Freehold Township High School’s Ciara Roche secured all-state honors finishing sixth at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions Nov. 21 at Holmdel Park. Roche’s time for the 5K race, 18:30, is third best all-time among Freehold Regional High School District cross-country runners. STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER ERIC SUCAR For Ciara Roche, the high school crosscountry season was all about making up for lost time.
After a smashing freshman season in which she qualified for the Meet of Champions (MOC), illness and injury held back the Freehold Township High School standout’s sophomore and junior seasons.
She came into 2015 with her best times still from her freshman campaign. That didn’t sit well with the track state champion, and this fall was all about leaving her mark on the sport.
Roche made her final high school crosscountry race in New Jersey — the MOC Nov. 21 — everything she wanted it to be. She finished sixth to earn all-state recognition, and she lowered her Holmdel Park personal best and school record to 18:30.
“I was very happy with how [the season] ended,” said Roche, who announced she is going to Cornell University next fall. “I got everything done I wanted to accomplish.”
Among them was a string of personal bests and school records that rank with the best harriers from the Freehold Regional High School District. The 17:40 mark she ran at the Shore Conference Championships on the 5K course at Ocean County Park in Lakewood ranks her second all-time behind only former Colts Neck High School star Ashley Higginson (17:32).
The senior moved up to No. 4 all-time at Thompson Park (18:50).
Roche’s Holmdel Park time of 18:30 moved her ahead of former Howell High School great Lindsey Gallo (18:55) to No. 3 all-time behind only the Colts Neck duo of Higginson (17:50) and Briana Jackucewicz (18:20). Roche said she was determined to give everything she had at her final MOC. “It was going to be my last race at Holmdel, and I wanted to make the most of it,” she said. “I was never going to give up.”
Roche used her sheer willpower and track speed to reel in one runner after another in the final mile of the 5K race, moving up through the field into the top 10. She outdueled St. John Vianney High School’s Nora Honrath in final 200 meters for sixth place.
Having secured all-state and run a number of fast times, Roche accomplished something she had been looking to achieve over the last two year: prove that she is a complete runner.
Howell’s Niamh Hayes finished 21st at the MOC with a time of 19:17.
Hayes, a junior, had lowered her Holmdel Park personal best to 18:57 this year, ranking her fifth all-time in the district.
Mainland Regional High School’s Alyssa Aldridge was the individual champion at the MOC, winning in 18:07. The team championship went to Ridge High School with 72 points.
Hayes enjoyed the finest cross-country season of her career, winning the South Jersey Group IV championship en route to the MOC.
Colts Neck’s Jordan Brannan completed his breakout season by finishing 13th in the boys race, lowering his Holmdel personal best to 16:08. It was an improvement of 17 seconds and moved the junior up to sixth all-time in the district.
Brannan credited a change in game plan for his personal best.
“I switched it up,” he said. “I had been going out too fast for the first mile, and it paid off.”
Because of his more conservative approach at the start of the race, Brannan was much stronger over the final mile. When everyone else was falling back, Brannan moved up and found a lift in his legs that allowed him to win a pack sprint to the finish for 13th and all-state honors.
“That’s very unlike me,” he said about his finishing kick. “I hit another gear.”
The Cougars’ standout also hit another level in his running. He was fourth among the harriers at the MOC who will be returning next fall, which means he has joined the state’s elite. He is ready for his new status, which he believes carries with it an obligation to make the most of his talent.
“I kind of have a responsibility to train harder,” he said.
Colts Neck’s boys, who were the Central Jersey Group III champions and Group III runners-up, finished ninth at the MOC for the Cougars’ highest finish at the event.
Anthony Russo (16:46), Zach Csipkay (16:57), Rick Sommer (17:24) and Gavin Mc- Donnell (17:36) were the other Colts Neck scorers, placing 33rd, 44th, 72nd and 82nd.
Highland Regional High School’s Joshua Clark won the MOC crown in 15:33.
Christian Brothers Academy rebounded from its loss at the Group Championships (Non-Public A) to capture its record-tying sixth consecutive MOC title and 21st overall by five points over Don Bosco Preparatory High School, 87-92.