Warinanco Park, home to the oldest cross country course in New Jersey, was the site of the heavily anticipated Union County Cross Country championships on Thursday. The boys, despite a strong start, fell short to a strong Union Catholic team. The girls captured third, with Union Catholic placing first and Kent Place nabbing second.
The boys made their mark early, with five runners in the top ten half one mile into the race. But when eventual winner Lucas Reguinho, out of Elizabeth, made his move at the end of mile two, only junior Avery Keith stuck with him. They left behind the majority of Westfield’s squad, and with it any hopes of winning the race. Keith would go on to place second and set a WHS Warinanco Park record at 15:41 in the 5k race.
“I’m thrilled with the time,” Keith said post-race. “But the only goal was to win as a team, and that didn’t happen.”
Coach Chris Tafelski viewed the race as a missed opportunity, “We had an opportunity to get the win today. We didn’t stick to our plan in the second mile and it cost us the race.”
The team is coming away disappointed, but this will likely not be their last shot at Union Catholic. If both teams qualify for the Meet of Champions, as expected, Westfield will get its chance at redemption with Union Catholic.
“It only makes us want them even more,” said junior Tage Mehta, who finished fourth with a time of 15:50. “We weren’t at our best today, but when the time comes we’ll get them.”
The girls fought hard as well, with senior Sonia Olson running girls down in the final stretch to capture an eighth place finish. “I knew there was about 600 meters left and there were two UC girls ahead of me so I made a push to catch them,” said Olson.
Blue Devils Catherine Collins, Stacey Salz and Lina Wright followed suit, placing 19, 22 and 23 respectively. The girls battled, putting up 98 points, but ultimately fell short to a dominant Union Catholic team finishing with only 24 points, and second place Kent Place finishing with 55.
Head coach Joe Berardi was pleased with his team’s performance, “We got off to a good start, with the JV girls winning the county championship. Varsity followed up with every girl running a personal best.”
The girls have their eyes set on winning their first sectionals since 2004 next Saturday at Oak Ridge park. “We are all capable of doing really well, and I think we can win if we really try,” said Salz. Berardi agreed saying, “We just need to worry about ourselves on Saturday. It’s a great opportunity for the girls.”
The boys and the girls will both compete next Saturday at Oak Ridge Park, hoping to capture a sectional title.
