Rancan raised expectations
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Christina Rancan was out with the top pack at the Northeast Nike Cross Country Regionals.
It’s a spot that the junior from West Windsor-Plainsboro High South has grown to expect of herself.
”From freshman year and last year, I wouldn’t start off as fast as now,” Rancan said. “I spent my freshman and sophomore year gaining confidence. I’ve definitely gained confidence in myself. I’m more willing to make a move early on in a race. I believe in myself that I belong up there.”
Rancan has raised her expectations every season of high school, and this year she came in with hopes that grew even after last cross country season. She had such a good track season at the close of her sophomore year that she raised her standards further.
”I had no idea I’d end up running the mile and doing as well as I did,” said Rancan, who ran a school-record 4:52.70 to end last spring. “That showed me I could run a pretty fast mile and changed my expectations.”
The Pirate girls cross country team also had huge expectations after returning most of their team. Both Rancan and the Pirates enjoyed seasons that would by almost any team’s standards be incredible, but they want even more.
”I’m not ungrateful for the way that we finished,” Rancan said. “I think there are a lot of things that I’m very grateful for — being blessed to run so well. But there are also a lot of things I could have done better. I do have regrets, but that’s just going to make me want to do better in track and next year in cross country.”
Rancan took second in the girls championship division in the Shore Coaches Invitational as the Pirates finished fourth, only two points behind second place. At the Mercer County Championship, Rancan’s second-place finish led WW-P South to a narrow win over Princeton High. It was the Pirates’ third straight county win. They have not lost since Rancan’s class arrived.
Rancan was second at the Central Jersey Group IV championships while running 30 seconds faster than she had on the same course two weeks earlier for counties. The Pirates edged Hillsborough for the team championship. At the Group IV state meet, she placed fifth, and the Pirates earned an at-large bid to the Meet of Champions after placing fifth as a team. There, Rancan ran a personal-best 18:53 at Holmdel Park for 12th place and the Pirates placed ninth before she wrapped up her season in 30th place in a strong regionals field.
”PR’ing is such a blessing,” Rancan said. “I was definitely looking for a much bigger PR. It’s something I was looking toward, but I’m grateful I was able to PR.”
Christina Rancan is the Princeton Packet Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.
”Obviously last year and this year, she’s always been a remarkable runner,” said Pirates coach Josh Siegel. “This year, she took on a larger role. She became a leader. As a sophomore, she followed along. This year, she took on that role of responsibility and helped with the team.
”She’s not afraid to tell the girls that they’re working great or they need to work a little harder. She’ll be a little more proactive and speak out during our team talks and give suggestions and great feedback. The rest of the girls respect her for her abilities and her advice and the way she carries herself.”
Rancan had hoped to drop even more time this season, and it will push her as she heads into the indoor track season as hungry as ever.
”I look at it as an opportunity to gain more experience and work on my speed a little and my endurance,” Rancan said. “I really don’t have a preference (between cross country and track). It’s whatever I’m doing at the moment. During winter track, I’ll say winter track. During outdoor I’ll say outdoor, and during cross country I say cross country. I kind of just enjoy whatever I’m doing at the moment.”
Rancan put together another season at the front for the Pirates. She was the top finisher for the South girls in every race over the final six weeks of the year. Her times dropped each time that she ran a course again. She lowered her times at Thompson Park from counties to sectionals, then lowered her Holmdel times from groups to MOC.
”She’s always been consistent,” Siegel said. “Another year under her belt gives her more confidence in her abilities. She understands there’s always a little more and she can push herself harder.”
Rancan has seen steady improvement each year. This year, she just wanted to see even more, and that drive is pushing her to come back even better.
”It’s definitely going to add motivation,” she said. “I really want to go out there and improve on reaching my goals for indoor track since I didn’t really get as fast as I would have liked. It’ll add another level of motivation. This week, we’ve all been thinking about it and it’s influencing the way we practice and run workouts. It’s definitely going to be a motivator for all of us.”
Rancan is hoping that she and the rest of the Pirates can be even more mentally tough next year. She believes that will carry them even farther. WW-P South will be looking to again defend its county title. Rancan has never seen the Pirates lose a county title race.
”Winning counties was really nice,” she said. “It was definitely the direction we were looking to go. It just felt great to be a part of something with our team. It’s such a great thing to represent our school, and there are others that will come after us and it was great for them to see us uphold the tradition.”
It’s getting to be a tradition to see Rancan at the front of the Pirates. In her second year, she got to be more comfortable in that front-runner role for races.
”She doesn’t really let it get to her,” Siegel said. “She’s composed and cool under pressure. She understands the expectations. She goes out there and gets it done.”
Rancan is just trying to score as low a number as possible for her team. She’s always been more concerned about the team than herself, and that drives her to run her hardest to the end.
”One of the things that our coaches have stressed to our whole team is really giving your all to the finish line,” Rancan said. “Even I’ve experienced races where I’ve slowed down towards the end and it’s cost me places and time. It’s not something that someone enjoys, not finishing well. Our coaches really preach finishing strong and kicking it in at the end of a race. I try to keep that in mind and always give it my all and run through the finish line.”
The Pirates changed their training some this year. They tried to build themselves up to be strongest at the end.
”We worked harder and longer into the season,” Rancan said. “We started this summer and worked hard through counties building up our fitness. Also we have a squatting machine that we do once or twice a week that I think really helped, especially with those hills at Holmdel and Wappinger Falls. That was great. I really felt the benefits of that this year. Other than that, what we do is relatively similar every year.”
The dedication kept the Pirates at the top of the county again and among the best teams in the state. The standards continue to drive their team.
”The amount of effort and time that we put into the program between then and now, we expected a lot more of ourselves,” Rancan said. “We are still thankful, we’re still grateful for the amazing season we did have — just because it’s wasn’t as great as we thought it would be doesn’t mean it wasn’t great. We still had a lot of fun, we accomplished a lot, things that any team would be happy to say they accomplished.
”Looking back on our history this year, we wanted to really improve this year, take a step forward from where we were, branch out a little bit. We’re still really happy with how we did, still grateful.”
Rancan is hoping that she and the Pirates can do even more on the track. Her versatility and competitiveness make her valuable wherever WW-P South puts her. They are confident that Rancan can come back even better next year.
”I think with her abilities and mature mindset, the sky’s the limit,” Siegel said. “She’s a phenomenal young lady. She responds so well to the training and any coaching we give her. She’s so level-headed, she’ll go out and do whatever needs to be done.”
Rancan will start shaping her goals for her final scholastic season of cross country in track. The track seasons carry a lot of influence on her standards.
”As a sophomore my expectations for junior year of cross country were quite different before and after spring track,” Rancan said. “Your ability to work on your set goals, speed and endurance and what I end up focusing on next season and spring season will greatly affect my expectations for next year. I’m really looking forward to having fun and cutting more time off my PRs and bringing the team another county title would be amazing and going out there and giving it our best.”