XC season ends in slippery conditions
by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
Eddie Yakobchuk reached the finish line covered in mud from head to toe.
The Manville High junior cross country runner and his teammates battled some serious elements in Saturday’s Central Jersey Group 1 Championships at Thompson Park in Jamesburg. The race was run during a downpour and the course was slick and muddy, leaving many runners scrambling to keep their footing.
Yakobchuk took a few spills but kept getting up and managed to finish the race in 19th place in a time of 18:35 to lead the Mustangs.
”It was horrible,” Yakobchuk said afterward. “It was so muddy and I fell so many times. I didn’t expect it to be like this.”
Yakobchuk was shooting to break 18 minutes and seemed to be on his way to a new personal record in the first half of the race. He was 25th after the first mile but surged forward to 18th place by the middle of the race.
”He was moving up and moving on a few guys,” said Manville head coach Jim O’Connor, who watched Yakobchuk pass twice from his vantage point on the course. “He could have finished higher but he went down a few times. He had mud all over the place.”
O’Connor estimated that Yakobchuk would have finished at least 12th but may have been able to crack the top 10 with a smooth race. Individual runners placing in the top 10 earned a trip to the State Group 1 Championships at Holmdel Park. The top nine runners broke 18 minutes.
Yakobchuk had the most difficulty going up and down the hills.
”The hills were the muddiest,” Yakobchuk said. “I got myself so wet and muddy. It was hard to get back up into running pace.”
The Manville boys finished 12th in a 13-school field with 314 points. The Mustangs defeated South Amboy (367) and weren’t far behind Middlesex (286). Robbinsville edged Metuchen for the sectional team title.
Sophomore Ernest Yakobchuk finished 58th in the 99-boy field in a time of 20:47 to rank second on the Mustangs. Sophomore Randy Gomez took 85th in 23:16, junior Charlie Burkoski placed 88th in 23:28, freshman Nick Galaini was 92nd in 26:26 and senior Dan Kirkaldy finished 94th in his final race in 26:51.
Senior Kate Harodetsky did not run because of a conflict with a dance event, but two MHS girls competed in Saturday’s slop. Senior Evanna Tchir finished 55th in 28:05 and freshman Jennifer Wangui placed 59th in 29:10. There were 67 girls in the CJ 1 race.
”The times for us were real slow,” O’Connor said. “The conditions really made it pretty sloppy. A lot of kids were slowing down.”
The young Mustangs were facing enough of a challenge racing in a big, sectional meet. Throw in the weather and course conditions and things became extremely difficult.
”We’re the kind of squad that needs every advantage it can get,” O’Connor said. “A lot of kids were first-year runners. What are you going to do? It was the last race of the year but it was a wet, miserable day.”

