JERRY WOLKOWITZ staff Freehold’s Matt Piccarello finishes first at last Friday’s Born to Run race through the streets of Freehold Borough.
Matt Piccarello wasn’t quite ready to believe what high school coach Rob DeFilippis was telling him.
Home for the Thanksgiving Day holiday from the University of Colorado, DeFilippis, his former coach at Red Bank Catholic, told him he was very fit and capable of winning the Born to Run 5-mile race through Freehold Borough, held last Friday.
Piccarello, a star distance and cross country runner for the Caseys, tried to make the University of Colorado cross country team as a walk-on this year. The Buffalos are one of the nation’s cross country powerhouses. They finished sixth at the recent NCAA championships and have the 2003 national champion, Dathan Ritzenhein.
When he didn’t make the Buffalos squad, Piccarello spent the fall working out on his own and picking up what he could from the Colorado harriers. Friday he was interested in getting out and racing again, unsure of where his fitness level was.
"I just wanted to see what I could run," said Piccarello. "I felt I could run pretty well."
An opening mile of 5:15 found him among the lead group of three runners. It was down to two after they toured the back streets of the Borough and entered Topanemus Park at the 3-mile mark. That’s when Piccarello, not sure who he was racing with, picked up on a telltale sign that his competition was in trouble.
"I heard him breathing hard and I knew I had to make a push," he said.
That push in the park carried Piccarello to the win in 26:42.
This was the first time Piccarello, who lives in Freehold, has run the race in his back yard.
"I liked it a lot," he said.
As it turned out, Piccarello needed to make the push in the park not just to get away from the other leaders, but to build a cushion on defending champion Matt Kootman of Red Bank. Kootman closed strongly over the last half of the race to take second in 27:21. A graduate of Middletown South, Kootman is now in graduate school at Boston College.
When opportunity knocked, Little Egg Harbor’s Lisa Wilhelm took full advantage. A Born to Run veteran, Wilhelm picked up her first win in the event by leading all the way and posting a 32:32.
In the Racewalking Division, Horsham, Pa.’s Colleen Glass was the overall winner in 54:12. Red Bank’s Art Glass was the first male (54:18). Long Branch’s Elliott Denman was third (1:01:29).
Among the local age group winners for the men were: 20-24, Kootman; and 50-54, Tom Hall, Lincroft (29:47); 55-59
Women’s age group winners included: 20-24, Marybeth McDonnell, Middletown (37:07) and; 55-59, Pauline Willis, Long Branch (37:54).