District cross country team topped by a trio of Braves St. George leads Braves contingent By tim morris Staff Writer It was quite a cross country season in the Freehold District, with veterans rising to the occasion and newcomers making their mark. Howell’s Matt Forys was the area’s best individual once again, but behind him many of the challenging faces changed. Manalapan and Colts Neck were the championship teams, but a new challenger emerged in Freehold Borough. Dion Smith’s Braves were the best team in the District. They not only were the best on paper, but on the course as well. With a balanced squad deeper than anyone else’s, the Braves won the Battle of Monmouth Senior Division title back in September, regained the District title and captured their first Shore Conference Division title (A North) in 20 years. It was their first A North crown ever. At the District meet they had one of the lowest scores ever (25) as they placed their runners in third to seventh place in a very impressive display of pack running. Only 27 seconds separated the team’s top five runners from each other. Colts Neck again found a way to win the A Central Division. The Cougars were co-champions in 2001 when Holmdel lost a race in the last dual meet of the season. This year, the Cougars beat Matawan by a single point in their dual-meet showdown to win the title. Freehold Borough is an up-and-coming team to watch and the Colonials proved that by being the only team in the area to advance to the NJSIAA Group state championship following a third place in Central Jersey Group II. They finish ninth at the state championships. Forys heads the 2002 News Transcript All-District Boys’ Cross Country Team. Joining him are Marlboro’s James Coomber and Alex Ziabko, Manalapan’s Mike St. George, Kavan Desai and Matt Morgan and Colts Neck’s David Gaines. An early season cold made for an up-and-down season for Forys, but he returned to the MOC and defended his Freehold District title. Forys began the season with a second place at the Battle of Monmouth senior division race. He was off the pace at the Shore Coaches, but rallied to win the Freehold District title in the rain. After an 18th at the county championships, he ran his best races in November. He was seventh at the Shore Conference (in a Holmdel Park personal best 16:23.2), third in Central Jersey and 10th at the Group IV championships in the rain. He was 32nd at the Meet of Champions. Coomber reached his season-long goal of qualifying for the Group state championships. Things started off well for him with a third place at the Battle of Monmouth. He was second at the District battle to Forys for a second straight year. He was 11th at the county, 24th in the conference, ninth in CJ IV and 35th at the Group IV state meet. St. George’s return from injury was a welcome sight for the Braves and one of the sparks that led the team to a pair of championships. He was second in the junior race at the Battle of Monmouth, 16th at the Shore Coaches and led the impressive Brave win at the Districts with a third place. He was 26th in the county, 29th in the conference and 19th in Central Jersey. Desai provided senior leadership as well as quality racing during Manalapan’s championship season. He started things off with a third place at the Battle of Monmouth, pacing the Braves to the team title. He was fourth at the District championships, 36th in the county and 40th in CJ IV. Morgan also provided consistency, which was Manalapan’s team strength throughout the campaign. He is an 800-meter runner on the track, but gave it his all at the long 5K cross country distance to give Manalapan an opportunity to be a championship team. Morgan, a senior, was eighth at the Battle of Monmouth, sixth in the District, 26th in the county and 32nd in CJ IV. Ziabko, a junior, ran consistently throughout the season and will replace Coomber next year as the ‘Stangs No. 1. He was sixth at the start of the season in the Battle of Monmouth, ran ninth at the District, but was among the top seven in the District at the majors taking 23rd in the county, 39th in the conference and 26th in Central Jersey. Colts Neck’s Gaines picked up the pace in the second half of the season. He was one of the Cougars’ dependable scorers during the dual meet campaign, helping the team win its second straight division title. He was 10th at the District, but like Ziabko, was a high placer at all the championship meets. He was 25th in the county, 35th in the Shore Conference and 12th in Central Jersey II. That’s not bad for one of the conference’s top 800-meter runners. Those earning Honorable Mention in 2002 are: Andy Leimbach, Joe Civitano and Zach Tedoff, Colts Neck; Mike O’Flaherty, Eric Johnson, Jose Melendez and Mirza Salihagic, Freehold Borough; Ryan Donohue, Freehold Township; Erik Henricksen, Chris Aquino and Mike Cerchia, Howell; David Benney, Mike Morgan and Donnie Katz of Manalapan.