Holmdel High School’s Marin Warner is in full sprint mode as she races toward the finish line at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions cross-country race held at Holmdel Park on Nov. 23. Warner fulfilled her goal of finishing in the top 10 by coming in eighth. SCOTT FRIEDMAN Mike McClemens’ goal is to be one of Christian Brothers Academy’s (CBA) best cross-country runners ever. With CBA being the finest program in state history, that is no small task.
McClemens took a big step in that direction when he smashed the Ocean County Park course record in Lakewood, posting a 14:43 for the 5K and leading the Colts to the team average record at the Shore Conference Championships.
On Nov. 23 at Holmdel Park, McClemens took his biggest step yet toward joining CBA’s legendary runners when he became just the second Colts harrier to win the NJSIAA Meet of Champions (MOC) title, joining 1999 winner Brian Kerwin.
“It’s a great feeling,” McClemens said of winning the MOC.
In the process, he may be leading CBA’s best team yet. The Colts again bested their own team course record for Holmdel, averaging 15:52 per runner. Breaking 16:00 in still the benchmark for high school runners, and the Colts average that per runner this season.
It’s easy to see why they are the topranked team in the nation. The title was CBA’s record-extending 19th.
As for the race, all eyes were on returning champion Tom O’Neill of Middletown High School North.
Nothing eventful took place in the opening mile, and a large pack of runners stuck together until they headed toward the bowl.
“We didn’t go out that fast,” McClemens said. “There were a lot of little pushes.
“O’Neill made a push in the bowl, which I didn’t expect, and then he made another push that I expected out of the bowl,” he added.
With his second push, the pack chasing O’Neill shrunk to six runners, including McClemens.
It was then that Freehold Township High School’s Dylan Tarpey shook things up and bolted to the front.
“Dylan pushed it, and I went with him,” McClemens said.
McClemens followed Tarpey to the tennis courts when he put the hammer down.
“My plan was to push it at the tennis courts,” he said. “I had another gear, and the others couldn’t keep up.”
McClemens came out of the backwoods sprint hard all the way to the line, stopping the timer in a personal best 15:26. Tarpey made it one-two for the Shore, clocking a personal best of 15:32.
Next year, McClemens and Tarpey will be teammates at Columbia University.
Behind McClemens, Blaise Ferro (15:45) and Tom Rooney (15:51) were also under 16:00. Fran Bogan (16:06) and Mike Cassidy (16:13) completed the Colts’ scoring. In team scoring, they were 5-9-17-19 for the 51-point total. Runner-up Don Bosco Preparatory High School had 104 points.
There was just a 19-second split between one and five. McClemens said the goal was for everyone to run below what they did at the Non-Public A state meet on Nov. 16. Colts head coach Tom Heath said prior to the season that this team had more talent than the 2012 team, which set the Holmdel course record (16:02) and finished fourth in the country. But, he noted, “They have to do it.”
And they did.
Now, the real season begins for the Colts, as they seek a second national championship in three years. On Nov. 30 at Wappingers Falls, N.Y., the Colts will run in the Nike Cross Nationals Northeast Regional, where the top two teams advance to the Dec. 7 Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Ore.
McClemens was a sophomore on the 2011 CBA team that won the national championship. He is the only member of that team running for the Colts this year.
O’Neill will be chasing a top-10 finish in Wappingers Falls to qualify individually for the Nationals. O’Neill finished 10th in 15:47 at the MOC.
Middletown North head coach Rich Piro said the loss would not dent O’Neill’s confidence as he heads to the qualifier.
“It wasn’t his day,” Piro said. “He still ran a terrific time.”
It was a great day for Middletown North, which won medals as the fifth-place team at the MOC (201). This was the finest season in Lions history, with the team capturing its first group state championship the week before.
Justin Lippert finished 20th for Middletown North, posting a time of 16:03.
Holmdel High School’s Dan Barlev finished 30th (16:15).
Thompson, Warner star for girls
St. John Vianney High School’s Courtney Thompson and Holmdel’s Marin Warner fulfilled their season-long goals with top 10 finishes at the MOC.
Thompson, a senior, lowered her school record to 18:16 in finishing fifth, four places better than her 2012 MOC race.
Warner, a junior, finished eighth while clocking 18:36.
For Thompson, her best MOC performance was proof that she has been on the right track all year.
“[Coach Richard Agnello and I] talked at the beginning of the season to be more focused on the long term, running my best in November,” Thompson said.
“My goal was a pretty high finish in the MOC, and I accomplished that,” she added. “I’m peaking at the right time.”
Thompson said her strategy was to keep the leaders within her sight, and as the race developed, “pick off as many [runners] as I could.”
The Lancers’ runner was seventh heading into the final 800 meters, and she moved up to fifth.
Warner, who has enjoyed her finest season yet in cross-country by capturing the county, conference and Central Jersey Group II championships, was very pleased with her results.
“It was definitely my goal to finish in the top 10,” she said. “I’m very happy. All my work paid off.
“I put in a lot more running mileage,” she continued. “That made me more comfortable during the race and let me use my speed at the end.”
Much like Thompson, Warner was picking off runners throughout the race.
There was a reason Thompson wanted to peak in November this year. Following the MOC is the Foot Locker Northeast Regional at historic Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y. A top-10 finish there will send runners to the Foot Lock National Championships in San Diego.
Both Thompson and Warner are headed to Van Cortlandt Park with a lot of confidence off their MOC races.
Middletown North’s Alexandra Juzwiak finished 15th in 18:52. As a team, the Lions finished 13th (259).
The girls race had 17 runners finish under 19:00.
Randolph High School, which didn’t even win its group championship, upset Red Bank Catholic High School for the team championship, 106-113. Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School was third (140).