Cougar Invitational has national implications
Bronxville to challenge Cougar girls; top boy runners to test Forys
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

It's not an exaggeration to say that Friday's New Balance Jersey Shore Cougar Invitational is attracting national attention.

Some of the best cross country teams and runners in the country will be dueling over the Bucks Mill Park layout, home to Colts Neck High School.

There will be 41 teams from all over the Northeast in action as the meet, now in its fourth year, is living up to Cougar coach Jim Schlentz's goal.

"We want it to be really high-caliber," he said.

The host Cougars figure prominently here.

For those looking for individual duels, they'll have it in the boys' seeded championship race, where Craig Forys will be tested on his home course by a slew of outstanding runners, which includes St. Benedict Prep's Brandon Jarrett, who is considered the state's No. 2 harrier behind Forys. Because St. Benedict's is a prep school, Jarrett won't be racing in the NJSIAA championship races, which means this is probably his only chance to race Forys in New Jersey this fall. Jackson's Chris Carle (10th at the 2005 Meet of Champions) and Brick Memorial's Andrew Brodeur (the 2005 Shore Conference champion and runner-up to Forys at the Cougar last year) will give us a little preview of November's MOC.

From outside the state, this year's Penn Relays High School Mile champion Dominic DellaPelle, of Salesianum, Del., is coming, along with Delaware's Small School's 1,600 champion from the spring, Chris Slater, and Pennsylvania's 3,200-meter state champion Paul Springer, of Uniondale, who ran 9:01 in June. They all want to test themselves against Forys, who was preseason ranked No. 4 in the country.

"Craig will be fine," said Schlentz of the upcoming race on his home turf.

For those who like team competition, it doesn't get any better than the girl's seeded championship race where national rankings will be on the line.

Colts Neck and Bronxville, N.Y., are two of the leading contenders for the Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Ore., on Dec. 2, and this matchup Friday will set the pecking order in the Northeast for the time being, or at least until they meet again on Oct. 14 at the Manhattan Invitational at VanCortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y.

Colts Neck's girls are ranked No. 7 in the country and No. 2 in the Northeast Region, while Bronxville is No. 13 in the nation and No. 3 in the Northeast. Since the Top 2 ranked teams from each of the country's nine regions automatically qualified for the NTN, the results from the Cougar Invitational will be important.

However, the girl's race is more than just Colts Neck and Bronxville. Also entered in the elite field is Pope John (which was third in the 2005 MOC behind Roxbury and Colts Neck, and has four of its Top 5 runners returning), perennial state power Red Bank Catholic and Ocean Township. From out of state there is Padua, the second-ranked girls team from Delaware, and all the way from Kentucky, Assumption.

The Cougars could get a boost Friday if Briana Jackucewicz makes her season debut here. Her training has been going well as she is slowly working her way back to form after a leg injury during the track season in the spring.

Ashley Higginson has been running strong all year for Colts Neck and is certainly one of the favorites to win the girl's race individually. Among the outsiders who will test her are a trio of Bronxville, N.Y., runners - Virginia Connor, Emma Clark and Victoria Flannery - and Pope John's Laura Heigus (sixth at the MOC last year).

Allison and Erin Donaghy, Kristen O'Dowd, Allison Linnell and Alexandra Flott make up the deepest team in the state for Colts Neck.

The Cougar boys are quietly jelling into a team that could make noise this fall themselves. Jason Weiner, just a sophomore, has been the team's most improved runner.

The invitational will go off at 3:30 p.m. There will be freshman and jayvee races, along with a Varsity Championship, Large School and Small School competition at the meet. The Girls Varsity Championship and Large School race will start at 4:30 p.m. with the boys championship race at 5:10.

Green Jackets are awarded to the overall individual champions. Forys is going for his fourth green Jacket. Jackucewicz won last year and Higginson, the year before.

Forys holds the meet record for the boys at 15:28, and Jackucewicz and Higginson share the girls mark at 18:42.

Forys sets course record

at Spike Shoe and boys finish first

Colts Neck displayed its power to the Northeast on Saturday at the Spike Shoe Invitational held at Penn State University.

Forys turned in a course record 15:20.55 in winning the boys race over an undulating course. He went unchallenged in his first test of the year, winning by 40 seconds. That is disturbing news for his challengers on Friday. Forys opened with a 4:53 first mile and dropped all challengers, repeating that 4:53 for his second mile.

"I felt real good from the start," he said. "I wanted to work the second half of the race. The finish was uphill and I felt it.

"It's a nice feeling to win a race like this; it gives me confidence," he added.

Equally impressive was the race run by the Cougar boys, who finished first with a team average of 16:53.07.

"We thought we had a chance of winning it," said Forys. "We expected to compete for it."

The return of Brenden Krewer from a foot injury, who hadn't raced this year, really helped the Cougars. He finished eighth overall in 16:29.70. Weiner continued his fine running, placing 11th (16:56.20). Vivino (17:36.10) and Fiasconaro (18:02.80) were 37th and 66th respectively.

The Cougar girls went head to head with Saratoga Springs, last year's national runner-up and ranked fourth in the Northeast. Saratoga beat Colts Neck, running without Jackucewicz, 32-123. Higginson finished second overall with a fine 17:49.70. Saratoga's Hannah Davidson was first in 17:24.10.

With a 5:28 first mile and 11:24 for two, it was the first time that Higginson has dipped under 18:00 on a full 5K course.

Flott was 21st overall and second among the Cougars (20:07.85). Allison Donaghy (20:28.55), Erin Donaghy (20:32,85) and Kristen O'Dowd (20:33.25) were 31st, 36th and 37th.