they could have cracked the top five with a full team.
   Sophomores Casey Shields and Kate Harodetsky led the Manville girls this season. Shields consistently ran in front of the pack, while Harodetsky capped her good season with a very solid race in the Central Jersey Group 1 Championships.
   "It’s not impossible for those two girls to get there (the State Group 1 meet) if they make the commitment and run year-round," O’Connor said. "They could make it as individuals. That would be a giant step."
   Shields (24:16) and Harodetsky (24:48) ran their best races of the year in the big finale at Thompson Park. Freshman Alissa Teodorczy (28:26) also saved her best performance for last. Mizov, another sophomore, ran her fastest (27:38) at North Warren, while juniors Dominika Lastovickova (28:38) and Jennifer Gomez (31:29) posted their best times in the Skyland Conference race at Pleasant Valley Park. Amanda Bron, the lone senior on the squad, ran her best (33:46) at Belvidere.
   "It’s about time we had a girls’ team," Shields said after the Skyland meet. "It feels great. I love our team."
   O’Connor knows the progress must not stop here. If the MHS girls expect to continue building a program, they have to get organized in the off-season.
   Shields, a great team leader, wants to make this team even tighter in the future.
   "We want to run more as a group next year," Shields said.
   The six fastest runners from this season are eligible to return in 2007. The addition of a few new recruits will help. O’Connor did a good job recruiting hard-working academic kids and plans to continue that trend.
   "All these kids are perfectionists in the classroom," he said. "They didn’t know what to expect this year. They’ll be better prepared next year."