Even before the start of last Saturday’s Meet of Champions, Caroline Mehlhorn had already had an impressive freshman season for the Montgomery High girls’ cross -country team.
Mehlhorn had won the Somerset County and Central Jersey, Group IV meets earlier this season, while also finishing fourth at the Skyland Conference meet and fifth at the state Group IV race.
But she saved her best for last, covering the course at Holmdel Park in 18 minutes, 25 seconds to finish fifth at the Meet of Champions state race.
“I went into this race just hoping to get into the top 15,” said Mehlhorn, the only freshman to finish in the top 19 in the race. “Finishing fifth was so amazing and I am so excited.
“Last race (the Group IV meet a week earlier) I went out really slow and that made it so hard to get back to where I wanted to be. Today I just went out with the front pack and I just tried to stay with them as long as I could. My splits were about 20 seconds faster per mile and it just made everything better.”
Mehlhorn was 27 seconds faster at the Meet of Champions than she had been at the Group IV meet. The winner of the Meet if Champions was Abby Loveys of Randolph, who finished in 17:54.
“She left everything on the course,” Montgomery coach Tom Huelbig said. “She did a phenomenal job and we’re so proud of her. Last week she ran about the seventh-fastest time. So we figured she would be somewhere between fifth, sixth or tenth. The top 10 was the goal.
“She changed her race strategy a little bit. She wasn’t happy with the way she ran last week strategy-wise. So we decided it would be better for her to go out harder. Her big advantage in races is her finish and the finish here is flat and downhill. So she loses a lot of that advantage. So she went out hard. She beat her mile split last week by 13 seconds and by 24 seconds at the two-mile. She ran a PR on this course.”
Mehlhorn was not intimated running against the top runners in the state. And after her performance at the Meet of Champions, she can rightly take her place right with those top runners.
“I knew that high school was going to be a lot different and a lot more competition so I would never have expected to be placing so well in these,” Mehlhorn said. “All my hard work is paying off.”
Mehlhorn’s performance this year certainly didn’t take Huelbig by surprise. She is one of five freshman who make up the Cougars’ top five this year and they all have the kind of work ethic that will lead to success.
“We expected big things from her coming in and she has the mentality to do it,” Huelbig said. “She’s tough as nails and you could see the progression all the way through. She practices great and she ran great today.
“I taught her in the middle school. I’m very good friends with the middle school coach, Rob Scarpa. He’s been talking about this group of freshmen coming up for years and they were everything he said they were and beyond. She works hard. She hits every split in practice. So this isn’t a surprise. She’s very coachable but she gets all the credit. She’s just a phenomenal kid and a phenomenal runner.”
Having her friends and teammates making the move to the high school level with her has helped ease the transition. And she’s gained experience with each race this season, culminating in an incredible performance at the Meet of Champions.
“It helps so much to have them with me,” Mehlhorn said. “And my friends are here today just cheering me on and it makes me run faster in races and workouts. They are just great to have as teammates.
“It was really tight in the beginning but I was able to get to the front and pass some girls. But I was in a good spot right from the start. I really like running here. And knowing which hills are coming and which downhills has helped a lot with my times.”