Barnegat Poised for Strong Showing at Cross Country Championships

You might not think of distance runners as being tough, but strength of body and mind will be a key for Barnegat High School junior Matt Nelson when he bids for an unprecedented victory at the Ocean County Cross Country Championships Thursday at Ocean County Park, Lakewood.

The varsity girls race is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Southern Regional is expected to contend for the county team crown in the girls race. The boys race begins at 4:30 p.m. on the flat, turn-filled 5K course. Southern Regional and Barnegat could challenge for team honors in the boys competition.

"Matt is a gutsy runner and he needs to use that to his advantage," said Barnegat coach Joe Doviak. "He usually reacts to the caliber of runners in the race. In this race, he needs to take over when he feels he can get some space between him and the lead pack.

"Matt’s toughness is important. In the past, he has tried to take the lead from the gun, but that hasn’t always worked. He has become much smarter in reacting as the race unfolds. We have rehearsed when he can make moves on specific courses. He knows when to make his move on this course.’’

Nelson’s best time on the Ocean County Park course is 15:26 during a dual meet a couple of weeks ago.

Doviak said Nelson will be challenged for the individual championship by Noah Jacobs of Lacey and Eric Dragonetti of Southern Regional.

Dragonetti has run a 15:27 at Ocean County Park. Other county runners who are in the hunt for the individual title are Chris Marco and Kyle Kroon of Toms River South.

"I expect the first mile to be very fast," Doviak said. “I expect it to be between 4:50 and 4:52. I expect other runners to push Matt early in the race.’’

With Nelson leading the way, Barnegat is also a contender for the team title.

“We have been up and down all season,’’ Doviak said. “To have a shot at the team title, we would have to accomplish something we’ve never done before. We are hoping for a top five finish.

“We need our senior captains – Evan Megill and Paul Santolla – to run well. We would also need sophomore Connor Ross to run a personal best, around a 17:30, for us to reach our team goals.’’

Monsignor Donovan, Point Pleasant Boro, Toms River North and Toms River East could also challenge for the team title in the boys race.

While Dragonetti will set the pace for Southern Regional, the Rams will need strong efforts from sophomore Dave Marino (16:30), junior Steve Mershon (16:40), freshman Sean Howley (16:41), senior Troy Gifford (16:49) and sophomore Cody Raynor (16:50) to contend for team honors.

“Our kids need to run their own race,’’ said Southern Regional coach Scott Baker. “The pace is going to be fast so we need to be smart, yet aggressive. At the mile mark, we may be back (in the pack) but we know that is only a third of the race.

“We need to avoid the temptation to go out fast.’’

Southern Regional is also a contender for the team championship in the girls varsity race. Brianna Feerst of Point Pleasant Beach is the returning and defending race champion.

Danielle Leavitt of Lacey, Ashley Carle of Jackson Memorial and Jillian Smith of Southern are just three of the runners expected to challenge Feerst for the individual title.

Leavitt led Lacey to the Shore Conference Class B South title. In a recent dual meet against Barnegat, Leavitt ran 18:33 on the Ocean County Park course.

Smith, a junior, has turned in an 18:54 effort on the Ocean County Park circuit this fall.

Besides Smith, the key runners for Southern Regional are senior Rachel Heussner (18:38), junior Danielle Smolyn (19:31), junior Courtney Muraczewski (19:47), sophomore Jami Difilippo (20:21) and senior Hannah Neustadt (20:26).

“I think Jillian has the chance to run with Leavitt and Feerst,’’ said Southern Regional coach Brian Zatorski. “If Rachel Heussner has a good day, I think she could be s surprise and finish in the top three.

“In order to win the team title we need a consistent effort from our top four girls and a  big effort from our No.5 girl,’’ Zatorski said. “I think all five of our girls need to run 20 minutes or less for us to have a chance to win the team title.’’

The top eight placing teams and the top 25 individual finishers advance to the Shore Conference Championships according to Meet Director Steve Theobald..

Theobald said the Ocean County Park course features several changes of surface.

“There are multiple 90-degree turns, runners will be on black top, sand, grass and there are surface roots from the trees,’’ said Theobald, the boys coach at Jackson Memorial High School. “Tempo is the key on this course.’’

Theobald said runners will navigate two, 1.5-mile loops around the circuit.

“You need to be able to maintain a pace on this course,’’ Theobald said. “If you go out too fast you could tire and fade. If you go out too slow, you could easily get trapped back in the pack. This is going to be a finesse race.’’

Ocean County Cross Country Championships Race Schedule

• 3:30 p.m. – Freshmen girls
• 3:45 p.m. – Freshmen boys
• 4:00 p.m. – Varsity girls
• 4:30 p.m. – Varsity boys
• 4:40 p.m. JV girls
• 5:00 p.m. JV boys