11/28/09 at Bowdoin Park, Wappingers Falls NY NJ - PA - CT - MA - ME - VT - RI - NH
Bishop Hendricken boys surprise to 'win one for Bobby' Bishop Feehan MA girls pull a shocker too, while Rosas cruise to 1-2 finish
DyeStat Metro Meet Story - Photos by John Nepolitan
Brian Doyle finishes off his run each day with stop at a cemetery about a half mile from his home in Rhode Island.
He goes there to visit his father’s grave, where he says some prayers and gains inspiration from his dad’s memory.
"He’s always with me and I want him to always know that," said Doyle (right), a senior at Bishop Hendricken.
Doyle’s dad, Bobby, died of a heart attack at the age of 58 two years ago.
"I think about him everyday," said Doyle.
So does the entire Bishop Hendricken RI (Hawks Track Club) team, which dedicated its season to the late Doyle, whose brother, Jim, coaches the team.
"We run with my brother on our minds all the time," said Jim. `
So when they took the line at the Nike Northeast Regional as big underdogs, Doyle and his teammates ran with a heavy heart, wanting to win one for Bobby Doyle.
And despite the longshot label that they came into the race with, Bishop Hendricken wasn’t going to be denied, proving all the critics wrong as they came up with an emotionally charged upset victory over several highly ranked teams.
When the dust finally settled at windswept Bowdoin Park, Bishop Hendricken had accomplished the seemingly unthinkable, capturing the boys title with 137 points, 19 in front of another surprise team, runner-up Germantown Friends (Germantown XC Club).
Upset Saturday in the Northeast
Bishop Hendricken’s victory highlighted "Upset Saturday" in the NE Region, as none of the top four teams in the boys or girls NE Regional Rankings secured one of the top two national qualifying spots.
Bishop Hendricken came into the race #6 in the NE and #49 in the nation, but it turned those rankings upside down with its heartfelt triumph. Among the teams it knocked off were US#13 Don Bosco Prep NJ, US#26 Christian Brothers, US#30 West Windsor North, US#36 Haddonfield, and US#39 Germantown Friends.
How did Bishop Hendricken pull it off?
One big key was that its No. 4 man, Ryan Meehan, finished 10 places ahead of Germantown’s No. 3 man, and Doyle came up with a clutch 18th place finish in 16:27.7
"Everyone in our pack really stepped it up," said Bishop Hendricken senior Jake Sienko (left), 10th in 16:17.2. "We had a decent spread (1:10) and everyone had their best races. And Brian really came up big for us."
As for Doyle, he naturally was thinking of his dad all day.
"He was with me every step of the way," said Doyle. "This was for him, my uncle (Coach Jim Doyle) and all the guys on the team that are like family to me."
One reason that Bishop Hendricken wasn’t really on the radar to win this race was that it only defeated Bishop Guertin NH by one point at the New England Championships.
"We knew we were a better team than that," said Sienko. "I had an off day when we won at New Englands and we had another guy sick, so we knew we were capable of coming here and contending . There were probably a lot of teams that didn’t think we were this good because we ran so poorly against a lot of these teams at Easterns. But we knew that was just an off day and we showed how good we are today."
Germantown Friends senior Gus McKenzie knew that the Northeast rankings were loaded with NJ teams (top four), and with his team at #5, Germantown, like Bishop Hendricken, was considered a longshot to qualify for nationals. But McKenzie and the rest of Germantown’s pack didn’t feel that way,
"We looked at the results of the NJ state meets and we really weren’t worried about those teams," said McKenzie. Our pack is closer than those other teams and we knew that would be our advantage. We know people are surprised by what we did because a lot of people had no idea how good we are. But we always knew we could do this. We never stopped believing."
NJ Meet of Champions winner Don Bosco Prep (Ironman XC) Club, came in #1 in the Northeast, US#13, and favored to advance to its third straight National Championship race. But it wound up third with 168, 12 behind Germantown. Don Bosco must now hope it receives one of the four at large bids that will be awarded on Sunday.
Don Bosco was 10th at Nationals two years ago after earning an at-large bid, and was sixth last year in Portland after placing second in the NE race.
"If we don’t get in, that’s okay because we started the season No. 8 in the state and we won the Meet of Champions and are now No. 3 in the Northeast," said senior Mike Belgiovine, 21st in the race. "It’s still a great season no matter how you look at it. But it would be nice to finish off the season at Nationals."
NE#5 Bishop Feehan flips the script too
The girls race was as shocking as the boys, as unranked Bishop Feehan MA, and unranked LaSalle RI took down some powerhouses en route to clinching the two automatic qualifying spots. Bishop Feehan (right), #5 in the Northeast, emerged with a thrilling seven point win, 114-121, over LaSalle.
"When they were announcing the team scores and said the second place points, I just assumed that we didn’t do as well as we hoped," said Bishop Feehan senior Anisa Arsenault, 26th in 19:54.1. "Then they announced us as the winner and we were all just shocked. We never expected this at all. It’s pretty unbelievable."
Bishop Feehan, which put five runners ahead of LaSalle's fourth to clinch the victory, knew that all eyes would be on the top teams, such as two-time defending champion and heavy favorite Lincoln Sudbury MA (Sudbury XC Club). L-S, which came into the race US#18 and NE#1, wound up sixth with 176.
"We knew there would be no pressure or expectations on us since we were big underdogs," said Feehan senior Jen Thomas, 49th in 20:18.8. "So we just came here and ran a strong team race with no expectations and everyone ran their best races of the season."
Thomas, the No. 1 runner on her team, has battled injuries all season and ran in pain again in this race, finishing as the No. 5 runner. But she never once felt like throwing in the towel this season.
"There were days I couldn’t go out and run because of my knees, but my teammates were always so supportive, so I couldn’t let them down," said Thomas. "I had to keep going out there and doing my best."
Bishop Feehan, undefeated this season, has overcome lots of adversity, including its top runner, junior Viviana Hanley, finding out she was anemic during the season. Hanley was sixth in the race in 19;14.8.
"We certainly have been through a lot," said Arsenault. "But we always stuck together and now we’re going to Nationals. It’s all so unbelievable."
So what happened to L-S, which looked like a near lock for a three-peat?
Before the race, coach Henry Phelan said the key for his team would be to close up the gap between its No. 4 and No. 5 runner. But L-S couldn’t’ do that as 1:15 ticked away and 37 team points were lost between its No. 4 and No. 5.
NE#2/US#44 Hillsborough NJ, the NJ Meet of Champions winner, is hanging on to hopes that it can claim one of the four at-large spots to Portland. Hillsborough, running without No. 4 runner Maureen Lynch, still finished a very strong third with 139 points, 18 behind runner-up LaSalle.
Rosas put it on cruise control to go 1-2
As for the individual races, all eyes were on West Windsor-Plainsboro North (Plainsboro XC) junior twins Joe and Jim Rosa, who went 1-2 as expected, with Joe a step ahead as he won his second straight regional title in 16:01.3. Jim was second in 16:01.6.
Joe Rosa, the No. 1 ranked runner in the US by DyeStat, didn’t pursue his fourth course record of the season (15:39.7 by Charles Millioen of St. Anthony’s NY in 2000).
"Today was all about just getting first and second for Jim and I," said Joe, who will be favored to win the Nike National title next week. "We have to keep our legs fresh for next week, so we weren’t worried about time today."
The Rosa boys (left) hit the mile mark in the lead together in 5:03, and were never seriously challenged, looking back at times to make sure they had a big enough cushion to keep it on cruise control as they finished with a five second margin over third-place finisher Aaron Watanabe of Norwich, CT.
Joe, the highest returning finisher at Nationals after placing fourth last year, will take the starting line as the favorite in Portland.
"I really don’t feel any pressure," he said. "It’s just a cross country race"
Rosa said he knows there will be people wondering who the true top runner in the nation is the season, the winner at Nike or the winner of the Foot Locker National Championships (Dec. 12 in San Diego).
"My goal all year was to be a national champion, so that’s all I’m really focusing on right now. If I win next week, then I guess the debate can start, but I have no regrets about running Nike instead of Foot Locker. There are a lot of great runners doing Nike this year, and I think Nike is the place to be. That is going to be a hard race to win next week. I’ll have to run my best to win it."
His eagerness to win a national title next week is why Joe Rosa and his brother chose not to chase the course record of 15:39.7 set in 2000 by Charles Millioen of St. Anthony’s in N.Y.
"Today was all about getting first and second for the team and not about time," said Joe Rosa, who reached legendary status with his course record 14:56 at the Meet of Champions last week at Holmdel Park. "We have to have something left in our legs to run faster next week."
A victory by Joe Rosa at the Nike Nationals would cap off arguably the greatest season ever by a New Jersey cross-country runner. Brendan Heffernan of North Hunterdon is the only N.J. boy to win a national title, capturing the Foot Locker title in 1992.
"It sure would be the perfect way to end the season," said Rosa. "And what I’ve been working all year towards, and I’ll do the best I can."
Watson kicks last to grab a big win
The girls race featured a four-runner battle over the final mile as sophomore Reid Watson of Glastonbury CT (Tomahawk XC Club) moved from fourth to first, finally passing Ashley Smolinka of Hillsborough NJ (Hillsborough XC Club) with about 400 meters to go (right) to win in 18:52.1, 5.5 ticks in front of Smolinka.
"I knew I had a chance," said Watson. "I kept getting closer and closer and finally saw a chance to get by her. I am shocked right now. I had no idea I could win this. I thought maybe I could get top five to qualify for nationals, but I really didn’t see myself winning this until I got right behind her."
Watson had a message for her teammate, Lindsay Crevoiserat, who wound up third, when they were trying to chase down Smolinka.
"I told here that we got this," said Watson. "It wasn’t because the other girl (Smolinka) started slowing down or anything, it’s just that when Lindsay and I work together, good things happen."
Brian Doyle finishes off his run each day with stop at a cemetery about a half mile from his home in Rhode Island.
How did Bishop Hendricken pull it off?
Joe Rosa, the No. 1 ranked runner in the US by DyeStat, didn’t pursue his fourth course record of the season (15:39.7 by Charles Millioen of St. Anthony’s NY in 2000).
Watson kicks last to grab a big win
