Rosa leads a Garden Party while Mass. Power Lincoln-Sudbury girls eye three-peat
Joe Rosa’s (photo left by John Nepolitan) course record breaking rampage should claim another victim, the Lincoln-Sudbury girls of Massachusetts are heavily favored to three-peat, and the battle for the top spot in the boys race features a rematch between New Jersey’s finest, arch rivals Don Bosco Prep and Christian Brothers Academy.
Rosa, a junior at West Windsor-Plainsboro North, has shredded three legendary course marks this fall (Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia-15:19.2, Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx-12:03.8 for 2.5 miles, and Holmdel Park, NJ-14:56).
And there doesn’t appear to be any way of stopping him adding Bowdoin Park to his list of conquests as he seeks to successfully defend his NE Regional title at Saturday’s Nike Northeast Regional Championship in Wappingers Falls, NY.
Rosa, ranked No. 1 in the nation by DyeStat, has reached legendary status in NJ following his sub 15 win in 14:56 on the venerable Holmdel layout at last Saturday’s NJ Meet of Champions. That took eight seconds off the course record Rosa set on Oct. 3. Prior to this season, the course record at Holmdel was 15:15.2, set in 2006 by Foot Locker runner-up and Nike indoor two-mile champion Craig Forys of Colts Neck, now running at Michigan.
Rosa’s performance at Holmdel leaves little doubt that the Bowdoin Park course mark of 15:39.7, set in 2000 by Charles Millioen of St. Anthony (N.Y.), is on very shaky ground.
In fact, there is strong chance that as many four runners from the Garden State could push Millioen all the way back to No. 5 all-time at Bowdoin.
Jim Rosa, Joe’s twin, was second at the M of C to his brother in 15:15, No. 2 in Holmdel history. Jon Vitez of Haddonfield just missed Millioen’s mark when he ran 15:41.5, No. 3 all-time, in September at the Bowdoin Park Invitational. Vitez was fifth at the NJ M of C in 15:42. Another runner who should challenge Millioen’s time is Mike Mazzaccaro of CBA, who edged Vitez for fourth at the M of C in 15:41.
Also keep an eye on Maine state runner-up Nate Hathaway of Scarborough High, 5th at the New England Championships.
Rosa, who won the NE title at Bowdoin last year in 15:56.6, said he’s not concentrating on the clock, but still feels he’ll have to run fast to win.
``In this race, I'm definitely less concerned with time than Meet of Champions,’’ said Rosa. ``My goal is to score one point for the team and help us qualify. I think that it may take a course record to win because Mazzacaro and Vitez are certainly capable of very fast times.’’
Rosa said the record would mean a lot to him.
``It would be great because one of my goals at the beginning of the season was to break the course record at every course I raced at, so that would complete it.’’
A lot is made over the difficulty of one course versus another, but Rosa doesn’t see much difference between Holmdel and Bowdoin.
`` I'd say they run about the same time-wise and in terms of difficulty. Both of them are known as some of the toughest courses in the Northeast, but neither stands as tougher than the other.’’
There’s been a lot of chatter on message boards lately about Rosa’s decision to compete at the Nike Regional rather than the Foot Locker Regional, which are both held on the same day.
The Foot Locker National Championship is considered a much more prestigious individual title to win, will Nike offers the only team national championship, but does also crown a individual champion.
Rosa's West Windsor North team won the Nike NE title last year and has an outside shot at qualifying as a team again this year.
Last year, West Windsor North won the Nike NE title and was fifth at Nike Nationals.
Rosa said he doesn’t get caught up in all that stuff.
``I'm pretty surprised that people talk about it so much,’’ said Rosa. ``I don't let talk of where I should go get to me. I'm comfortable with my decision and the only people who influence my decision are my teammates through their hard work.
``Cross Country is a team sport. ``I don't regret going to Nike at all, and won't even if our team doesn't make it to the national meet because at least we gave it a shot. Our team has been working hard all year and if that means passing up an opportunity to race the best individuals, than so be it. It came down to what is best for the team, not only now, but in the future. We like our chances of qualifying this year, but next year we only graduate one guy, and even if we don't make it this year, when we come back next year the young guys we have on our team will have been in this position before and it won't be new to them.’’
The race everyone wants to see won’t happen this season because Rosa is running at the Nike meet, and sophomore sensation Lukas Verzbicas of Lincoln Way High School in New Lenox, Ill., who won the Nike Indoor National titles in the 5-K and two-mile and set the national indoor 5-K record holder, is running at Foot Locker.
Rosa, who is actually three months and one day younger than Verzbicas despite being a grade ahead, and Verzbicas are considered the top two 5-K high school runners in the nations.
``I wish there was just one meet with everyone, teams and individuals,’’ said Rosa. ``I respect everyone’s decision this year because they all have their own personal reasons for choosing one meet or the other. With two meets, it’s impossible to determine who the best in the country is, but if I run well at NXN I will be proud of what I've accomplished, and look forward to maybe racing some of the Foot Locker guys on the track.’’
Don Bosco Prep and Christian Brothers Academy lead a loaded NJ entry in boys team race
After getting rocked by CBA NJ by 89 points at the Eastern States Championships on Oct. 10 at the Manhattan Invitational, Don Bosco Prep NJ has not only avenged that defeat with two huge victories over CBA the last two weeks, but it now finds itself ranked No.1 in the Northeast and #13 in the U.S as it seeks a third straight trip to Portland.
After losing three key runners to graduation off a team that finished second in the NE and sixth at nationals last year, Don Bosco (photo right by Errol Anderson) rebounded from its loss at Easterns to beat CBA for the NJ Non-Public A title on Nov. 14, and then outscored its rival, 78-86, to capture the NJ Meet of Champions title last Saturday.
Don Bosco, coached by Kevin Kilduff, is led by seniors Rafael Vargas, Mike Belgiovine, and Howard Rosas, junior Erik Lapinski, and sophomores Brandon Baxter and Christian Costello.
CBA, ranked No. 1 in the NE for five weeks following its Eastern victory at Manhattan, is getting healthy at the right time. CBA, now NE #2/US #26, coach Tom Heath said several runners that were sick over the last month are finally starting to regain their earlier form. CBA, eighth in this race a year ago, is trying to advance to Portland for the first time since appearing in back-to-back national races in 2004-05. Juniors Mike Mazzaccaro, Dan Mykityshyn, and William Villa, seniors Dan Bailey, Rich Bohny, Mark Lee, Colin Johnson will try to return to the national stage.
Although Don Bosco and CBA are the class of this field, there are three more nationally ranked teams toeing the line that should be in the hunt for a top two spot as well as an at-large bid.
NE #5/US #39 Germantown Friends PA, NE #3/US #30 West Windsor North NJ, and NE#4/US #36 Haddonfield NJ all feel they have a chance to advance. Also keep an eye on Pennsylvania AAA State champion West Chester Henderson, New England Champion and US #49 Bishop Hendricken RI, and New England runner-up and US # 50 Bishop Guertin RI. Hendricken nipped by Guertin by a point to win the New England title.
Germantown Friends, led up front by Gus McKenzie and Tom Waterman, finished second behind Haddonfield, 54-57, and ahead of CBA (59) at the Bowdoin Invitational on September 26th. Germantown Friends, which relies on a very tight pack, is coming off a big victory at the PA Independent Schools Championships.
West Windsor North, which edged Haddonfield for third at the NJ M of C, will surely get a 1-2 finish from Joe and Jim Rosa, but we’ll need a strong race at No. 5 to move on.
Haddonfield, which began the season #1 in the NE and #6 in the US, is much better than how it raced last week when it was fourth at the NJ M of C.
``We’re a better team than we showed at the MOC, and we are happy that we get another chance to show it,’’ said Haddonfield coach Nick Baker. ``We have to run alot more aggressively.’’
But Baker knows his charges have its work cut out for themselves.
``A healthy CBA will be very tough to beat, and Don Bosco is really on a roll and running very well,’’ said Baker. WW North is so strong up front they have an edge right from the start. We have not seen Germantown Friends run since Manhattan, so it is hard to know were they are, but they have proven they know how to win.’’
Haddonfield finds itself in an interesting position. Even if Baker’s team fails to place first or second, if it places third it stands a good chance to earn one of the four at-large bids (from the eight regions combined) that will be awarded.
Only third and fourth place teams from each of the eght regions are eligible for at at-large bid, and an earlier victory over the region champion is weighed very heavily when the selctions are made. Haddonfield owns a victory over CBA (at the Bowdoin Classic), Don Bosco (Easterns), and two over Germantown Friends (Bowdoin Classic and Easterns).
In fact, CBA, Don Bosco and Haddonfield all have at least one victory over the other during the course of the season, and Germantown Friends has victories over Don Bosco and CBA. So if any of those teams finish third, an at-large spot would seem very likely.
Meanwhile, if West Windsor North finishes third, it would need Haddonfield to finish first to strengthen its chances since it finished a place ahead of Haddonfield at the NJ M of C, and hasn’t beaten any of the other top contenders.
``It's definitely going to take our best race to qualify, said West Windsor North’s Joe Rosa. But that’s the fun of cross county. Everytime you go out there you want to try and do something people don't expect you to do. If everyone races their best, I like our chances. But but nothing less won’t get it done.’’
Boston Massacre
In the girls’ team picture, Lincoln-Sudbury of Mass. is the class of the field.
The two-time defending champions upset league rival Newton South last year for its second straight NE title before placing 12th at Nationals.
This time around, L-S comes to Bowdoin #1 in the NE and #18 nationally, and is the prohibitive favorite to run off with its third straight NE trophy.
Lincoln-Sudbury heads into this race with a 4-0 record this season vs. its rival, US#46 Newton South, including a 52-102 victory at the Division 1 championship race at the Massachusetts All-State meet last week.
Junior Andrea Keklak led the way for L-S by winning in 19:00.5, and is one of the favorites to cross first on Saturday. Keklak was 11th last year in the NE race.
Among the teams looking to grab a qualifying spot and perhaps dethrone the champions will be US # 44 Hillsborough NJ, US #45 Randolph NJ, and Bishop Feehan, Newton South and Franklin, all from Massachusetts. Bishop Feehan won the Division 2 title at the Massachusetts All-State meet.
There are also a trio New England teams, LaSalle and Barrington of Rhode Island, and Manchester Central of New Hampshire, as well as PA state champion Emmaus that should be in the mix..
LaSalle, the Rhode Island champions, defeated runner-up Barrington, 133-184, for the New England title, with New Hampshire state champion Manchester Central third with 210.
Meanwhile, Hillsborough and Randolph have a score to settle as the Garden State powers are expected to clash for the third straight week. Randolph won the NJ Group 4 title by seven points on Nov. 14, but Hillsborough avenged that loss with a thrilling one point victory at the NJ Meet of Champions last Saturday.
Individually, the race appears wide open with Keklak, Madeleine Reed of Newton South, Corey Stock of L-S, Joelle Amaral of Randolph, Jill Prentice of Montgomery NJ, Michelle Capozzi of Red Bank Catholic NJ, Kathy O’Keefe of Newton South(photo above by John Nepolitan) , Jen Molke of Holy Angels NJ, and Ashley Smolinka of Hillsborough NJ.
Reed was seventh last year, Stock ninth, Capozzi 10th, Keklak 11th and O’Keefe 14th. You can be sure that Capozzi, who was the first finisher not to qualify for nationals last year, will be out to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
Joe Rosa’s (photo left by John Nepolitan) course record breaking rampage should claim another victim, the Lincoln-Sudbury girls of Massachusetts are heavily favored to three-peat, and the battle for the top spot in the boys race features a rematch between New Jersey’s finest, arch rivals Don Bosco Prep and Christian Brothers Academy.
has not only avenged that defeat with two huge victories over CBA the last two weeks, but it now finds itself ranked No.1 in the Northeast and #13 in the U.S as it seeks a third straight trip to Portland. 
Lincoln-Sudbury heads into this race with a 4-0 record this season vs. its rival, US#46 Newton South, including a 52-102 victory at the Division 1 championship race at the Massachusetts All-State meet last week. 
