Ed Grant's New Jersey report
Oct 6, 2005

Bizarre incident sidelines CBA's #4 runner, puts shadow over New Jersey race within a race at Manhattan Invitational between NE#3 Morris Hills and NE#5 Christian Brothers Academy. Public-private school issues also highlighted.

by Ed Grant

A showdown between New Jersey’s top two boys’ cross-country teams had a shadow cast on it this week when Justin Wheat, the No. 4 runner on the Christian Brothers, was injured in a bizarre incident on the Colts’ campus in Lincroft.

The CBA team was going through a training session while the school’s soccer team was playing Manalapan, a rival in the North A Division of the Shore Conference. One of the Manalapan fans twice made contact with CBA athletes, the first with some junior varsity runners and the second with Wheat, As a result, he will miss the Manhattan Invitational on Saturday, but could return for the Brown Invitational a week later.

This comes a week after Morris Hills had out-timed the Colts in separate races at the massive Shore Coaches Invitational on the state championship course at Holmdel County Park. Both won their races handily, but Morris Hills had a 16:30 average while the Colts averaged 16:48.

This weekend’s meeting will be the first of only two scheduled this season. Morris Hills and CBA are in the C race along with last year’s National runner-up, Fayetteville-Manlius, which has four of its top five returning. The only other Morris Hills-CBA pairing will come in the final all-group championship.

Wheat had a disappointing race last Saturday, running some 30 seconds behind his Holmdel best at 17:23 and was not one of CBA’s top five, falling victim to a too-fast early pace. But his presence in the top four is crucial to any hopes CBA has to match Morris Hills this weekend.

The Knights had an almost perfect race last weekend with its top trio of Brandon Rodkewitz, Jayson Decker and Kyle Soloff all running under 16:15 in the D race, times which usually translate to sub-13:00 at Van Cortlandt. CBA had Chris Horel win the A race in 16:07, while Kevin Rogers and Greg Leach ran 5-6 in 16:31 and 16:34.

Also to be watched eagerly by NJ fans this weekend will be the individual performances of the state’s top boy harriers, Ben Massam of Chatham, who won the E race at Holmdel in a meet record 15:35, and Craig Forys of Colts Neck who took the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh’s Saucon Valley course in 15:14. They will, unfortunately, be in separate races, so will no meet directly this fall until the all-group meet. Both are solid Footlocker candidates.

There will also be a summit meeting for the state’s top girls’ teams as Jackson, winner of the A race and time prize at Holmdel, and Colts Neck, a close second to Bay Shore at the Lehigh meet, are both in the Eastern Championship race. Jackson averaged 19:55 at Holmdel last week, Colts Neck hit 19:06 at the faster Saucon Valley course.

Two of the state’s top three runners will be in that race, Amana Marino for Jackson and freshman Briana Jackucewicz for Colts Neck. Marino was beaten at Holmdel by Danielle Tauro of Southern Ocean, who will be at the South Jersey Open this weekend at Delsea. Marino ran 18:47 at Holmdel last Saturday, Jackucewicz was second to National champ Aislinn Ryan of Warwick Valley at Saucon Valley in 17:45, which is roughly equal to Tauro’s 19:30 in her Holmdel win.

Two new stars emerged at the Shore meet, Amanda Goetscius of Delsea, wwho won the girls’ C race in 18:44 and soph Brandon Jarrett of St. Benedict’s who took the boys’D event from Owen Boyle of Manasquan and the Morris Hills boys in 16:00 in his first appearance at Holmdel---his only one this season since the Gray Bees will not be in the state meet.

Two 2004 state champions were missing at Holmdel, Brittany Sedberry of Ocean City and Vanessa Wright of Haddonfield. Both are nursing injuries with their return to action indefinite. Haddonfield still won the E title and also provided the individual champ in Colleen Brogan with three frosh and a soph filling out the lineup.

No charges were filed after the incident at CBA, but it certainly poses a situation which is worth investigation by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. There has been far too much “trash talk”: in the state these last few years aimed at the non-public schools, some of it aimed at allegedly aggressive recruiting practices in sports like basketball and football, but a lot more at the “unfair advantage” schools without legally defined enrollment borders have over their public counterparts.

This attitude has found its worst expression in the barring of certaiu schools from competitions otherwise open to anyone within a prescribed geographical area----in the case of the Penn Relays, to anyone at all. Now, it would seem that it has found its expression in a physical attack so it is time the matter was put on the front burner.

 


DyeStat
is published by
Student Sports
©1998-2006

John Dye - founder and editor in chief
Marc Davis - senior editor
Steve Underwood - senior editor
Donna Dye - features editor
Rich Gonzalez - DyeStatCal co-editor
Doug Speck - DyeStatCal co-editor
Kirsten O'Hara - business and marketing manager