3 CVC teams earn wild card berths into Meet of Champions
It was a wild Saturday for Colonial Valley Conference cross country teams, as three CVC squads earned wild card berths into this Saturday’s Meet of Champions at Holmdel Park.
The West Windsor-Plainsboro South boys and girls each advanced, as did the Princeton boys.
The top two teams in each group gained automatic qualifiers, and eight wild cards were chosen based on a team’s overall points. The WWPS and Princeton boys finished 4-5 respectively in Group IV, but were 7-8 overall in the state with 332 and 409 points. They were the second and third wild card qualifiers.
Mercer also had four individual male qualifiers from Group III in WW-P North’s Lad Vedang (3rd, 16:04), Allentown’s Liam Murphy (11th, 16:16) and Hopewell’s Sean Dolan (7th, 16:24) and Will Titus (10th, 16:43). For the girls, Allentown freshman Andie Murray got a wild card after finishing 13th in 20:04.
It is the fourth straight trip to the MOC for Princeton, which won it all in 2016 and finished fourth last year. But coach Jim Smirk doesn’t actually term it as four consecutive appearances.
“We have always looked at advancement to the MOC as a product of a successful long-term team development,” Smirk said. “We have not reached the MOC four years in a row. Each year has had a different cast of athletes and the last three years our number one (runner) has been different. We look at this as an expression of our patience to develop athletes as well as their commitment to becoming better every year.”
The Little Tigers had two Top-10 runners in Jackson McCarthy (6th, 16:29) and Acasio Pinheiro (8th, 16:36). McCarthy dropped 29 seconds from his sectional performance, while Pinheiro gained 29 after winning sectionals.
“Jackson had some tactical challenges at sectionals that we discussed and we refined his race plan coming into groups,” Smirk said. “Jackson executed his race plan well and he utilized his speed effectively late in the race. Acasio ran great at sectionals and it may have left him a touch depleted during the week. He raced conservatively early and made sure he secured an individual qualification in case the team didn’t wildcard. He’s looking forward to a big week at the MOC.”
Rounding out the top five were Tucker Zullo (27th, 16:57), Tyler Fu (49th, 17:15) and Jacob Bornstein (93rd, 17:49).
“A strong race up front definitely set the tone,” Smirk said. “But Tyler FU coming on strong and being in the top third and Jacob Bornstein, a sophomore, fighting his way in with a personal best helped us close the door at the end of the race.”
Princeton averaged a time of 17:01 as a team and Smirk said he felt comfortable about getting a wild card after watching Groups III and NonPublic A run. He looks to build on the effort this weekend.
“I think we would like to see our top three race a bit closer as a pack and be in the front grouping of runners,” Smirk said. “After that we would like to see both Tyler Fu and Jacob Bornstein continue their aggressive racing and growth into their roles as varsity runners. Reaching a podium spot would be great, but again, we see that as a product of hard work, not the ultimate measurement of our success.”
The Pirate boys are making their second straight MOC trip as a team after finishing eighth last year, and their seventh this decade. West Windsor had just one finisher in the top 28, but formed a tight pack with its two-through-four runners.
“It was just a bunch of genuine, hard-working kids who have overcome a great deal of adversity this year,” said coach Kurt Wayton, whose team averaged a 17:02. “Group Four usually gets the lion share of wildcards and I thought we did enough to get one, but I was disappointed that we didn’t seize the opportunity in front of us (to do more).”
Ben Fanta was the top Pirate (12th, 16:41), followed by Austin True (29th, 17:01), George Gochuico (34th, 17:05), Patrick Rancan (39th, 17:08) and Connor Lundy (48th, 17:15).
WWPS was hurt by the fact that Adhwin Sridhar, who finished fifth last week in 16:34, was nearly a minute slower and was the last Pirate across. But Gochuico dropped 37 seconds to pick up the slack.
“(Sridhar) had some congestion; we talked and he agreed he could have done more,” Wayton said. “George certainly underperformed at sectionals and ran much better at states. I think he’s capable of quite a bit more, however, at MOCs.”
The Pirate girls are back for the first time since reaching three straight MOCs from 2012-14, but their performance did not thrill the coach.
“Our worst race of the season,” Wayton said. “But it’s a testament to our depth and the efficacy of our model. We have chosen to develop each and every athlete to their absolute best.”
Sam Miller (26th, 20:08) led the way, followed by Carolina McCloskey (32nd, 20:14), Isabella Hudson (43rd, 20:30), Lea Martin (44th, 20:33) and Kavya Tummalapalli (48th, 20:37).
“Sam Miller has been our rock this season,” Wayton said. “She kept us alive at groups.”
McCloskey, just a freshman, was West Windsor’s second finisher for the second straight week.
“Actually she is just one of two freshmen we have had who have made an incredible impact,” Wayton said. “Jen Miller and Nina (McCloskey) have done incredibly well. They have a bright future.”
As for the immediate future, what is Wayton hoping for on Saturday?
“We want both teams on the podium,” he said.
A top-five finish will do the trick.
Follow Rich Fisher on twitter @fish4scores