Cranford 2007 Cross Country Review

The first championship meet of the year can often be a daunting time for a team with as many new runners as the Cranford girls, but the Cougars used it as a stepping stone to show everyone that while the team members may be new, the success would continue.

With four freshmen among their top six, the Cougars just missed edging out favored Arthur L Johnson High School at the Mountain Valley Conference championship. The Crusaders, who two weeks later would later take their first Union County title, edged the Cougars 33-39 but Coach Tim Styler saw the meet as a turning point for a strong season that serves as a building block for the next three.

“We had a lot of new kids that weren’t sure how good they were, but the MVC meet showed them that they were ready to compete,” said Cranford Coach Tim Styler.

As they did all year, junior Joy Hanke, one of the team’s two returning runners, and freshman Alisa Commerato led the way finishing third and fourth respectively.

“We knew that Joy and (senior) Erin Hannen would give us two solid experienced runners but you’re never sure what to expect from your newcomers,” said Styler.

‘Alisa ran great as a freshman, it took a little while for her to come out of her shell and compete but she did an amazing job. Certainly the future looks promising for her and the girls,” said Styler.

“The Miller twins and Julia Langone ran a very gutsy and impressive fall
along with Junior Meghan Monahan. The all continued to improve and you
could see a vast difference from when they started to the end of the year,” said Styler.

Like the boys the girls qualified for the state finals by finishing third with 86 points in the Group II Section 2 races held at Warinanco Park Saturday November 3.

“We are very happy to have qualified to run in the state finals. It is a tremendous experience to be able to mix it up with the state’s best runners,” a said Styler.

Hanke led the girls with a fifth place finish, running a personal best of 20:21.97 (6:14 per mile) on the championship course. She also paced the team to a tenth place finish in the state championships with a 21^st overall.

In addition to Hanke, Styler was happy to have the experienced leadership that Hannen provided.

Westfield 2007 Girls Cross Country Review

For most cross country programs an undefeated dual meet season and conference title would be cause for celebration but the Westfield Girls are no ordinary program and coaches Thom Hornish and Jen Buccino are hoping the 2007 season will be looked back on as the season where the Blue Devils began to regain their dominance in the county and state. By winning their first Watchung Conference title in five years, Westfield broke an uncustomary drought, the longest in the history of the program.

The coaches had a difficult challenge replacing their top three runners, Nicole, DiBenedetto, Kim Legones and Ayn Wisler, who all graduated.

“They were tough to replace. We had a young team this year which aside from Rose Driscoll is still learning the sport,” said Buccino.

Lending optimism is the youth of the varsity leaders as well as considerable talent from the freshmen and junior varsity teams. The Blue Devils swept the conference and county tiles in both the freshmen and junior varsity divisions and placed third in both the JV and the freshmen state championship meet that was implemented this year at Thompson's Park in Jamesburg. The team also dominated the class championships at the Stewart Invitational and qualified for the state championships for the 31^st straight year.

“Overall it was a good season. We won the Class, which to me is a real test of team, similar to a relay in track and the Conference and went undefeated in dual meets,” noted Buccino.

The Blue Devils lose Driscoll, Marissa Mumford, Tessa Schaaf, Caitlin Burke, and Lindsay Tishberg from their line up but have a strong returning group that gained valuable experience this year.

Junior Aileen Grogan, who was second in the Watchung Conference and should be one of the county’s best next year, led the team.

“She is just beginning to realize how good she can be,” said Buccino.

Fellow juniors Bridget Grogan, Alexis Constantine, Allie Lowenstein and Liz McCarthy were also major contributors.

“They will be great leaders next year as they look to end their careers with a special season,” said Buccino.

“At our final meeting of the season I had the girls write down what they were willing to commit to do for next year to make her individual and team season better. If they follow through, we could see a different team. We have to step up if we are going to keep up with the competition and the kids are receptive to doing that,” added Buccino.

First year sophomores, Sharon Faktor, Becky Castaldo, and Megan Pulliam all represented the varsity team throughout the season. The Blue Devils also return some unsung runners who rose through the ranks all season but just missed the varsity cutoff, such as juniors Chelsea Bryk and Casey Reimlinger and sophomore Karaugh Ball.

The Blue Devils also have a spectacular freshman class led by the “A-Team” of Alyssa Hatch, Abbie Kwok and Alex Frankel as well as Evan Hindes and Meghan Suriano The team finished with 85 girls, including 17 seniors, but there were 30 juniors, 17 sophomores and 21 freshmen.

“The numbers are a challenge to work with but I will say that we do have the right spirit within our team. The girls really do aspire to make the top twelve to be a part of the state championship portion of the season. This year, our varsity line up changed constantly. Fifteen different girls earned a spot throughout season, ranging from freshmen and rookies through fourth year seniors in the hunt for the first time in their careers,” said Buccino.

With an ever changing line up it is important that every person on our team accepts the changes and is genuinely supportive of the person who is new to step up and that is definitely the case, year in and year out,” said Buccino.

SPF,Westfield Boys 2007 XC teams make state finals

An invasion of strong teams from the Skyland Conference dominated the Group IV Section II meet last Saturday and nearly ended the season for the Westfield Boys team, which was able to regroup for a fifth place finish and make the state finals for the 14^th straight season.

Hunterdon Central, Bridgewater Raritan, Phillipsburg and Franklin took the first four spots before the Blue Devils edged another Skyland team, North Hunterdon and earned a chance to compete this Saturday at Holmdel.

“This was the deepest section in quite a while. There were many teams with a solid five runners,” added Martin

Joining them will be rival Scotch Plains Fanwood, which qualified fourth behind powerful Millburn, which placed five of its runners in the top eleven to win easily with 25 points.

The Raiders and Blue Devils battled through difficult conditions which included winds that blew up to 40 miles per hour.

“The wind made things difficult but it affected everyone. Warinanco Park is very tough when it is windy. It takes mental toughness to overcome it,” noted Martin.

Leading Westfield was senior Alex Tarlow, who was 13^th in 17:19.55(5:18 per mile). Seniors Evan Friedman followed in 23^rd in 17:44.93 and Gus Gibbons 30^th in 17:56.92. According to Martin the heroes were the two sophomores, Ryan Scrudato and Tyler Cusick who were 33^rd and 34^th.

Also competing were junior Julian Applebaum, in 44^th (18:13.29) and senior Brendan Berkowitz in 49^th (18:23.39). The team averaged 17:47.

“Obviously we were a little disappointed. If we had run a little better we would have been third. Gibbons, Scrudato, and Cusick were solid,” said Martin.

After dominating the Watchung Conference meet on October 18 and squeaking through in the Union County meet the following week, the Blue Devils were not at the top of their game Saturday, a development that has their coach concerned but happy that they have another chance.

“The goal of Sectionals is to make it to the next level. We will see what happens next Saturday.”

The Raiders continued a familiar formula from recent meets with Union county champion Patrick Doliber leading the way in seventh place against the strongest field he has faced all year. Doliber ran 17:07.53, averaging 5:15 per mile. Junior Martin Sweeney, who has been the Raiders’ number two runner all year, was ninth in 17:12.51. Following close behind in 13^th place in 17:25.89 was the comeback story of the year, senior Dan Sapienza, who missed most of last year and the early 2007 season with injuries.

Senior Mike Ragan was 33^rd in 18:13.32, followed by sophomores Brandon Wheeler 40^th in 18:27.08, Brian Walsh 42^nd in 18:36.61 and Bobby Evans 46^th in 18:45.46. The Raiders averaged 17:41.27

Westfield,SPF Girls 2007 XC teams make state finals

Tremendous depth, which has been the hallmark of the Westfield Girls Cross country team all season, enabled Coach Thom Hornish’s team to survive the tough Group IV Section II meat and live to compete another week. Tied with Skyland conference power Phillipsburg after five runners for the coveted final qualifying place, the Blue Devils sixth runner Bridgett Grogan finished 18 places ahead of the sixth Phillipsburg runner enabling Westfield to qualify for Saturday’s state finals at Holmdel Park.

Once again junior Aileen Grogan paced the team with a 14^th place in 21:12.90 (6:30.2), followed by dependable senior Rose Driscoll, 2oth in 21:24.07. Quickly improving sophomore, Sharon Faktor, who ran with the junior varsity earlier in the season, came up with a huge effort, finishing 32^nd in a personal best 22:06. Juniors Alexis Constantine and Allie Lowenstein finished in 33^rd and 38^th respectively in times of 22:12.48 and 22:22.52, leaving the Blue Devils tied until Bridget Grogan, normally the team’s number three runner clinched the meet with a 45^th in 22:43.30. Sophomore Rebecca Castaldo also finished ahead of Phillipsburg’s sixth runner with a 23:05 for 57^th.

“Bridget is battling some hip pain and had a cramp during the race, but pushed through and made the difference in our making the trip next weekend,” said assistant coach Jen Buccino.

Buccino was also pleased with her newer runners.

“Sharon Faktor is new to the team this year, and dropped her Stewart Memorial time from 24:41 to 22:06 today, so that was huge for her. Alexis Constantine dropped her time from 22:41 to 22:12, Driscoll tied her PR and Aileen Grogan dropped her PR a few seconds. Castaldo had a stomach virus this week and has not had time to completely recover yet. Competition was fierce, and we knew that going into this race,” said Buccino.

“We needed all seven to go well beyond her personal best, to place higher than we did today. We are happy and honored to move on and have a shot at improving our times at Holmdel next weekend.”

Buccino is certain that the young team will thrive from their participation.

“Every competitive experience you can offer is valuable. The girls have learned so much this season about their racing, their competition, and about the importance of summer conditioning. We did a lot of tweaking in our lineup this season, which gave a lot of different kids the opportunity to step up and represent. Considering all the changes in the lineup, all the pressure to earn and to keep a spot, and all the intense competition they faced, they did a great job this season and have much to look forward to in the future,” added Buccino.

With Skyland powers, Voorhees, the state’s number one team, and Ridge in the field, the Scotch Plains Fanwood Girls Cross country team knew they would be battling for one of the final three spots. As expected, Voorhees dominated, taking the first three spots and six of the first eight to win with twenty points, while Ridge put all seven of its runners in the top 23 to finish second with 62 points. The Raiders finished a comfortable fourth with 127 points, easily ahead of fifth place West Morris-Mendham.

Senior Cathy Harley once again led Coach Rob Rafferty’s team with a 14^th place in 20:18.92 Junior Brittney Veeck, continuing to battle illness, finished 20^th in 20:49.84, followed by senior Cassy Valdes 22^nd in 20:52.35. Junior Emily Carow, the teams most improved runner had another fine race, finishing 29^th in 21:55.05. It was a busy weekend for the Carow family, with Emily’s father Mark, running a 3:38 in the New York Marathon on Sunday. Senior newcomer Kate Johnson blasted another personal best in 23:03.48 to clinch the Raiders’ second straight trip to the finals. They hope to do better than last year when they only finished four runners. Freshman Chana Biner added a personal best 23:29.06 for 52^nd place.

Cranford XC teams make 2007 state finals

Cranford Cross Country Coach Tim Styler’s young teams both earned an extra week of competition by placing in the top five in their respective races at the Group II Section 2 races held at Warinanco Park Saturday November 3. The girl’s team, with four freshmen in their top six, finished third with 86 points, trailing only winner Chatham and Bernards. The Cougars actually had a faster team average time than Bernards running 21:34.41, which comes out to under seven minutes per mile for their top five. With sophomore Will Smith smashing his personal best for the second straight week, the boys squeezed into the fifth and final qualifier, defeating Rutherford by 19 points. Each team will compete in the state championships to be held Saturday at Holmdel Park.

“We are very happy to have qualified both of our teams to run in the state finals,” said Styler, who ran in the championships each of his years with the Cranford varsity.

“It is a tremendous experience to be able to mix it up with the state’s best runners and experience the Holmdel course. It will help everyone over the next few years,” said Styler.

The heavy favorites in the Group II girl’s race is expected to be Haddonfield, one of the state’s top teams that took the first four places in its South race.

“We will not be one of the top contenders there. We are not expecting miracles but we will be there competing and hoping for as many personal bests as possible,” added Styler.

Junior Joy Hanke led the girls with a fifth place finish, running a personal best of 20:21.97 (6:14 per mile) on the championship course. Finishing just behind her in sixth was spectacular freshman Alisa Commerato, who was sixth in 20:27.70. Senior Erin Hannen had another solid performance finishing ninth in 21:10.58.

The freshman Miller twins completed the scoring for the Cougars. Bridget Miller ran a personal best 21:59.74 for 19^th and Veronica Miller was 48^th in 23:52.02. Freshman Julia Langone was 58^th in 24:09.66 and junior Meagan Monahan was 60^th in 24:14.

Smith was in a pack with eventual winner Thomas Lavelle of Chatham and Mountain Valley conference (MVC) champion Christopher Johnson of Governor Livingston, who finished second.

“We are still working on Will’s strength. That will come with more experience and more mileage over the next season,” said Styler.

“Will certainly has the leg speed and turnover to stay with most top runners,” added Styler.

Fellow sophomore Roy Colicchio continued his solid season with a 25^th with a 18:13.20 and senior Stephen Phillips was 34^th in 18:36.84 Freshman Michael Cassidy was 38^th in 18:47.70 and junior Miguel Caulfield was right behind in 18:50.76 for 41^st.

Also competing were Senior William Albert was 52nd in 19:13.81 and junior Tyler Schott, 54th in 19:25.91) as the boys averaged 18:18.

Westfield Girls win 2007 Watchung XC title

Depth continues to provide the winning formula for the Westfield Girls cross country team. After carving out a 9-0 dual meet record, the Blue Devils needed every one of their balanced top seven runners to edge defending champion Scotch Plains Fanwood 42-45 at the Watchung Conference championship meet held Thursday at Warinanco Park in Elizabeth. Westfield withstood a gutsy victory by SPF’s outstanding junior Brittney Veeck to annex its first team title in five years, the longest drought in school history. Westfield had last won in 2002, when it earned its seventh straight title.

Veeck fought off the effects of bronchitis, and then had to withstand the allergic reactions to the medication which induced hives, dizziness and nausea. An hour before the race Veeck was staggering due to dizzy spells. Despite her physical issues and a week of light workouts, Veeck was able to run 20:30.8, defeating Westfield sophomore Aileen Grogan by eight seconds. After finishing second to Plainfield’s Jahlisa Smith a year ago, Veeck became the first Raider girl to win an individual conference title in cross country title, adding to her outdoor track 1,600-meters title won last spring. Her victory was reminiscent of 2006, when Raider Adam Biner won the boy’s race after being hospitalized earlier in the week. Biner’s sister, freshman Chana Biner, competed for the Raiders in the girl’s race.

Veeck’s victory and a third place finish by senior Cassy Valdes gave the Raiders a big advantage but Westfield coach Thom Hornish and assistant Jen Buccino have built a team of remarkable balance and depth where the first and 20^th runners are only separated by one minute. Often that type of squad is not always able to win championship meets against teams that have several outstanding runners. The Raiders took first, third, eighth and 12^th, which is usually enough to win a big meet but Westfield countered with Rose Driscoll (fifth, 21:04.1), junior Bridget Grogan (10th, 21:44.0), sophomore Rebecca Castaldo (13th, 22:04.2) and senior Tessa Schaaf (14th, 22:26.0). finishing right behind in 15^th and 16^th were Allie Lowenstein (22:39) and Alexis Constantine (22:40).

“Yes the score was closer than I was hoping for. The girls gave it their best though. I am sure they were feeling tremendous pressure after being named the favorite in the paper, after a five year gap since our last title, and after an undefeated season. They wanted this very badly and I hope that this will give them the confidence to step things up for next week (Union County championships),” said Buccino, who was proud of Grogan’s strong finish.

“Aileen did a great job, and dropped her time from 21:45 to 20:39. At two miles SPF had two runners ahead of our first. And while we had seven ahead of their 5th at two miles, there was not enough cushion to count on coming out on top because SPF had countered with 4 ahead of our 5th. Aileen caught Union's Hyppollite and SPF's Valdes with about 300 meters to go. Additionally, with 300 meters to go, Bridget Grogan kicked and caught SPF's Carow before the finish for 10th which gave the additional help” said Buccino.

Cranford Girls 2007 XC MVC

For the most part the names and faces have changed for the Cranford High School girls cross country team, but even with the school’s most talented senior class now on college campuses, a new group of girls is serving notice that the Cougars should not be overlooked.

With four freshmen among their top six, the Cougars just missed edging out favored Arthur L Johnson High School at last week’s Mountain Valley Conference championship held at Warinanco Park. The Crusaders took the top two places in the race to defeat Cranford 33-39 but Coach Tim Styler saw much to be pleased about.

“We came into the season with two girls returning from last year's championship squad and we expected a run from A.L. Johnson. They were second to us last year and returned most of their squad. They ran very well at the conference race this year and were able to sneak two girls in front of our top three,” said Styler. Earlier in the season Johnson had edged the Cougars by two points in a dual meet.

Junior Joy Hanke, one of the team’s two returning runners, finished third in 20:52.20, just ahead of freshman Alisa Commerato fourth in 20:57.99 and the team’s other veteran, senior Erin Hannen fifth in 21:05.73

In only her first year of cross-country, Commerato has already turned heads with her strong consistent runs. “Alisa is finally getting into the habit of getting out faster. Alisa has natural speed and we are seeing steady improvement out of her. She and the other freshman have come along nicely this season and have really been a nice surprise for us,” said Styler,

Freshman twins Bridget and Veronica Miller finished ninth and 18^th respectively and freshman Julia Lagone was 19^th “The Miller twins, Bridget and Ronnie are rounding out our top five. They are getting stronger as the season progresses. Both have taken the
challenge of running with the older girls and push themselves in races

to stay within striking distance of the other girls,” added Styler, who is pleased the way that his veterans have led the youngsters. Also competing in the junior varsity race were juniors Meagan Monahan and Polly Powasnik

“Erin has stepped into the role of captain for our team. This is an honor that we do not hand out. She is always on the phone with the girls and organizing the girls for runs and keeping the group together, which is key to developing a strong team. She trains hard and along with Joy is an example for the other girls and we have seen a lot of progress from them,” said Styler

The Cougars now set their sights on attempting to win their third consecutive county title next Wednesday at Warinanco Park. Last year’s favorite, Summit, is considered the front-runner again this year but Styler’s rapidly improving team should not be counted out.

“These girls are showing an ability to rise to each challenge and I expect them to step up during the next championship meets ahead of us ,” said Styler.

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2007 Cranford Boys XC MVC

At the Mountain Valley Conference (MVC) meet last Tuesday Cranford sophomore William Smith ran 17:33.31, the third fastest overall time. The only drawback for the Cougars was that it happened in the Junior Varsity race where Smith finished more than two minutes ahead of the second place runner. While coach Tim Styler noted that Smith would not have made a difference in the varsity race, he was pleasantly surprised that his prodigy looks ready to make a solid Cougar team that much stronger for the championship races coming up.

Smith was left off the varsity seven because he had missed most of the season with a lingering viral infection and had been unable to run under 20 minutes in practice.

“A few days before the race he was mentioning how he was feeling pretty good

and wanted to run varsity at the conference meet, however I couldn't pull one of our other seven runners out of the varsity lineup. So we had Will run the JV race hoping that he would get his confidence back and challenge for a spot in the top seven,” said Styler who added.

“ Will is talented and we expect him to drop his time this fall. His third place finish overall would not have changed the varsity team standings. We would have still finished third,” said Styler.

“Our other seven guys have been running well all season and steadily dropping their personal bests,” said Styler.

With Smith sidelined, fellow sophomore Roy Colicchio has stepped up to become the team leader, followed closely by senior captain Steven Phillips.

Colicchio ran 18:03.44 (5:48.8 per mile) to lead the team in eighth place. Phillips followed in 11^th in 18:19.555:54).

“These two are always leading the workouts and runs and along with Will should be a good nucleus moving forward,” said Styler, who envisioned 2007 as a bit of a rebuilding season due to the graduation of one of Cranford’s greatest all time runners, Joe McKenney as well as solid performers Kevin Boyle and Eddie Baker.

“We had a very talented senior class last year but you always have to replace good people,” said Styler who noted that McKenney has continued his outstanding running at New York University, who is currently ranked second in the country.

But Styler has been pleasantly surprised by the overall balance that his team has shown.” We’ve had great improvement from our young team, Sophomore John Powasnik is becoming a steady fourth runner and freshman Michael Cassidy has run in the mid 18s so far and is very determined to be among the best freshman in our school history books,” said Styler.

Juniors Tyler Schott and Miguel Caulfield have also shown improvement and rounded out the top seven along with senior Billy Albert. With Smith healthy, it makes for eight runners battling for the top seven.

“We have great competition with these guys battling for spots and setting personal bests every race,” said Styler.

Powasnik was 14^th in 18:35.04 (5:58.9), followed by Cassidy 17^th in 18:42.39(6:01.3) and Schott completed the scoring in 20^th in 19:00.83(6:07.2). Caulfield was 22^nd in 19:05.88 Albert was 27^th in 19:44.16.

In addition to Smith, three other Cougars competed in the junior varsity race.

Seniors Jacob Skelcy, Max Lasky and Mark Kuczynski ran 21:01.56, 21:57.35 and 22:25.60 respectively.

“The competition is great for the team and will certainly lead us to some good
results in the upcoming races. “

Westfield Girls 2007 XC Preview

Some of the most competitive and crowded girl’s races this fall are likely to take place at Tamaques Park when the Westfield Girls Cross Country team conducts its time trials as it tries to whittle 94 runners into a varsity unit of 12, which will eventually be pared down to seven runners for later championship meets. Veteran coach Thom Hornish and assistant Jen Buccino face the challenge of trying to replace their top three runners from a year ago, Nicole DiBenedetto, Kim Legones and Ayn Wisler as well as Jen Danielsson, Beth Budnick, Hope Skibitsky, and Marissa Goldner.

DiBenedetto and Legones showed vast improvement throughout the season and by the end of the year were the top 1-2 punch in the county. “Nicole and Kim’s improvement began when they took their summer training seriously last year.and when they came to realize how much they really loved the sport and let that passion take them to the next level.,” said Buccino.

Thus far, Buccino has not had any runner separate themselves from a large pack of 15 runners in a first group with 15 more right behind. “The team is shaping up nicely, after the first week. It looks like all of our large number of runners are in for the long haul,” said Buccino.

“ We have a really solid group of 15 training together and another 15 right behind. The time trial went very well. Summer training was taken more seriously this year by many. A lot can happen between now and November, but the spirit and enthusiasm is very high and the new crew has already blended well with the veterans,” Buccino added.

Buccino finds it very hard to single out more than a few girls that she knows will be in the lead group. “I think we are going to have an ever evolving top seven. There is a very healthy competition within the team..The rookies are not afraid to challenge the veterans, and the veterans welcome it and encourage everyone to be her best,” said Buccino.

Among the group vying for the top seven include seniors Rose Driscoll, Marissa Mumford, Tessa Schaaf, Caitlin Burke, Lindsay Tishberg, and newcomer Jaclyn Kirna,juniors Aileen and Bridget Grogan, Moira Smith, Alexis Constantine, Liz McCarthy and Alli Lowenstein, sophomores Megan Pulliam , Becky Castaldo and Karaugh Ball and freshmen: Angela Tata, Abbie Kwok, Alyssa Hatch, Alex Frankel and Meghan Suriano

Among the 25 freshmen are three sets of twins, making the coach’s goal of learning all names in the first week more difficult.

Driscoll, Marissa Mumford and Josie Reinhardt are this year's captains, and combined with Alli Lowenstein, Aileen and Bridget Grogan, and Liz McCarthy make up the returning members of last year's varsity 12. Seniors Caitlin Burke, Tessa Schaaf, Lindsay Tishberg, Marlee Austin, Dylan Wallace...juniors Alexis Constantine, Moira Smith, and Marie DiIorio, and sophomore Karaugh Ball clearly made it their business to come back in shape this year in an effort to earn a spot on this year's top twelve to make up for our loss to graduation.

We have some fresh faces that are really showing promise for some additional depth in the potential varsity line up. We are very excited to have seniors Jaclyn Kirna and Dylan Wallace, junior Casey Reimlinger, and sophomores Becky Castaldo and Megan Pulliam who converted from other fall sports and are helping lead the way in workouts. And finally, Angela Tata and Abbie Kwok are leading the pack of freshmen thus far...with several that are sure to rise through the ranks as the season progresses.

If there is strength in numbers, then the Westfield Girls’ Cross Country team, with its remarkable group of over seventy runners should be formidable once again.

“We have a long time tradition of success so we like to set our expectations high. These girls over the years have been very good at responding to challenges,” said Hornish.

One the of the keys to the team’s long time success has been coaching, where the Blue Devils have been fortunate to have Jen Buccino, in her eighteenth year in the program and an accomplished runner, who still competes in road races. Buccino is also the head coach of the successful Westfield Girls Indoor Track team and was Union County Track coach of the Year in 2005.

The Blue Devils lost an outstanding senior class quartet of captains; Jen Danielsson, Beth Budnick, Hope Skibitsky, and Nicole DiBenedetto. Danielsson, the most accomplished of the four, was a sectional 3200 meter champion as a sophomore but was held back by injuries last season.

Seniors Ayn Wisler,. Fellow seniors, and Kim Legones team last spring, competing in the sprints, hurdles and jumps.

Hornish is counting on big things from

Regaining Union County supremacy in 2007 will be an uphill fight for Westfield. The coaches are expecting strong challenges from Summit and Scotch Plains among other teams as the Blue Devils try to regain the county crown last won in 2003.

“There is tough competition out there but he team is off to a great start. The interest, enthusiasm, and desire are all there from this year's team, and all things are possible when you have that going for you. ,” said Buccino.

The Blue Devils open against Kearny on September 12 at Hudson County Park in Kearny before competing in the St. Dominic Invitational at Lincoln Park in Jersey City

on Saturday, September 16.

Firedman and Tarlow lead 2007 Westfield Boys XC

Evan Friedman and Alex Tarlow grew up less than a mile from each other on the south side of Westfield, a short jog from Tamaques Park. They each attended Tamaques Elementary School and Edison Middle School as well as belonging to Temple Emanuel.

But it wasn’t until they began attending Westfield High School in the fall of 2004 that they really started to get to know each other as they competed on the cross country and track teams.

Three years later they form the top 1-2 combination in the county and hope to lead another strong Blue Devil cross country team to its third straight county title. Last year at the Union County meet Friedman edged Tarlow 17:07 to 17:12 as they finished fourth and fifth for the top two performances by underclassmen, leading Westfield to a 46-85 victory over Roselle Catholic. They are friendly rivals who appreciate each other’s intensity.

“Evan and I are like running brothers. We are always looking out for each other and thoroughly enjoy one another's company on our long runs. Like brothers do there is a bit of sibling rivalry,” said Tarlow.

“We may be known to push the pace now and again because to us, there is always second place in a recovery workout. We feed off each others running and we look forward to seeing one another succeed in and out of the XC world.”

“We are competitive with each other but we really don’t care who wins as long as Westfield finishes 1-2,” added Friedman.

Martin feels fortunate to have such a talented a motivated trio to lead his team. Senior Brendan Berkowitz, the team’s third runner last year also returns and along with Friedman and Tarlow is a tri-captain.

“They have worked hard all summer and are coming off big track seasons. They are motivated and want to get to the Meet Of Champions. Evan, Alex and Brendan have been solid leaders thus far”.

Martin was also pleased with the condition of most of the team members.

“To be successful in the fall we encourage the boys to run as much as possible. We look at the running as being year round and do not make x-c a do or die situation-there are two more seasons of running left,” said Martin

While both are outstanding cross-country runners, they had different strengths during the track season. Tarlow was one of the county’s top 800 runners (1:55.60) and also ran on the 4 by 400 team as well as the mile. Friedman excelled in the 3200 (9; 49) and 1600.

“Evan is definitely more of a natural cross country runner than me,” said Tarlow.

In addition to Tarlow, Friedman and Berkowitz, Martin also has senior Neil Fitzpatrick returning from his top seven. Depth is never a problem on a team with around 100 athletes and the first few dual meets may determine who runs the championship races that start in late October. In addition to their Union County title the Blue Devils are also defending Watchung Conference champions.

Seniors Gus Gibbons, Tianyou Xu, juniors Josh Einbinder Dennis Elwell, Julian Applebaum, Eric Hagstrom, Andrew Marra, Joey Martoglio, Ross Tucker and sophomores Mike Fietkiewicz, Ryan Scrudato, and Tyler Cusick are all competing

for varsity spots. During a Saturday morning time trial at Tamaques Park it was easy to see why Martin can maintain such a large and enthusiastic squad in such a demanding

sport. The coach as well as assistant Chris Tafelski, a former Blue Devil runner

shouted encouragement to each runner, no matter what their skill level.

“We try to relate to each boy on the team each day. We include the science of the sport and try most all to have fun. We also encourage the boys, above all, to be good citizens,” said Martin.

Westfield 2007 Girls XC Stewart

The Westfield High School girls cross country team showed off their prodigious depth at three big recent meets, edging archrival Scotch Plains Fanwood 26-33 in their annual dual meet, finishing sixth in the prestigious Stewart Invitational and running strong last Saturday at the Shore Invitational.

The Blue Devils withstood a victory by SPF standout junior Brittney Veeck (21:04) and a fourth and fifth by Cathy Harley and Emily Carow by taking the next five scoring places. Senior Rose Driscoll (21:18) led the way with a second, followed by junior Aileen Grogan (21:47) in third. The next five scorers sophomore Meg Pulliam, junior Bridget Grogan, sophomore Becky Castaldo and juniors Alli Lowenstein and Liz McCarthy finished within 20 seconds of each other.

Buccino was worried that the team might still be leg weary from winning the overall team championship at the Bernie Magee Memorial Class Invitational the previous Saturday. In that meet there are separate races for each high school year and Westfield’s dominance in the junior race helped pace the triumph.

“The girls were coming off an exciting weekend at the Class meet with their team title, and really looking forward to our dual meet. We did not take SPF lightly as they are a team we face later in the conference and county meets. The girls did their job, despite the heat and humidity, and made sure that they separated the top SPF girls and packed themselves in together as tightly as possible,” said Buccino.

Veeck ran 20:42.32 for tenth overall to pace the area runners at the Stewart Invitational and Harley edged Aileen Grogan, finishing 22^nd at 21:22. Grogan was 24^th(21:34), followed by Driscoll (21:38), Castaldo (21:54), Bridget Grogan (22:07),

Marissa Mumford (22:26), Pulliam (22:27) and McCarthy (22:47).

“The Stewart meet gave us a chance to see how we stacked up against our Sectional competition...Hunterdon Central, North Hunterdon, and Bridgewater-Raritan. The girls took 6th behind some tough competition and we know we have work to do in the next few weeks,” said Buccino.

Rob Rafferty’s paper-thin team did not have enough runners to get a finishing score as depth continues to be a problem for Scotch Plains. For Westfield, with its plentiful battalion of runners, the front pack is beginning to sort itself out.

“Our top seven has changed every week, and the good news is that we have a good 15 girls in contention for that coveted varsity spot

Buccino was also pleased that the junior varsity team easily won with 31 points and placed five in the top ten overall. The freshmen team also took third.

“What we need to develop is a stronger 1-2 punch in the front to help break up the top runners of our opposition. The girls have their eyes wide open with regards to their competition. They know they have to work very hard over the next few weeks and they are more than willing to do their best to rise to the occasion. There is an incredible chemistry within the team this season and sometimes that can be the difference when the pressure is on,” said Buccino.

At the Shore meet Driscoll, was 39^th in 21:43, followed by 46th place Aileen Grogan, Castaldo in 52^nd in 22:23, Bridget Grogan 74^th in 22:53. Pulliam, 92nd in 23:39, Mumford 93^rd in 23:41 and Tessa Schaaf 100^th in 24:02.

Westfield 2007 Boys XC Stewart

The Westfield and Scotch Plains Fanwood Boy’s cross country teams served up two tasty appetizers last week before they attack the main courses of the Watchung Conference and Union County title meets in late October.

As has been the case in recent years, the Raiders will have some ground to make up if they want to catch the Blue Devils, who easily won their dual meet 23-36 at Warinanco Park. Four days later at the Stewart Invitational also at Warinanco Park Westfield finished fourth with 127 points while the Raiders settled for sixth with 194 points.

Seniors Alex Tarlow and Evan Friedman of Westfield and Patrick Doliber of Scotch Plains Fanwood had two stirring battles with Tarlow outrunning Doliber on an unusually warm early autumn day in the dual meet and Tarlow and Friedman edging Doliber at Stewart. In both meets the Raiders matched Westfield through the first three runners but the Blue Devils dominated after that.

In the dual meet Tarlow broke open a tight race after the two mile mark to win easily at 17:22, followed by Friedman fourth in 17:51 and junior Julian Applebaum fifth in 17:51. Doliber was second in 17:44, Martin Sweeney sixth in 17:50 and Mike Ragan seventh in 18:31 but Westfield runners senior Brendan Berkowitz, sophomores Ryan Scrudato and Tyler Cusick and freshmen Zack Lizmi and Andrew Kirna took the next four places.

“The times were slow all around. It was our first time this season running at Warinanco and the heat was also a major issue. There were several dual meets going on in front of us which not only slowed us down but kicked up dirt and dried us out,” said Tarlow.

“SPF is always a big rivalry meet. The heat was a factor. Alex was pumped and ran that way. There weren't too many close races over the last mile. Julian Applebaum had a big race,” said Westfield coach Jack Martin.

At Stewart, Tarlow was sixth in 17:04.21 (5:14 per mile), with Friedman seventh in 17:04.52 and Doliber next in 17:06.96. Sweeney was 15^th in a personal best 17:29 and senior Mike Ragan was 27^th in 17:49.60, but Westfield runners Scrudato (36^th), Berkowitz (37^th), Applebaum (41^st), Gus Gibbons (46^th), Tianyou Xu (55^th) all finished well before the next SPF runner, sophomore Brandon Wheeler (68^th).

“Alex and Evan ran together and ran well and both had a bit left at the end. The varsity was solid although a little tired from the dual meet on Tuesday against SPF in the heat. The JV ran well and the freshmen second place was huge,” said Martin.

The usually circumspect Martin could hardly hold back his enthusiasm about his two prized freshman, Lizmi and Kirna.

“They both have been running well-perhaps the best one-two as freshmen in my time. The overall freshmen average at Stewart was about our fastest during my time as coach,” said Martin

“We went into Stewart with a winning mentality. We had a couple of really strong practices, along with the win against SPF that told us we could create some excitement at the meet,” said Tarlow.

Martin is confident that the Blue Devils are on track to repeat their Union County title.

“I like the way things are moving along. They have the hunger and desire to pick up from last year’s team.”

2007 Cranford Girls XC Proeview

For the past four years Laura Gallo was a model of consistency for the Cranford Girls Cross Country team, leading them to two Union County titles, two Watchung Conference titles and a Mountain Valley title. Gallo was a three time county champion and second team all state selection last year and was the leader of an outstanding senior class that also included solid contributors like Joy Hanke, Hannah Van Why and Caitlin Curtis.

But all good things come to an end and third year coach Tim Styler is fortunate to have two key members of the team, senior Erin Hannon and junior Joy Hanke, back to lead a young but talented Cougar team.

“It's not every year when you have a front runner like Laura. She was a
consistent number one over the past few years and when you can count on
finishing with a lead runner in the single digits it helps that ever
important team score. Erin Hannen and Joy Hanke are now going to have
to lead this team while the freshman will be challenging for top honors each meet,” said Styler, who is an expert at getting the team to peak for championship meets.

.Last year at the county meet, despite having their entire team returning from the 2005 championship group, the Cougars were considered underdogs to Summit but led by Gallo, who broke away from the pack in the second mile and breezed in a personal best 19:07, the Cougars defended their title with a 44-65 victory. Always the consummate team player, Gallo, now a freshman at Georgetown, seemed more pleased than the performances of her team mates than her own.

Hanke was fourteenth in 20:42 and has been a scoring member of both Union County championship teams. Hannen ran a personal best (21:16) and enters the season ready to take a leadership role.

“Erin and Joy are our two leaders. They are ready to be in the front of the
conference races and county and then lead us into the state meets,” said Styler.

Styler has a young team with freshmen Alisa Commerato, Julia Langone,
Bridget and Veronica Miller and junior Polly Powasnik.

The Cougars opened their invitational season on September 8 at the Cherokee Challenge.

"This will be the first test for the kids as it is a challenging 2 milecourse. We will get to evaluate where everyone is at early in the season as well as getting to see the South Jersey competition. A lot of the top teams in the state this year are hailing from the south. This gives our kids a chance to run against the best and against their own class,” said Styler.

Styler is confident that the Cougars are well on their way to building a new powerhouse.

“So far we are looking fairly fit. Obviously most of our summer is spent
getting a base. We started some threshold work recently and incorporated other lactate workouts into the training such as tempo runs of four miles,” said Styler.

“You can’t expect every season to be like the last two but we are going to be a much improved team by the end of the year.”

Doliber leads deep talented 2007 SPF Harriers

When the 2006-7 cross country and track season commenced, Patrick Doliber of Scotch Plains Fanwood was not one of the leading names in Union County and among a group of underclassmen vying for second place behind senior Adam Biner, the team’s unquestioned leader. Now, fast-forward a year later. Biner has graduated and Doliber enters this season as one of the favorites to win what should be a wide-open Union County championship race this year. His emergence once again shows how unpredictable high school track can be from one year to the next.

Biner had a memorable senior year. He won the Watchung Conference meet in a personal best time of 17:09 after being hospitalized and missing three days of practice. “Adam really showed what he was made of out there,” said Koegel.

“We have had many champions since I have been here but this one was pretty special.”

Fifth in the conference race, Doliber kept improving and really hit his stride when he won the Union County indoor 3200 meter title and cracked the coveted 10 minute barrier for 3200 meters when he won the Watchung Conference outdoor 3200 meter title in 9:53.8. Doliber later dropped his time to 9:52.08 when he finished sixth at the sections, qualifying for the state championships.

“I knew if I kept working hard and listening to my coach, my times would eventually start to improve. Breaking 10 was important because I knew it was within my reach,” said Doliber, who had run 10:17 indoors.

Doliber leads one of the deepest and most talented Scotch Plains Fanwood Boy’s teams since the 2001 squad that featured Brian Kopnicki, Mike Dixon, Zack McGuire and Bob Wallden. Senior Dan Sapienza and junior Martin Sweeney, who both missed much of last season with injuries, pushed Doliber last spring in the 3200 and had times of 10:12 and 10:16 respectively. Senior Mike Ragan excelled in the 800 (2:02) and 1600 (4:37) and is also in the front pack

Two other experienced seniors, Adam Horowitz and Greg Bencivengo have each won three letters and will give Koegel the depth and flexibility he has rarely enjoyed in his nine years at the school. Horowitz missed much of last season with injuries. Bencivengo had a breakthrough season in outdoor track, smashing his personal best in the mile with a 4:52.93 at the section meet.

They are facing spirited competition from two talented sophomores, Brian Walsh and Bobby Evans, who both had impressive freshman years and vastly improved sophomore Brandon Wheeler. A pleasant surprise has been, senior Marc L’Heureux, who broke 20 minutes for the first time in the opening meet Providing additional depth are three newcomers senior Mike Bover, junior Erick Walker and freshman Mike Pesin.

The newfound depth gives Koegel insurance against injuries and will also enable him to have a fully stocked junior varsity team. The Raiders looked impressive in sweeping their opening two races against Kearny and Elizabeth.

Koegel has always considered Westfield to be a major bellweather for his team and this year should be no exception. In addition to the natural local rivalry, the Blue Devils defeated the Raiders in a close dual meet last year and also took their measure in the Watchung Conference and Union County meets.

The two teams had the first of three meetings this past Tuesday. Westfiled won 23-36

Cranford Boys 2007 XC Preview

When Joe McKenney graduated last spring it removed the final link to the Cranford High School cross country dynasty that won eight straight Union County titles. between 1997-2004 and were group II champions in 2004. Losing McKenney, who finished first, second and third in the county from 2004-6 and now runs for New York University (NYU), presents challenges for third year coach Tim Styler, a key member of Cougar championship teams in 1997-9.

“Joe was our leader for practically four years,” said Styler who ran for and replaced legendary Cranford coach Ray White, who coached from 1969 through 2004.

“It will be a new era now that Joe is off at NYU. We certainly wish him much success and we will go see some of his races when we can.”

The Cougars also lost, Eddie Baker, an unheralded but consistent runner, and Kevin Boyle, a solid performer the past two years.

“Eddie was a spark for this team last year; he ran some gutsy races and really showed that if you work hard it will pay off. Eddie will be around this season for some runs with the team. Kevin will also be a missed senior as he was a quiet leader of the team, ran hard and improved over his four years,” said Styler.

The Cougars will count on sophomore Will Smith, who showed flashes of brilliance in his first season, while battling through numerous injuries.

“Will will certainly be called upon to lead this team on the course. He showed great promise as a freshman and brings that talent to the line this season,” said Styler.

At the 2006 Union county Championships, Smith, in just his second varsity race opened many eyes with a 12th place finish in 17:26, a time comparable to McKenney’s ninth place finish as a freshman. Another sophomore, Roy Colicchio, hopes to build off a strong spring track season to push Smith.

“Roy finished the track season well and built on that to have a good summer. We are expecting big things from him,” added Styler.

Colicchio combined with Smith and the three seniors to lead the Cougars to a fifth place finish at the county meet with 129 points, three behind fourth place Scotch Plains Fanwood. a marked improvement from their third place finishes at the Mountain Valley Conference championship in early October.

“We did some of our best running later in the year,” said Styler.

The coach looks to experienced seniors Steve Phillips and Billy Albert to provide leadership on and off the track. Styler expects sophomore John Powasnik and

freshmen Michael Cassidy and Kevin Swan to fill out the first seven but depth could be a problem.

“We certainly are young this year. We have a few seniors but the nucleus of

our team is sophomores and freshman.”

Styler is hoping the team can contend for the Mountain Valley Conference (MVC)

Title and be competitive in the county and state meets but also hopes that the youth and talent can be the springboard for the next Cougar dynasty.

2246 pizza runners

Despite large turnouts the past few years, the question always in the mind of Westfield Downtown 5K and Pizza Extravaganza Race Director Sherry Cronin was what would the turnout be if we ever got excellent weather? The answer was stunning.

Even the normally ebullient Cronin could not have predicted that when the final post entrant signed up at 6:58, two minutes before the scheduled start time,
the entries were an incredible 2226.Nearly perfect weather for the last Wednesday in July helped the runners and volunteers but the huge turnout presented its own challenges. With such a large crowd in a constricted area, safety became a major consideration.

“We want to ensure that all of the runners are safe on the course and a
larger crowd means more volunteers and staff to monitor the race. We have
also communicated with the residents along the race route as we do every
year to ensure that they know when the race will occur in front of their
home. We will also be notifying the parkers on the street along the route
so that they make alternative arrangements tomorrow and move their cars
before the race,” said Cronin.

While there were no major curveballs thrown by Mother Nature, such as excessive heat and thunderstorms, safety was only one of many concerns for the primary organizers.

“The logistical issues are enormous for a race of that size, Everything is harder including setting up water stops, getting all runners to the start and making sure the registration lines move quickly “ noted Mark Zenobia of On Your Mark Productions, who was the chief race organizer for the sixth straight years and has seen the race grow from its initial size of 950.

“It was great night for Westfield and a fantastic chance for us to show off our beautiful town,” said Mayor Andy Skibitsky, who also hosted the telecast for Cable Channel 36.

“I am really proud of the all the Westfield people who helped to pull off such a fantastic event.”

Having managed races in all types of weather over the past decade, Zenobia
was thankful for the best race weather since 2002, the race’s first year.

“Good weather will substantially increase the numbers. It wasn’t only the weather on race day, but it has been nice all winter and spring which got more runners on the road. Most race registrations have increased this year,” added Zenobia, who manages many of the state’s biggest races.

Cronin also realized that the race’s size has an upper limit, although she would not name the breaking point.

“The numbers are wonderful, but it does present some challenges logistically with the space we have on Elm and Quimby Streets for the pre and post run activities. We may also need to order more water and pizza as the event comes together, and possibly pull shirts from previous years for overflow registrations,” aid Cronin.

“We always conduct a feedback session after the event to find out how to improve it for the following year. We may need to make a decision to limit it to 1,800 just because of space constraints but we will not know that until after the race. “

Almost forgotten in the hoopla was the race, won by a familiar face, Gene Mitchell, owner of the Running Company chain of stores won his fourth straight title with a time of 15:21, nine seconds ahead of Chris Heibell of Hillsborough.

Employing the same strategy as last year, Mitchell was content to run behind the leader, Heibel through a 4:56 first mile. Mitchell made a strong move on an uphill just after the mile mark and pulled away from Heibel, hitting 2 miles in 9:52 and he enhanced his lead in the final mile with another 4:56. Mitchell, now 39, has learned to run more controlled races, aiming for an even pace.

“I can’t take it out fast and challenge the younger guys. I just have to try and stay back and grind it out,” said Mitchell.

“There are parts of the course where I know are important to push, especially the final hill just past two miles. I tried to break away from him but he held on really tough. I’m very happy to win four in a row,” added Mitchell who enters a new age group in August.

Brian Harris, who manages the Running Company’s Westfield store, repeated his fourth place finish of a year ago, running one second slower than 2006 in 15:47.

“The legs weren’t there tonight,” said Harris, who won the Cranford Firecracker Four Mile earlier in July.

Amy Van Alstine,19 of Midland Park, won her third straight women’s title in 18:02.

The first town finisher came down to a battle between former Westfield teammates Kris Kagan and Evan Friedman. Kagan, a 2006 graduate edged Friedman, a rising senior, running 16:53 to Friedman’s 16:56.

“This is a shorter distance than I am used to running,” said Kagan, who finished his freshman season at The American University in Washington DC.
“The weather was much nicer than I have been used to in Washington,” added Kagan.

“It was a good race. Kris had a little more at the finish,” said Friedman, who is pleased at his fitness level. Friedman’s teammate, fellow rising senior Alex Tarlow was third Westfield finisher in 17:23.

Former Blue Devil star Jeffrey Perrella, the top Westfield finisher in 2005 and 2006 was not able to attempt the three peat because of injuries suffered during the outdoor season at William and Mary.

“My spring season was going alright until i got a femoral stress fracture and
pretty much this whole summer i wont be able to run. i got it in early
April but ran through it until IC4As in May, the last meet of the year for me,” said Perrella had personal bests of 3:57 for 1500 meters and 14:35 for 5k.

“Since then I have been biking, but my leg isn’t doing that great. so now, i
still have probably another month until i can run unless something
miraculous happens.”

Jim Colvin, 58 of Westfield finished in an impressive 18:48 to win the age graded first place

Sheila Courter edged Debby Hall 20:12 to 20:29 for first Westfield female finisher. Hall also finished second in the master’s division.

A race so large could not succeed without dedicated sponsors and volunteers.

“Our race sponsors enable the event to take place since registrations alone
do not cover the cost for running the event,” noted Cronin.

Pacing a wide and varied sponsorship list was Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield that returned to be a Gold Sponsor. Cronin was also pleased that over 75% of the sponsors are located Westfield’s Special Improvement District (the district which is managed by the Downtown Westfield Corporation). Bronze sponsors included Lucky Brand Jeans,Verizon Fios, Lord and Taylor, Citibank, and Westfield Pediatric Dental Group and Rockn' Joes Coffeehouse and Bistro .

Lance Marvin, the owner of Rockn' Joes Coffeehouse and Bistro, was pleased with the exposure his new restaurant received. Marvin and his wife Lisa kept busy handing out over 300 cups of their ice coffee in their post just past the finish line.

“We will be back next year. This is a fantastic event ,” said Marvin, whose restaurant opened last October.

Contributing sponsors include: Rita's of Westfield, Needle Point Homes,
Qdoba Mexican Grill, The Town Bank, North Fork Bank, and Center for
Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Perla, and Stop and Shop. Supporting
sponsors include: Amper, Politniner and Mattia, Redco Engineering and
Construction, and J. Mark Albertson, DMD.

At any race the unsung heroes are the volunteers who work tirelessly at numerous tasks to assure a good race experience. The Westfield Jaycees handed out the pizza and cookies. Girl Scouts handled the water stops. The Westfield Y brought a crew of volunteers to assist with many jobs. The Westfield Area Chamber of Commerce helped with course marshals. Many volunteers who already serve on the Downtown Westfield Corporation Board of Directors and Committees also assisted. Manny of Westfield Coastal brought his 1957 three-wheeled BMW and Vespa motorcycle for the race beginning and dressed as the Cosimo's chef.David Martone, DWC Chairman and proprietor of Classic Thyme, dressed as the
Ferraro's chef.

Zenobia was assisted by Beth Brenner, DWC Executive Assistant and
Naomi McElynn Executive Director of the Westfield Chamber of Commerce.
Cosimo's Restaurant & Pizzeria and Ferraro's made 550 pizzas for the night. Shop-Rite of Garwood, Xocolatz, and Stop & Shop provided the cookies. The Flower Zone provided the flowers for the female winners. TSS Maintenance provided the clean-up crew during the event. Michael Craig Band and Night Moves DJ provided entertainment. Trader Joe's provided water for the water stops. Brooks Crandall, Tiger Paw Images, and DWC Design Committee Chairperson Karrie Hanson took photographs. The Town of Westfield
provided the stage, garbage removal, chairs and barricades. The Westfield
Police Dept. handled traffic control and road closures during the event.
The Westfield Fire Dept. provided hose-down areas for the runners on the
course. Many Westfield businesses provided goodies for runners in
promotional products and offers.

By 8:15 traffic was flowing smoothly again on Elm Street as the town returned to normal on what was an incredible night.

Summertime Pizza Part 6

It has taken the Westfield Downtown 5K and Pizza Extravaganza only five years to go from an interesting fund raising idea that promoted health to the state’s top attended non-corporate road race, a fact that even surprises the normally ebullient Sherry Cronin, Executive Director of the Downtown Westfield Corporation (DWC).

“Six years running and the pizza's still hot. The event just keeps getting
better,” said Cronin.

After four years of steady growth the race exploded in its fifth rendition to include a record 1525 finishers, a nearly 20% increase over 2005.

The race has established a reputation and turnout that is the envy of many older and more established races. The event, which starts at 7 pm Wednesday at the corner of East Broad and Elm Streets, has shown phenomenal growth in its first five years.

“This event is successful because it is a healthy event on a fast and relatively flat course which allows runners at all experience levels to achieve their best race results. It also involves many people in the community: businesses, volunteers, organizations, and Town of Westfield departments,” said Cronin.

The event is organized by the Downtown Westfield Corporation(DWC) and was the brainchild of Alan DeRose, an avid runner and former Chairman of the DWC and Meg Mehorter, a former Executive Assistant.

“They are both runners and wanted to create a health related event that would
promote our vibrant downtown as well as our beautiful residential areas,”
said Sherry Cronin, Executive Director.

Needless to say, the race has been a tremendous boon to both Westfield and the DWC.
“The race is designed to profile Westfield, not only the downtown but also the
beautiful residential areas. It has also yielded a great benefit to the DWC
in building goodwill and awareness with our residents,” said Cronin

The event enjoys a wide and varied sponsorship list that is paced by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield that has returned once again to be a Gold Sponsor. Cronin is also pleased that over 75% of the sponsors are located Westfield’s Special Improvement District (the district which is managed by the Downtown Westfield Corporation). Bronze sponsors include: Lucky Brand Jeans,Verizon Fios, Lord and Taylor, Citibank, and Westfield Pediatric Dental Group and Rockn' Joes Coffeehouse and Bistro .

Contributing sponsors include: Rita's of Westfield, Needle Point Homes,
Qdoba Mexican Grill, The Town Bank, North Fork Bank, and Center for
Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Perla, and Stop and Shop. Supporting
sponsors include: Amper, Politniner and Mattia, Redco Engineering and

Construction, and J. Mark Albertson, DMD. Cronin also expects many local businesses to provide many giveaways and promotional items at the event.

In order to encourage more participation from local businesses in the
district, the DWC offered 15% discount on all sponsorship levels. The race is also going back to cotton shirts this year.

After a packed start on the main streets, the course winds its way through Mindowaskin Park before heading down Tuttle Parkway past Roosevelt School The course heads down Edgewood Avenue and the two Mile mark is on Effingham Place. The last mile is an uphill straightaway down Elm Street

However, the end of the race only signals the beginning of an entertaining and pallet satisfying evening. There will be a DJ and live music by the Michael Craig Band and lots and lots of pizza.

It will be a team effort of the downtown pizzerias and restaurants.
Westfield’s top running store, The Westfield Running Company has made its mark in many aspects of the race. The owner Gene Mitchell of Franklin Lakes in Bergen County has won three the last three men’s titles and is the course record holder. Mitchell had also finished second in 2002 and 2003.

Fourth last year was another Running Company member, Brian Harris of Clinton, who manages the Westfield store and should be among the leaders again this year.

“We recognize the importance of this race,” said Harris.
“Westfield is a very good running town and this is one of the most successful races around.”
Harris recently won the Cranford Firecracker Four Mile on July 4 for the second straight year and would not think of missing this race.

“This is a pretty easy race for me to enter. There is no other race closer to where I work,” said Harris.

“Our store is strategically located neat the beginning and end of the course, so it gives us the opportunity to meet with and help runners before and after the race,” added Harris of the store, located at 17 Elm Street.

For the sixth straight year the race production will be handled by Mark Zenobia, of On Your Mark Productions,” He does a terrific job ,” said Cronin.

The first 600 registered runners will receive embroidered caps and the first 1800 get T-shirts The pre-registration fee is $20 and is $25 the day of the race. In addition, runners will have plenty of pizza to eat-no matter how long the race takes them

Harris repeats at "cool" Firecracker

For Independence Day 2007, the weather gods served up conditions more conducive to running than swimming which was the perfect recipe for Firecracker 4 Mile Race Director Mike Rokicki and defending champion Brian Harris. Temperatures in the high 60’s produced a large amount of post registration race day entrants that swelled the overall finishers 20 percent over 2006 totals for the race, which celebrated its 28th anniversary at Nomahegan Park in Cranford. The cool conditions also pleased Harris, who easily defended his title running 20:36, 34 seconds faster than his 2006 time

“Although we haven’t counted everything yet, it appears that the race was a huge success in every way possible,” said Rokicki.

“It was very helpful that the rain held off and with the cool records many people decided to run at the last minute.”

In a pre-race interview Harris was hopeful that the temperature would not exceed 70 degrees, an unlikely occurrence for a race usually conducted in hot and sultry conditions. But on cloudy breezy morning, Harris broke away from field just past the one mile mark and was never seriously threatened

Harris was able to put together consistent mile splits of 5:05,5:06 and 5:08 before finishing in 5:17 on the final mile which contains a multitude of turns and also includes a footbridge.

“The key to winning this race is getting a lead at three miles because it is very hard for the trailing runners to see the leader because of all the turns ” said Harris, who had not raced seriously since running 2:32.49 at this year's Boston Marathon.

“I was very pleasantly surprised to run as well as I did. The strength I built up training for Boston has helped me maintain my fitness over the last few months. Obviously this was great weather for me to run in. I was not in the shape I was in a year ago but I ran faster,” said Harris, who did not take advantage of several water stops during the race.

Holding on for second place was four-time winner Budd Coates of Rodale Press, who has made a tradition of traveling over 70 miles from Emmaus, PA to run the race.

“I originally came here in the early 90’s because they offered prize money but now I just come here because it’s a fantastic race and a great way to start the holiday,” said Coates, who won the master’s championship and has run as fast as 18:27 on the course.

Coates, who turned 50 in April, also won the parent-daughter competition, teaming with his 14-year-old daughter Kelsey, who ran 27:42.

“It is nice that the race has all these different categories that give you a chance to combine with your children,” added Coates.

Kevin Brown, a star distance runner at Cranford, who graduated in 2006,was the first town finisher, winding up eighth in 21:51. Brown, who just completed his freshman season at Yale, has fought through injuries and now feels like he his rounding into shape for this fall.

“I have been running this race since I was small and enjoy the chance to run a race through my hometown,” said Brown.

Kevin Mahoney, a 2005 graduate, was second Cranford finisher, 16th overall.
The women’s winner was Sarah Muhlbradt 29 of Piermont, NY who ran 23:37. The first Cranford woman to finish was Lauren Krause Garbac, 36 who ran 27:19.

Jim Colvin, 58 was the first Westfield finisher in 24:30 and Mark Carow, 48 (25:19) was first Scotch Plains finisher. Jim Lambert, 40 (27:03) led the Fanwood finishers.

Former Race Director Art Bilenker, a Jaycee and race benefactor once again held court after the race and gave out awards to runners who could answer trivia questions, had the strangest jobs and had the nicest biceps among other things.

“This is nice day for the community. It’s a good day for everyone,” said Bilenker, a dentist in Cranford.

After a frenzied start early in the day when he seemed to be holding three conversations at once, Rokicki settled in and after the race could enjoy what was another successful race.

“I hope to do this for many years. Once you get through the first one, each year gets a lot easier,” said Rokicki.

24 years of Tuesday Summer races

Next Tuesday July 10th will be a major milestone for the Raritan Valley Road Runners as they present their 100th race in their Tuesday night summer series which spans an incredible 24 years.

On May 22, 1984, Club President Allen Paul's vision of a series of competitive but fun summer races was born. Mike Geraltowski and RVRR's current president Gene Gugliotta placed 1st and 2nd place in that race, and both have pledged to return on Tuesday, 24 summers later, to "defend their titles". Kristin Stout, winner of the 1st 1 mile run at age 10, has also agreed to return, this time to run the 5K. Kristin, recently back from Iraq, was surprised at her 6:19 time in 1984. "I would have felt less sorry for my fellow platoon members during their 1 mile training run if I had remembered that I ran 6:19 as a 10 year old".

Over the years, the RVRR Summer Series has changed its course, its location, and the runners have aged (a little). But ask anyone of the 300+ competitors we average in a summer, the tradition of competition and fun remains.

For the 100th race, race director Doug Brown plans some special and exciting events. There will be plenty of food, lots of prizes, and more special guests. The race commences from its current location, Buccleuch Park across from St Peters Hospital in New Brunswick. Registration starts at 6pm with the race at 7pm. There is also a Kids Series with races starting promptly at 6 pm.

Big race on Independence Day

For the twenty eighth straight year, Cranford will begin its Fourth of July celebration earlier than most towns when the Firecracker Four Mile commences at 9:30 am Wednesday at Nomahegan Park in Cranford. After starting modestly in 1980, the race quickly gained in prominence and has long been considered one of New Jersey’s top races as well as a starting point for a full day of activities at Nomahegan Park that culminates with a firecracker presentation at night.

Last year, despite hot and sultry weather, a large walk up entry and enthusiastic sponsorship helped make the 27th annual event the most successful ever according to second year race director Mike Rokicki. Buoyed by $5,000 from lead corporate sponsor Commerce Bank, the race raised a record sponsorship total of almost $23,000.

“Commerce continues to be a great supporter of all local activities and we’re very fortunate that they are so supportive,” said Rokicki who succeeded Vitas Roman, who directed in 2004-5.

Over 300 registered for the one-mile and over 1000 runners signed up for the four mile, with 924 finishing. While the turnout was comparable to recent years Rokicki is confident that turnout will increase this year.

“This race has a great word of mouth factor built into the race,” said Rokicki.
“People who have run it tend to come back year after year and bring in new people.”

The defending champion Brian Harris, 33 of Clinton, is expected to run although he admits he is just rounding into form after a personal best 2:32.49 at this year’s Boston Marathon which was run in a steady rain and heavy winds.

“I got pretty beat up at Boston and I am just starting to get some good training in.” said Harris

“I really enjoy running this race. The course is flat and there is a lot of good competition. I wouldn’t mind if the temperature is about 70 degrees that day,” added Harris.

The race is the major fundraiser for the Cranford Jaycees scholarship fund, which awards scholarships to Cranford residents graduating high school, based on community service and academics.

“I wouldn't say there is much "new" this year, but I am happy to say all of our
little amenities will be back. Free activities include disk jockey music, popcorn,
ice cream, face painting, cotton candy, etc. We are also providing a commemorative pint glass for those registered early enough for the second year. Last year it was very well received,” said Rokicki.

As always, the Jaycees will handle all volunteering and logistical aspects of the race, which can be considerable. In addition to Rokicki, Dr. Art Bilenker will be his usual ubiquitous self. Bilenker will handle post race announcing duties. The race will be timed by Compuscore using the race CHIP program, which automatically times each runner who has a chip affixed to their shoe. Bilenker, who has directed the race numerous times, is once again donating prize money to be paid to the second place finisher.

“We are lucky to have Art do what he does every year,” said Rokicki.

Another factor that draws a large number of repeat runners to the race is the amount of gifts each runner gets in addition to their tee shirt. In recent years, every runner has received such nice extras as designer polo bears, luggage or a men’s cologne package.

Bilenker, as has become the tradition, will be giving out numerous prizes after the race for such diverse skills” as the nicest legs, the most degrees earned, trivia questions and of course the runner who traveled the furthest. Usually there is at least one runner who has traveled across the country or come from overseas. The key to the race’s long-term success has been the dedication of the volunteers.

“On race day, many things do not go exactly as planned, as any Race Director
will tell you. The key is to make it look to the runners that everything is
fine, and it really is, but adaptation and flexibility is the key,” said Bilenker.

Everyone who volunteers, Jaycee or not, from the police and the First aid
squad to the people at the water stops and the sponsors should be thanked,” said Rokicki, who has never directed before but is confident that the number of experienced Jaycees will help sooth the transition.

“The Cranford Jaycees, being such an active group in the community, feel it”
our duty to encourage and reward a new generation of volunteers. We hope to increase the scholarship awards we offer each year,” said Rokicki.

The Jaycees sponsor and volunteer at various events throughout the year
including the Halloween parade, the Holiday tree trimming, the
children's Holiday party, , the pancake breakfast, the pasta night, the mini golf tournament, an NCAA night and NFC/AFC Championship Sunday fundraiser, and the
Leonard J. Snyder memorial fishing derby in honor of one of a Cranford Jaycee member
who died in the terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center September 11, 2001.

Registration is available online at cranfordjaycees.com

Running Relativity

The theory of relativity isn’t just in physics. With apologies to Albert Einstein running’s theory of relatively probably predates his ground breaking work. It probably dates back as far as the first human runner who didn’t get somewhere as fast as expected.

When the Athens Olympics dominated the headlines in 2004, we heard much about the story of Pheippides, the young Greek messenger who was dispatched by his commander to deliver news of the victory to Athens. No run in history was more important.

It was critical that the people of Athens knew about the victory, so if the Persian ships arrived at the city, the people wouldn't surrender to them. So he ran the 26 miles from Marathon to Athens without stopping for a rest. and arriving at Athens, he delivered his message, and then died.

One could imagine Pheippides, saying “I’ve done the trip a lot faster, but my pacing wasn’t too good today or I’m just not in the shape I was two years ago.”

Of course this is all fictional and no disrespect is meant towards probably the toughest marathon runner this side of Deena Kastor, but relativity will always be a big part of running as long as we strive for performance.

I learned about relativity almost as soon as I started racing over 20 years ago. Being new to the game meant I didn’t know much about other runners and remember this was long before the internet made it easy to find race results for anyone. I would congratulate the runner who was just ahead or behind me with a “great race” and based on their expectations would get the appropriate response. An 18 minute 5K is great if you’re used to running 19’s and awful if you’re used to 15’s.

For a long time I had a habit of asking a fellow runner how they did in a bit of obnoxious manner. Instead of asking them what their time was or how they did I would say “Did you break (fill in a number for a distance)”. I learned after a while that my realism wasn’t being appreciated. I was trying so hard to act like I knew a fellow runners’ expectations that I overstepped the bounds of decency and became a person to be avoided after races.

It took some humbling performances of my own especially a DNF in a marathon that made me realize the error of my ways. For the past few years as I have fought a futile battle to run times that resemble what I used to run, I have kicked the habit of asking “did you break “ to “How did you do? Or what was your time?”. I let the person tell me if it was a good or bad time for them
even though in many cases I think they realize I know the answer.

Relativity seems to be more prevalent in discussions with newer and less active runners. After a recent race where I had run high 23’s for a 5K, a person who is physically active but doesn’t race was amazed at how fast I had run. When I told him that I used to regularly run in the 18’s for the time, he said “That’s world class”. I responded “What world is that?” I was going to continue with the usual retort “It’s all relative” but I figured what’s the use.

So it’s going to continue to happen as long as there’s the dichotomy between the running obsessed on one side and the running ignorant on the other side and the best thing we can try to do is politely say thank you and avoid the word relativity.

Unless we’re talking physics.