WW-P South’s Kellner third at Meet of Champions

MHS’ Prentice, Caroline Kellner in top 25

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   HOLMDEL — At the beginning of the fall, Katie Kellner told her West Windsor-Plainsboro girls’ cross country teammates her big goal.
   The Pirates senior wanted to be one of the top 10 girls who stand on the podium at Holmdel Park for the Meet of Champions awards ceremony. She easily did that with a third-place finish Saturday.
   ”I never expected to be standing that close to the front,” said Kellner, who covered the 5-kilometer course in 18 minutes, 28.19 seconds. “It’s a very pleasant surprise.
   ”I’m very, very proud of myself,” she added. “If you had told me at the beginning of the summer that I would place third in the state, I probably would have told you that you’re crazy. I worked hard and our whole team worked hard. And after I won the group meet last week, I thought I had a chance.”
   Montgomery High’s Jillian Prentice finished 23rd overall, two seconds ahead of Kellner’s freshman sister, Caroline, who was 24th. It was Prentice’s third straight trip to the MOC.
   ”I know Jill’s not happy,” said MHS coach Jim Goodfriend. “She wanted to do better. It’s been a long season and being by herself the last couple of weeks has been tough. But she’s going to the Footlocker Regionals next Saturday and last year she ran great there after the Meet of Champs, so hopefully she does that again.”
   West Windsor-Plainsboro North senior Trish Reilly was 61st. It was her first trip to the MOC in her second season of cross country. She missed an automatic spot by barely a second but qualified for the MOC as a wild card entry.
   ”It was different not having my team, but it was such a cool atmosphere to run in,” said Reilly, who will begin preparing for track season. “You’re running among the best. I really enjoyed it. I was just so excited to be here, even if it wasn’t my best race, I’m glad I got to make it. It was my goal ever since I started cross country.
   ”I definitely accomplished what I wanted. I wanted a better time in the actual race, but I’m happy I got this far in two years of cross country. It was a good way to end it.”
   Before her final race at Holmdel, Katie Kellner had entertained using the same strategy — stay with the favorites and then take off in the last mile — that had helped her win the Group IV meet six days earlier. Kellner, however, got out slower than winner Melanie Thompson of Voorhees and runner-up Chelsea Ley of Kingsway.
   ”I figured I’d go into Meet of Champs and get up with them and stay up with them as long as I could,” Kellner said. “I got a bad start though and by the time I got to the front of the pack behind them, Melanie and Chelsea were too far ahead.
   ”It would have been nice to get a better start. I know Melanie and Chelsea take things out harder than Jill Smith does, but it might have made my time a little faster.”
   It was hard for Kellner to be upset when she looked back on how far she had come in her four MOC races at Holmdel Park.
   ”It’s crazy,” she said. “I was 26th freshman year all the way down to third. It was amazing that I improved by a minute. My best time as a freshman was 19:19. Now it’s 18:19. My big breakthrough was the group meet. After that, I started to think I could make my name more known in the state and be there with the top runners.”
   The Kellner name is sure to growth with Caroline’s emergence onto the scene. Her 24th-place finish was two spots ahead of Katie’s freshman finish, and her 19:18.32 clocking was 14 seconds better than her sister did at her first MOC.
   ”I was so excited,” said Caroline. “I wasn’t even that nervous. I was just ready to run.
   ”I was ecstatic with my place. I really wanted to finish in the top 30. That was my goal, so I’m happy.”
   Caroline was the second-best freshman in the entire race. She is hoping to continue to climb the standings yearly as her sister did.
   ”I’m definitely motivated for next year to come back, but it’s going to be hard without my sister on the team because that’s a big part of it,” Caroline said. “But it’ll still be fun.
   ”I look at stuff what she did and I’m not necessarily motivated to beat her times, but it’s more like she makes it exciting, like ‘look at her success.’ I want to have the same success.”
   The two lined up together to represent WW-P South, the last time they will do so for the cross country team as they will be in different races at the Footlocker Regionals on Saturday, but like they had done plenty of times before outside of school.
   ”We used to do charity 5k races and stand at the start line together,” Katie said. “It’s kind of relaxing. The Meet of Champs is a way bigger race. Having her at the start line, it was definitely relaxing. I never had a teammate at the start line before.”
   And never will she again in cross country. But Katie Kellner made the most of her final trip to the MOC, while Caroline Kellner made the most of her first time against all of the state’s best. They left Holmdel with their goals accomplished and a special memory to share forever.
   ”It’s the beginning of one, the end of the other,” said Pirates coach Josh Siegel. “They are big shoes to fill, but Caroline is ready. Caroline is a fantastic young lady. She’s a terrific runner. They both ran fantastic.”