Freehold Township High School’s Ciara Roche put together one of the finest cross-country seasons in Freehold Regional High School District history. She finished sixth at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions at Holmdel Park. STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER ERIC SUCAR The exploits of Freehold Township High School’s Ciara Roche and Howell High School’s Niamh Hayes highlighted another outstanding girls’ cross-country season in the Freehold Regional High School District (FRHSD).
Roche, a senior, made up for lost time this fall, and Hayes took her running to another level.
While Roche and Hayes were the outstanding individuals, Colts Neck High School surprised at the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group III meet by capturing the sectional championship at Thompson Park with a low score of 55 points. The Cougars came up with their best collective effort of the season in their upset win. It was the program’s seventh sectional title.
Roche and Hayes top the News Transcript’s 2015 All- FRHSD Girls’ Cross-Country Team. Completing the squad are Freehold Township’s Rose Barrett and Alexandra Simon, Manalapan High School’s Kiera Nealon and Colts Neck’s Kayleigh Hoagland and Liz O’Horo.
Until this fall, Roche considered her cross-country career incomplete. After a great freshman season, injuries and illness plagued her during her sophomore and junior seasons. She entered the 2015 season with her Holmdel Park and Ocean County Park personal bests still from her freshman campaign. Lowering those times was one goal, and getting back to the Meet of Champions (MOC) was another. Along with those goals, Roche wanted to prove she is a complete runner who can excel in both track and crosscountry. Roche succeeded in those goals and more.
She opened her season in third place at the Monmouth County Championships. That meet helped her shake off the competitive rust, and it was all uphill from there as she put up times that rank with the district’s best.
At the Shore Conference Championships at Ocean County Park, Roche was second, clocking 17:40 — the second fastest time ever run by a district harrier there behind only Colts Neck great Ashley Higginson (17:32). The time was also a school record. She finished second at the Central Jersey, Group IV meet, lowering her Thompson Park and school record to 18:49.58 (No. 4 all-time for district runners). Roche took third at the Group IV championships, finally getting her Holmdel Park best under 19:00 (18:53). In her final race at Holmdel, Roche made it one to remember by lowering her mark to 18:30, finishing sixth and earning all-state honors. Her new school record is third fastest all time in the district.
The last race of Roche’s career was at historic Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, New York, at the Foot Locker Northeast Championships, where she finished 17th (18:44) and made the Foot Locker All-Northeast Regional Team.
During the season, Roche announced she will continue her academic and athletic career at Cornell University.
Hayes, whose 2014 season was also affected by illness, put together the best all-around season of her career. The high point was the South Jersey, Group IV Championships, where she won her first major cross-country title. Running an unfamiliar course at Delsea Regional High School, the Rebels’ standout followed the leaders for the first half of the race and then put the pedal to the metal to win the race in the fastest time of her career, 18:01.60.
The junior was third at the Shore Coaches Invitational, second in Monmouth County, seventh in the Shore Conference, fourth in Group IV — clocking 18:57 at Holmdel Park, second only to the state champion Lindsey Gallo’s school record 18:55 — and 21st at the MOC, which was good enough to earn all-state recognition. Hayes’ Holmdel personal best is the fifth best in district history. She has next fall to move higher on the district’s all-time lists.
Barrett, a senior, enjoyed a breakout year, starting with an eighth-place finish in the Senior race at the Cherokee Challenge and her 10th-place showing in the county. The senior followed that up in 16th at the Shore Conference meet (19:05), and she was eighth in Central Jersey, Group IV and 36th in Group IV. Manalapan’s Nealon had another solid season on the hills and dales. She was 14th in the county, 13th in the conference (18:55) and 31st in Central Jersey Group IV. The junior has another year to improve her times and point toward qualifying for the MOC.
Hoagland, a senior, provided a steady influence on a young Cougars team that put it all together when it mattered most at the state sectional. Hoagland was the team’s top runner throughout the season. She finished 11th at the Six Flags Invitational, seventh in the Class Meet at Thompson Park, 16th in the county, 25th in the conference and eighth in Central Jesey, Group III, leading the Cougars to the sectional title.
O’Horo and Simon represent the future. Both are freshmen.
O’Horo was 32nd in the county, 47th in the Shore Conference (20:01) and 14th in the state sectional.
Simon took 33rd in the county and 40th in the conference (19:47). She was 35th in the state sectional.