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.
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