BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY MIGUEL JUAREZ staff The lead pack of the varsity boys’ race head toward the finish during Friday’s District Cross Country Championships at Bucks Mill Park in Colts Neck. Personal bests (pb) were the order of the day at Friday’s Freehold Regional District Cross Country Championships.
The pb’s run on the Bucks Mill Park course in Colts Neck allowed the Cougars girls to win a pulsating three-way race with Howell (ranked 10th in the state) and up-and-coming Freehold Township. Personal bests also enabled the Colts Neck boys to win their second straight District crown in a walk.
Marlboro’s Scott Cohen finishes the race in third place in Friday’s District Championships in Colts Neck, with the Cougars’ Zach Tedoff in tow. While Ashley Higginson (19:01) was winning the individual title (as expected) for the Cougars, it was the pb’s by the other scorers, led by Danielle Plenzo (19:49) and Kim Lang (19:52), in third and fourth place, that were enough to overtake the Rebels and Patriots.
Colts Neck edged Howell, 42-49, with Freehold Township third at 63.
Cougar coach Bryan Parks said it was Plenzo and Lang, both breaking 20:00 for the first time, who set the stage for the win — the second in the last four years.
A trio of local harriers sprint to the finish at Friday’s meet in Colts Neck. “We talked about the race yesterday and I told them [Plenzo and Lang] it was going to be three girls from Howell, three girls from Freehold Township and you two,” said Parks. “Whoever wins that pack will win the race. The race will be decided between second and ninth place.”
Howell’s Lindsay Lambert did take second (19:19) place behind Higginson, but the third- and fourth-place finishes of the Cougar seniors built an all but insurmountable lead.
The Cougars put it away with their fourth and fifth runners, Rachel Grande (21:17) Jackie Austin (21:24), finishing 16th and 18th.
“They all stepped up,” Parks pointed out. “Everyone pb’d.”
Higginson, a sophomore, running cross country for the first time, enjoyed the team triumph as much as her first District title.
“The team mattered the most,” she said. “We’ve work so hard for this. We were really excited about the race all day. We really stepped up.”
While Higginson’s win was hardly a surprise, the second-place finish by Howell freshman Lambert certainly was. She ran the race of her young career, improving her 5K pb by a whopping 59 seconds, breaking 20:00 for the first time.
“It felt great,” said Lambert. “I wanted to run in the 19:00s. I didn’t know I was running that fast.”
Higginson was first at the mile mark in 6:00 with Lambert right on her heels. The Cougar, who owns the course record at 18:52, was able to extend the lead over the final 2.1 miles, but Lambert didn’t fold, establishing herself as someone to watch for the rest of the season.
Another frosh, Janel Parker of Freehold Township, finished fifth (20:07).
Rounding out the top 10 were: Megan Patterson, Freehold Borough (20:08); Charlotte Walsh, Freehold Township (20:09); Lauren Wiemken, Howell (20:18); Jenna Brock, Freehold Township (20:19); and Sofia Machado, Manalapan (20:23).
Of the top 10 runners in this race, only the Cougars duo of Plenzo and Lang, and Machado are seniors. The young talent in the District is extraordinary.
Craig Forys had an expected romp over his home course, cruising to his second straight championship in a leisurely, for him, 16:27.
“It’s a big race,” said Forys, who owns the Bucks Mill course record at 15:28. “I want to keep it in the family for a couple more years.”
This was the fourth straight win by the Forys brothers. Matt Forys, running for Howell, was the District champion in 2001 and 2003. Craig won the title last year as a freshman and added his second straight on Friday.
Behind him, the Cougars received pb’s from its other scorers to easily defend their championship with a low score of 24.
Zack Tedoff (16:53), Joey Schauer (17:11) and Brenden Krewer (17:40), ran fourth through sixth for the Cougars, settling the race early. Ian Price was their fifth scorer in eighth place (17:55) while Ryan Jagielski was ninth (17:56).
Coach Jim Schlentz was quite pleased to see six of his runners under 18:00.
“Everyone pb’d,” he noted. “This is a race where your fourth, fifth and sixth runners get to star.”
Star they did as Colts Neck out-distanced runner-up Freehold Township by more that 50 points, 24-75. Howell was third (87).
Freehold Borough’s Mike O’Flaherty had another solid effort in second place (16:44). Marlboro’s Scott Cohen was third (16:53), getting under 17:00 for the first time at Bucks Mill.
Howell’s Mike Newman was seventh (17:41) and Manalapan’s Jesse Eiseman (18:15) was 10th.
Freehold Township relied on pack running to finish second despite not having a top 10 finisher. Matt Doherty was the first Patriot across the line in 13th (18:20), but behind him were four teammates running within 20 seconds of each other.
This was the third District championship for the Cougar boys, having previously won the trophy in 2000 and again in 2003. The 24 points is the third lowest scored ever behind Manalapan’s 17 in 1981 and 20 in 1992, and Marlboro’s 20 in 1998.
Saturday, Forys and Higginson will look to run fast at the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. Forys is running in the Eastern States meet and Higginson, the Manhattan Invitational.
On Tuesday, they will be running for Monmouth County Championships at Holmdel Park.
Last year, Howell’s girls won their first-ever county title and despite the loss Friday at Bucks Mill, remain one of the teams to beat. Certainly, Colts Neck has stamped itself as a contender. On paper, Shore Regional is the team to beat.