Mauer finished seventh overall
By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
A year ago, Stephanie Mauer and the Hillsborough High School girls cross country team didn’t have the opportunity to run at the Meet of Champions.
The junior and the Raiders returned with a vengeance this year to place second to Red Bank Catholic at Holmdel Park on Saturday.
”I think we were really happy overall,” said Mauer, who was seventh individually to lead the Raiders. “It would have been nice to win, but I think coming that close to Red Bank Catholic was pretty impressive. We were happy.”
Mauer took seventh in the girls race in 18:38, faster than she ran at the group meet the week before by four seconds. She was the third junior finisher. Paige Novak took 13th in 18:53. Molly Doyle was 25th in 19:21. Kelly Cianciola ran 20:00 for 64th. Courtney Skikus was 74th in 20:09 to close the Raiders’ scoring. Olivia DeLorenzo was just behind in 75th in 20:11. Peri Bongiovanni was just back in 78th in 20:13.
The Raiders placed second to Red Bank Catholic by seven points. Hillsborough scored 95 points. Third-place Ridgewood was well back with 142 points, and Ridge took fourth with 168. Hillsborough averaged 19:24 per finisher.
”I was more excited since last year I missed out on it,” Mauer said. “I went into the race excited for it.”
Brandon Tubby was the lone representative for the Hillsborough boys cross country team in the boys race. The junior placed 50th in 16:38 to cap what has been a huge breakout season.
The Raider girls were happy to break back toward the top of the state after a down finish by their standards last season. Hillsborough has come on strong over the final two weeks of the in-state season to win groups by a point and nearly pull off the MOC victory.
”Overall, everyone was happy and excited,” Mauer said. “Most of us got PRs. We were just happy.
”I knew everyone gave it their all. It’s kind of hard. You go into a race every weekend, and you can’t say you’re perfectly ready because you’re still recovering from the last week. I think everyone gave everything they had and we did well.”
The Raiders have continued to gain confidence through the season as they adjusted to each development. They were highly motivated after a sectionals loss, and came back to win groups, then built on that at the MOC.
”In the beginning of the season, we weren’t really a unit, a team,” Mauer said. “As these meets progress, we became closer and get to know everyone personally and get to know their strengths and weaknesses and help each other get stronger. After we won groups, it lifted our confidence. After running well on the hills of Holmdel, we knew we were aerobically stronger than a lot of team out there and that gave us confidence going into MOCs.”
Mauer tempered her excitement to be back in the MOC with a conservative start that has become routine for here there. She was nowhere near the lead pack in the first half-mile of the race Saturday.
”I got out really slow,” she admitted. “I was maybe 40th going up the first hill. I didn’t really catch everyone until after the roller coasters and then I started edging toward the front pack.”
Mauer was reassured and rewarded for her strategy as she picked off runner after runner on her way toward the front. That pattern would continue until the final stretch coming out of the woods.
”Two people caught me on that stretch,” Mauer said. “I think I was fifth coming out of the woods. I don’t know who got me. Two other girls sprinted me out. They had a much better kick than I did.
”I started catching people and straining myself after ‘The Bowl.’ Near the tennis courts I caught a lot of people. I tried to get as far away as possible in the woods, but I guess it wasn’t that far since they got me in the straightaway.”
It couldn’t take away from another incredible performance and a jump from her freshman year when she last ran at MOC. She used her experience to put together a top-10 finish.
”I was behind Paige until after the roller coasters,” Mauer said. “Paige had a really good start going up the first hill. At Holmdel, I’m not one to go out really hard, especially after that first hill. Freshman year, I was 30th going up the hill and I caught all these people, so you can say, I’m relaxed. I didn’t really worry at all.
”It was similar to groups,” she added. “I had a better start at groups because it wasn’t as crowded. But I think Paige and Molly were ahead of me up the hill. At MOCs, I have a pack to run with, and I was trying to get as far away as possible from the group behind me.”
Her strategy netted her a four-second improvement over last week on a day that for some reason was slower across the board.
”I was pretty happy with my time,” Mauer said. “I kind of wish I got out better, but I’m happy I dropped time from groups and placed a lot higher than freshman year.
”Obviously I wanted to drop time each week, I didn’t know how much time I would drop. I’m happy with how I did.”
Mauer and the Raiders are hoping they still have another couple of drops in them. They go to the Nike Northeast Regionals on Saturday with the hopes of earning one of the top two team finishes to qualify for nationals.
”The season kind of drags on, but I think we’re really excited,” said Mauer, who joined girls swim team practice at HHS this week. “We realize how close we are to Red Bank Catholic and since they’re seeded first for regionals, that gives us more of insight of how we’ll do. I think we’re closer than we realize.”
The Raiders won’t be taking in as much turkey as they prepare for another challenge at regionals. They would like to extend their season beyond the regionals to cap this year.
”It really is motivating,” Mauer said. “It would be exciting for us to go to Oregon. We know we have to work for it.”
Hillsborough has shown it is capable of big things late in the season. The Raiders will go for a third straight week of improvements to piggyback off their MOC performance.
”I didn’t really know what my time was going to be,” Mauer said. “I was just hoping to get into the top 10. I was happy with the results.”