In any other sport, it would be impossible to bring together nearly 250 teams from across the Northeast to one event, but for cross country runners and coaches, it’s just another Saturday.
On Oct. 5, the Shore Coaches Invitational at Holmdel Park brought together over 4000 runners from across four different states, and showcased athletes from all different types of schools and counties.
The freshmen Blue Devils would be the first to compete for Westfield, and would be competing against the largest, and oftentimes, the most competitive schools across the region in the freshmen A race. However, if they were to have success, it would not come without struggle.
Holmdel Park is notorious for its difficulty, and in the freshmen two mile course, they would have to conquer the tough opening hill. Then, they will have to face and attack the “roller coasters,” a series of short but steep uphills, which take immense physical and mental strength.
Despite this, the freshmen rose to the occasion, led by freshmen Abigail Drennan and Oriana Soloway, capturing 14th and 15th place with times of 14:59 and 15:00. Their scoring efforts would be rounded out by Evangeline Van Brunt, Natalie Salzano and Audrey Sewald, all placing in the top 50 in a race of 174 competitors. Their point total was enough to place them in second place, tied with Hillsborough. The tie was broken with the sixth place runner, Laetitia Horn, and the girls captured bronze as a team.
A few races later, the highly-anticipated Westfield varsity runners toed the line. Not only would they have to conquer the same opening hill and “roller coasters” that the freshmen had to face, but they would also have to tackle arguably their hardest challenge of all, “The Bowl.” Located about halfway through the 5000 meter race, “The Bowl” is notorious for not only being lengthy and steep, and requires runners to run a smart race in order to have enough energy left for the intense climb.
From the moment the gun fired, senior Anna Kylish ran to the front pack, and stuck with them throughout the difficult course, leading her to a seventh place finish in a time of 20:13, exceptionally fast for a tough course like Holmdel. “I think everyone was super nervous going into this race,” remarked Kylish. “It’s a very hard course, but we all stayed controlled, worked together and performed well.”
Senior Emma Pranke (21:05), sophomore Jessica Zhou (21:45), junior Vanessa Larkin (22:12) and senior Emily Drennan (22:32), would close out the scoring, and allow the Blue Devils to place sixth out of 23 of the biggest schools in New Jersey. However, it is rare that the Blue Devils are satisfied.
Head coach Joseph Berardi revealed how although “the individual efforts were good,” the girls “are fighting an uphill battle.” He remarked how while many of the other teams in the Varsity A race have raced four to five times this year, “some girls, it was only their first or second race.” Berardi also added how although it was not quite the results that they wanted “a lot of the advantages that other teams have right now will disappear within the next month.”
Despite the previous race not going perfectly to plan, the JV group toed the line with the high energy and excitement that the girls needed. The girls ran a smart and tactical race, while attacking the hills and conquering all that Holmdel Park threw at them. Sophomores Kayla Yip and Eevie Charles placed 8th and 11th in the rankings, with times of 23:38 and 23:50. Erin McDermott (24:52), Keri Kapuscinski (25:07) and Jessica Tan (26:27) would be the final three scorers for Westfield, and would lead them to a 5th place finish in the team scores.
At the end of the day, the girls still had high spirits, despite the intense heat and falling slightly short of their goals. “It’s only our second race so we still have a lot in us. We haven’t really gotten to the middle of the season, so I think we are all just going to improve a lot,” remarked Pranke after the race.
After addressing the team, Berardi said with confidence, “It’s a slow burn and it’s a process and you can’t rush it. We are going to get better.”
