At Freehold District cross country meet
BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer
Lindsey Lambert had been there before. The last time she had raced Colts Neck’s Allison Linnell, the Cougar harrier had passed her in the final half-mile of their race, after the Howell runner had been in front from the start.
At Thursday’s Freehold Regional District Cross Country Championships held at Bucks Mill Park, Lambert couldn’t help but think she had seen this before. The 5,000- meter race was entering its final stage, and there was Linnell closing in on her.
Lambert admitted that for a moment, she thought the race was lost. Then she thought of all the work she had done over the summer.
“Something went off in my head,” she said. “I said, ‘I’m not giving up. I’ve worked too hard for this.’ I wasn’t going to lose. It’s my race.”
Lambert had something else working for her as well: a different race strategy that had left her fresher for the final mile. At the Cougar Invitational, when Linnell had beaten her, Lambert ran the first mile in 5:45 and had nothing left when Linnell made her late-race charge. That wasn’t the case this time.
“My coach [John Hein] told me to go out slower,” said Lambert. “I ran the first mile in 6:10. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. I picked it up in the second mile.
It was Lambert, Linnell and a former champion, Janel Parker of Freehold Township, who would lead after the first mile. When Lambert surged, Linnell was the only one who went with her. Her 6:01 second mile made it a two-way race.
Whatever gap Lambert had opened up during the second mile, Linnell slowly closed as the runners circled the ball fields at the Bucks Mill Park and headed uphill toward the polo field.
It was at that point that the determined Lambert, finding more in the tank this time, refused to be caught.
“I felt fresh at the finish,” she pointed out.
Parker, the 2005 District winner, was third (19:57), also breaking 20:00.
While Lambert was dueling Linnell for the individual title, another battle was unfolding in the pack Thursday afternoon, pitting host Colts Neck (Bucks Mill Park is its home course) against Howell.
Even without its top runner – Briana Jackucewicz – the Cougars, ranked fourth in the Northeast Region, had bested Howell in its A North duel meet and at the Cougar Invitational. But this time, the day belonged to Howell.
While Lambert was winning her duel with Linnell, a line of Rebels – Lauren Rome (20:07), Jacquie Ward (20:21) and Sarah Nelson (20:23) – finished fourth, fifth and sixth, giving Howell an insurmountable lead.
Colts Neck would flex its depth, getting its fifth runner in before Howell’s, but Laura Kochenash’s 16th place (21:33) was good enough to secure Howell’s upset, 32-43.
“Everyone ran well,” said Hein, who has led Howell to four District titles since 2002.
Rounding out the top 10 were: Jessica Fasano, Colts Neck (20:31); Rachel Morris, Colts Neck (20:34); Brittany Pietrosh, Marlboro (20:49), and Jessica Papirnik, Freehold Borough (20:59).
Marlboro (82) was the third-place team.
Andrews, Manalapan rule
Unlike the girls’ championship, there was a clear-cut favorite for the boys: Manalapan’s Robby Andrews. With a 15:33 to his credit at the Bucks Mill Park course, there was no one in the field to challenge him. For Andrews, however, there was more in play than just his title: the Braves were looking to win a third straight championship.
“The plan was for us all to go out in the first mile in the lead pack and try and stay together,” said Andrews.
The pace may have seemed pedestrian to Andrews, yet the Braves had accomplished their goal, with all their runners in the lead group.
During the second mile, it was time for Andrews to dispose of the contenders. Halfway through the second mile, which includes a sharp, sandy uphill stretch, the Brave took off.
“Going downhill, I made a pretty decisive move,” he pointed out.
At first, Freehold Borough’s Cody O’Flaherty and Freehold Township’s Eric Dynarski limited the damage. But Andrews had put the hammer down, and with each stride, he was stretching his lead. He coasted home unthreatened in 17:01, a leisurely run for him.
Youth ruled the day out front, with Andrews, a junior, leading the pack. Behind him, Freehold Township’s bright freshman Dynarski (17:08) would win the race for second over Borough sophomore O’Flaherty (17:10) with a strong finish.
In this race last year, Andrews was starting his comeback from an injury and paced teammate Joe Kreppein to the win. Thursday was Andrews’ turn to win his first big cross country title, but, he pointed out, that was secondary.
“It was all about the team,” he said
Andrews, who started this cross country season in the best shape of his career, credited his teammates for his superior conditioning. They were out there logging the miles with him, and it showed Thursday as the Braves put five runners in the top 10 to win their third straight District title. Recalling the domination of Rap Reinhardt’s teams of the 1970s and early ’80s (they won eight straight titles) and Dion Smith’s teams of the ’90s (six straight), the Braves had a team score of 30 points, 16 better than a solid Freehold Township team (46). Howell was third (87).
Matt Gabor (17:33) led the Manalapan parade behind Andrews, in fourth place. Eric Tymezak (17:39) and Ryan McGilvray (17:42) were seventh and eighth, and Jon Nagel closed it out with his 10th place (17:47).
The other top 10 finishers were Freehold Township’s Andrew Posen, fifth (17:36); Howell’s Mike Roberto, sixth (17:37), and Freehold Township’s Marc Mills (17:42).
Howell’s girls followed up their District win with a second place in the Varsity A Division at the Shore Coaches Invitational at Holmdel Park. Lambert (20:12), Ward (20:58) and Nelson (20:58) were 12th, 20th and 21st as the Rebels’ team score of 147 was beaten only by Lenape (97).
Freehold Borough’s girls were sixth in Varsity C (171). Papirnik’s 32nd place overall (22:22) led the Colonials, and Mackenzie Roche (22:32) and Laura Coyne (22:46) were close behind in 37th and 39th.
O’Flaherty was 25th in the boys’ Varsity C (17:44).
This weekend is the Manhattan Invitational at historic Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y. Andrews will take his first stab at the 2.5-mile course, and Howell’s girls will look to improve their state ranking with an impressive performance.

