The serious part of the cross-country season is arriving, and Red Bank Regional High School’s Lauren Sapone is right where she wants to be.
The junior strung together a series of strong races in September, including a win in her division at the Six Flags Wild Safari Invitational in Jackson Township, running a quick 18:35 for the 5K race.
At the rainy adidas Shore Coaches Invitational on Oct. 4 at Holmdel Park, she was runner-up to Voorhees High School’s Erin McLaughlin (19:07.54-19:22.78) in the Varsity D race.
More impressive was that her time stood up as the 11th overall fastest of the day out of the more than 1,500 harriers who raced that day.
“I’m very pleased with how I’ve been performing,” Sapone said. “I worked really hard in the summer. I put in a lot of work.
“I ran more mileage, and I’ve gotten stronger.”
The Buccaneers’ junior attended the Bennett Running Camp in the Poconos in Pennsylvania, where the campers did a lot of work running hills. That hill work, she said, has helped her negotiate Holmdel Park just a little easier.
Sapone also took part in the Sunday Long Runs at Holmdel High School over the summer.
“They were very helpful,” she said. “There’s less of a willingness to give up [if you’re having a bad day] when you’re running with others. I enjoyed the runs.
Always serious about her running, Sapone pointed out that she is paying more attention to the small details, like icing and stretching, this year.
Sapone has an added motivation this fall. She said she doesn’t believe she reached her full potential in cross-country last year, and she’s ready to atone for that this time around. Not only is she stronger than last year, but she’s coming off a very good track season, where she clocked personal bests of 2:12.59 for 800 meters and 4:57.26 for the 1,600.
The major goals Sapone has set for the season are to run under 18:30 at Holmdel Park and close to 18:20, and to run well at all the major meets and place high at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions (MOC). The Shore Coaches meet, where just about all of the contenders were on Oct. 4, was a good sign for her.
There is one other goal for Sapone, and that is to run the MOC with her teammates.
Red Bank Regional’s girls have also had a solid early season and finished third at the Shore Coaches meet. Senior Marissa Albano finished 14th (20:48.14), freshman Charlotte Cochrane placed 20th (21:02.66), junior Bridgett Kelly was 32nd (21:34.91) and senior Niki Buechel came in 45th (21:57.00) for the Buccaneers.
Next up for Sapone is the challenge of the historic 2.5-mile Van Cortlandt Park course in the Bronx, N.Y., where she will race in the Manhattan Invitational on Oct. 11.
Caseys’ girls first overall
The Shore Coaches meet allowed Red Bank Catholic (RBC) High School to make an early statement, as the Caseys won the Invitational Race over the best in the state. They beat Ridgewood High School, 50-71, with Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School coming in fifth (98).
In the merged results from all the divisions, the Caseys still came out on top. Their 217 points beat Ridge High School (Varsity A winner), which had 271.
Leading RBC was senior MaryKate Mc- Namara (19:43.48) in fifth in the Invitational Race, followed by freshman Caitlin O’Hare (20:00.71) in sixth.
Senior Emily Rienzo was ninth (20:11.41), junior Megan Cronk placed 11th (20:20.70) and junior Gabriella Ferrigine (20:47.12) came in 19th.
Rumson-Fair Haven was led by Rachel Lehnert in fourth (19:25.90) and Hannah Anderson in 10th (20:17.68).
Holmdel’s Marin Warner won the race in 18:55.98. Her time was the third fastest overall.
Shore Regional High School’s girls were runner-up in Varsity E to Robbinsville High School, 84-105.
Sarah George led the Blue Devils in ninth (20:39.81). Sarah Lang was 18th (21:37.96), while Casey Birdsall (21:46.29) placed 20th.
Colts top the field
Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) rested most of its top seven and still won the Boys Invitational Race with 41 points. Voorhees was second (55).
Brian Dengler came in sixth (16:32.24), Patrick Hiler was seventh (16:33.93), Sean Martinek finished eighth (16:38.84), Greg Paugh placed ninth (16:40.71) and Jon Dooling was 11th (16:42.71).
In the merged results, the Colts were first with 113 points.
Van Cortlandt Park and the Manhattan Invitational await CBA and the area’s other top teams.