South senior tops in girls’ Group IV
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
HOLMDEL — Katie Kellner ran like the wind, maybe even a little faster than the gusts that took down team tents at Holmdel Park on Sunday.
The West Windsor-Plainsboro South senior became the first female runner in program history to win the Group IV state championship when she finished almost 30 seconds ahead of runner-up Brianna Jackucewicz of Colts Neck and seven spots ahead of pre-race favorite Jillian Smith of Southern Regional.
”I’m very happy,” said Kellner, whose 18:18.39 clocking was the third fastest time of the day in all groups. “As much as I believed in myself that I could do it, I wasn’t going around telling everyone that I was going to win because I knew it was going to be hard. To actually be out here and do it was the most amazing feeling ever.”
Kellner is in position to contend at the Meet of Champions at Holmdel on Saturday. Kellner was fourth at last year’s Group IV meet and 11th at last year’s MOC. If she just maintains Sunday’s effort, she will move up.
”I think she has it in her,” said Pirates coach Josh Siegel. “Today was a fantastic race though. She knew the task at hand. She came with the idea she was going to give it what she could give it and go out and have fun. I think she did.”
She will be joined at the MOC by her sister, freshman Caroline Kellner, who qualified with her 10th place finish in 19:18.52, only seven-hundredths of a second off what Katie ran as a freshman at the Group IV race in 2005. The Pirates finished sixth as a team in Group IV, with only the top three qualifying automatically.
”I know the state’s gotten more competitive throughout the years,” Katie said. “She’s doing so amazing. I am so proud of her.”
Also qualifying for the Meet of Champions for a third straight year was Jillian Prentice of Montgomery High School. The junior was fourth Sunday in 19:06.36, slower than last year’s group meet but faster than she ran at last year’s MOC.
”It is different,” Prentice said. “It was a lot nicer before without many expectations on me. I feel like I have to live up to them so it makes it a little harder.”
Prentice is hoping to move toward the 18:43 she ran at the group meet last year. She battled the wind and cold Sunday to advance to have the opportunity.
”I want to improve from last year,” she said. “That’s my biggest goal. I remember last year I didn’t have the greatest race, so I want to improve on that.
”I feel good about it. I want to make sure I improve. This week in training, I’ll be really determined and focused.”
Advancing to the MOC for the first time is Trish Reilly. The West Windsor-Plainsboro North senior missed one of the top-10 individual qualifying spots when she finished 11th in the Group III race by barely a second, but her 19:43.56 was one of the top-10 wild card times out of all groups. The Knights were eighth in the team standings in Group III, 31 points behind sixth-place Princeton High School, which was led by junior Alicia Fenley in 20th place.
The day belonged to Kellner, who even got the sort of weather she is best in when the race was postponed one day due to predicted thunderstorms Saturday.
”I love the cold,” Kellner said. “I was out watching the NCAAs at Princeton (Saturday), and thinking, I’m so glad it’s tomorrow because it’s supposed to be 20 degrees cooler. Definitely coming in here when it’s cooler, in my head I’m like, ‘This is my weather, I can do it.’ It’s always so much easier for me.”
So focused was Kellner on staying with Southern’s Smith that she didn’t notice the wind. They were side-by-side through most of the race until Kellner pulled away in the last three-quarters of a mile. It was the first time she has beaten Smith.
”I’d never been up there with her,” Kellner said. “I’d been up with her at the beginning of races, but I’ve never stayed with it. I’m really proud of myself.
”I’ve been training harder,” she explained, “but I think more of it was just believing in myself and telling myself over and over that I could do it. It’s easy to get psyched out if you’re running next to runners who have continuously beaten you. That was my main thing — that I didn’t let that get to me.”
Kellner smashed her own personal record on the course. Sunday was a 16-second improvement over her performance at the Shore Coaches Invitational this year.
”I came in today thinking, if I can run in the 18:20s, that’d be incredible,” Kellner said. “Breaking 18:20 is the most amazing thing ever.”
Kellner got a lift from her full team racing with her for the first time since her freshman year. Kellner made sure she posted a win for the team.
Said Siegel: “She ran with such strength, it was a perfect textbook race. She got out perfect. We knew coming into this race that it would be a showdown. Katie put the moves on coming around the tennis courts on the way back and pretty much got in her mind and broke her. It was perfect.”
Kellner is hoping there’s an even more perfect day ahead of her Saturday. She will challenge Group III winner Melanie Thompson and runner-up Chelsea Ley, both who ran faster than her Sunday, as well as Smith, who will be looking for revenge.
”It should be interesting because she’s going to come out knowing I’m going to stay with her again,” Kellner said. “I wish her the best of luck as I do everyone else that goes on to the MOC.”

