Senior prepared to return to sectional XC meet
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
At last year’s team banquet, West Windsor-Plainsboro High North coach Brian Gould mentioned two returning runners that he foresaw vying for the No. 1 spot with the Knight boys cross country team.
”I wasn’t one of them,” said Bryan Howard. “I was pretty mad. That motivated me.”
Gould challenged Howard to prove that he could be No. 1, and he has been. The senior is the top runner for the Knights as they head into Saturday’s Central Jersey Group IV meet at Thompson Park. The top five teams plus the top 10 individuals advance to the Group IV meet at Holmdel Park on Nov. 16.
”I’ve been feeling good,” Howard said. “I’m sore a bit. I feel like I’m going to do really well.”
Howard is expected to be the only WW-P North runner who participated in sectionals last year. He was consistently the Knights’ sixth finisher last year, and he’s gone almost worst to first among varsity runners in a year.
”The training for me was excruciating,” Howard said. “I probably put in 200 more miles in the summer. Overall, my training is a lot better. In races, I’m calm, focused, I have tunnel vision. I’m putting it all out there, no regrets.”
That racing mentality got a big boost at last year’s sectionals when he ran 17:44 for 54th place. Howard wasn’t happy that he faded after a fast start, but Gould saw something that day.
”He went out hard and was in the race for a while,” Gould said. “It was the first time he really made an effort to run with other stud guys. Doing that for the first time at sectionals is going to turn out great or not really great. As far as how he raced, it was his best of the year. He took a big risk and raced the best he had.”
Howard is expected to go out hard and sustain it longer this year. Last year’s race was a learning experience.
”I kind of overcame my fear of going out fast,” he said. “I felt like it wasn’t a good race because I quit too early, I didn’t hang on long enough. The good thing I learned was going out fast and not being afraid.”
Howard has tried to challenge his less experienced teammates to push equally hard. He has been a good influence on them.
”I really try to stress pack running,” Howard said. “That leads to success obviously. I’m trying to motivate the guys by telling them stories. I just want them to do well and I keep stressing that all the time.”
West Windsor-Plainsboro South, Hillsborough and South Brunswick look as though they will advance, and that puts the Knights in a mix with the likes of Old Bridge, Colts Neck, Freehold Township, Montgomery and Rancocas Valley for the final two spots to advance.
”The guys look good,” Gould said. “We have a freshman and two sophomores running in there. We’ll see what happens. The two least experienced guys in there, a sophomore and a junior, they race really well. The old cliché, ignorance is bliss. Sometimes the less you know, the better you are. You look inward and run the best you can.”
Kian Jackson finished just ahead of Howard at the Mercer County Championships, and the two can help push each other at sectionals. Howard’s offseason work since last year has him in a new frame of mind as he prepares for Thompson Park.
”Not only physically good, but mentally, my confidence is a lot higher,” Howard said. “I put in so many base miles. I feel like my endurance is 100 times better than it used to be.
”It is a lot of pressure to be at the top, but usually when you’re a senior, that’s what it is. It’s the pressure of your last year. You have to be the top dog and help the team out any way you can.”
Bryan Howard has worked hard to move up to No. 1 for the Knights, and he expects that hard work to pay off Saturday.
”He’s been improving the way our guys traditionally improve,” Gould said. “He buys into the program and does everything right and is seeing results his senior year.”