Higginson, Cougars led the way in District XC
Howell’s Lambert, Patriots’ Walsh get nods as well
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

The honor of having the best team in the state has seldom been the domain of the Freehold Regional District.

But when it comes to girls cross country, the District has the bragging rights.

Colts Neck was the season-long No. 1 team in New Jersey and backed it up by winning the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. The Cougars, though, did not stop there. They made a strong case for themselves as being the finest team in state history when they finished fourth at the Nike Team Nationals held in Portland, Ore.

Led by the yeoman work of Ashley Higginson, the Cougars met all challenges in the state, winning every competition from the Cougar Invitational up to the county and Shore Conference, culminating in the school’s first-ever MOC title by 66 points.

The Cougars did it with a steel will to success and the deepest squad the District has ever seen. The Cougars’ second team would be good enough to be in the top 20 in the state. In Higginson and Briana Jackucewicz, the Cougars have two of the best high school cross country runners in the country. At the NTN, Higginson was first and Jackucewicz, 11th.

Allison Donaghy and her sister Erin Donaghy along with Allie Flott were the most consistent runners for the Cougars behind their Big Two.

All five head the News Transcript’s 2006 All-Freehold Regional District Girls Cross Country Team. Joining them on the team are Howell’s Lindsey Lambert and Freehold Township’s Charlotte Walsh.

For the Princeton-bound Higginson, the highlight of the year wasn’t breaking 18:00 at Holmdel Park and becoming the fourth fastest in state history, nor was it qualifying for the Foot Locker National Championships by finishing fourth at the Northeast Qualifier. No, for the team-oriented Higginson, it was her first place at the NTN, leading the Cougars to that fourth place. Always thinking team first, Higginson put the hammer down in the final 800 meters to pass two runners, including the defending champion, Betsy Bies of Yankton, S.D., to finish first in 19:18.4 on the soggy Portland Meadows race course.

That win was only one of several great things that Higginson did during a year in which she placed herself among the country’s best.

It started back in September with a win at the Spike Shoe Invitational at Penn State, where she was second (17:49). She would win her home Cougar Invitational in a course record 17:34 and take the Freehold District title for a second time (18:17).

At the Eastern States at the Bronx, N.Y.’s venerable Van Cortlandt Park, she was second in 14:16 on the 2.5-mile course, making her the third fastest in state history and ninth ever.

She won the Monmouth County title in the rain (18:28) and tied the Ocean County Park course record at the Shore Conference Championships (17:32).

Higginson was second in a dead heat to teammate Jackucewicz at the Central Jersey Group IV meet. She was second to defending state champion Danielle Tauro at the State Group IV and MOC. At the MOC, her 17:50 was a new county record and fourth fastest ever. She became the first District harrier to break 18:00.

At the Northeast Qualifier, her 17:52 got her a fourth place and a trip to San Diego for the nationals, where she finished 22nd (18:40).

No one has ever run such consistently fast times over the course of a season as Higginson did this year. She put together the finest campaign ever by a District girl, running times that rank her with the best-ever in the state.

Jackucewicz missed the first half of the season coming back from a hip injury. When she returned, it put the Cougars over the top.

Her return was marvelous, starting off with a second place behind Higginson in the conference. She repeated as CJ IV champion in a Thompson Park course record 18:11. She was fifth in Group IV and ran her best Holmdel Park time of the season at the MO, where she was sixth (18:30). She took 19th at the Northeast Qualifier and 11th at the NTN. Still just a sophomore, Jakucewicz is well on her way to becoming one of the best harriers in state history.

Allison Donaghy became the team’s No. 3 runner, coming up with her best results in the championship races. She was 13th in the Cougar Invitational, fifth at the District championships, fourth in the county, 11th in the conference, 11th in Central Jersey, 23rd in Group IV and 35th in the MOC in a personal best 19:31.

Flott was 15th in the Cougar, eighth in the District, fifth in the county, 22nd in the conference, 30th at Group IV and 52nd at the MOC.

Erin Donaghy was 20th in the Cougar, fourth in the Freehold District, seventh in the county, 17th in the conference, 14th in CJ and 64th at the MOC.

The good news for the Cougars — and bad news for those chasing them — is that Jackucewicz, Flott and the Donaghys are all returning.

Lambert, who is a junior, built on her solid outdoor track season to have her best cross country season. She was third at the District and the county, 10th in the conference, eighth in CJ and 21st in State Group IV.

Colts Neck’s success overshadowed the other District teams, but led by Lambert, Howell enjoyed a top-20 ranking throughout the season and finished eighth at the Group IV championships.

When Janel Parker’s season ended with a stress fracture in early October, Walsh helped pick up the slack. She was second in the Senior Division at the Battle of Monmouth, second to Higginson in the District meet, out-kicking Lambert to the line, ninth in the county and 23rd in CJ.

Those earning Honorable Mention in 2006 are: Allison Linnell, Morgan Clark and Kristen O’Dowd, Colts Neck; Megan Patterson, Freehold Borough; Janel Parker and Allyson Moskal, Freehold Township; Lauren Wiemken and Lauren Rome, Howell; and Suzanne Raspa, Marlboro.