The Howell High School girls were the top public school team at the Monmouth County Cross Country Championships held on Oct. 19 at Holmdel Park. The Rebels finished second behind state power Red Bank Catholic (40-107).
Howell High School’s Jamie Hand sprints toward the finish line at the 2010 Monmouth County Cross Country Championships. Hand finished 15th and helped the Rebels to a second-place finish in the team standings behind Red Bank Catholic. More photos at gmnews.com. ERIC SUCAR staff The Rebels did not have a runner in the top 10, but they stacked their five scorers within 1:01 of each other to beat every other team except RBC.
Aileen Rivell was first to the line for Howell in 12th place (20:15), followed by Jamie Hand (20:23) in 15th place. Laura Kochenash (20:57) and Francesca Dee (21:02) were 25th and 26th, respectively. Rounding out the scoring for Howell in 30th place was Tara Nealon (21:16).
The good news for Howell is that all five runners are expected to be back in 2011, and Rivell, who is a junior, is the only upperclassman in the group.
Coach John Hein, whose Rebels had previously won the Shore Coaches Invitational and the Shore Conference A North Division crown this year, said the Rebels’ team average (20:46) at the county meet was 15 seconds faster than they had run at the Shore Coaches Invitational. That is a promising sign with the Shore Conference and Central Jersey state meets approaching.
The top individual local girl was Colts Neck High School junior Arielle Weiner, who was eighth (20:04). The winner of the county crown was returning champion Molly McNamara from RBC, who posted a time of 18:31 for the 3.1-mile course.
Other top finishers from the Freehold Regional High School District were Freehold Township’s Brianne Roche, 14th (20:19), Colts Neck’s Megan O’Dowd, 24th (20:50), and Freehold’s Kim Dana, 28th (21:12).