On Sunday, October 29, 2017
FAST TIMES AT STATE CROSS COUNTRY MEET AT DEER
PATH PARK
Last Sunday proved that although it was too
warm for an 8 kilometer cross country championship it wasn’t too warm to run
the fastest time ever on the triple loop course at Deer Path Park in
Readington, Hunterdon County.
Thanks to that triple loop course spectators
were anticipating fast times as they had seen Joshua Izewski of Doylestown PA
leading a string of fast young men going into their second of three loops. Izewski held a fairly comfortable lead going into
the last loop. Maybe he could break 24
minutes if he stayed on pace, was the buzz from the on-lookers.
When Izewski came into sight again for the
finish, he appeared to be coasting, thanks to his lead.
“Pick it up!” shouted a small posse of
teammates who had sat out the race. “You
can break 24!”
Pick it up he did. Digging down into another gear, Izewski
finished in 24:52 to set a course record.
Brian Quilty of Glassboro, running for the
Breakneck Track Club finished next in 25:14 for the second fastest time on the
course. In fact, Justin Scheid of Succasunna
posted a 25:19 for the third fastest time on the course. Rounding out the top five was Eric Dubois of
Pittsgrove who finished next in 25:32 and Aaron Leskow of Morristown in 25:41.
Not to be outdone, Kristin Andrews of
Manalapan lowered the women’s course record to 29:12, aided perhaps by the
presence of her father and coach Bob Andrews.
And perhaps by her famous brother Bobby Andrews, who graciously poised
for photos with other runners after the race.
Masters runners were no slouches either with Brian Crowley, 53, of
Hillsboro the top overall masters as well as the highest ranking in age grading
with his 27:32 finishing time. A fine
performance was put in by Terry Davidson, 46 of Randolph who finished in 28:26,
and Reno Stirrat of Rockaway whose time of 31:27 put him second to Crowley in
age grading. On the women’s masters
side, Nora Cary, 62, of Morristown topped the age grade table with an 88.80%
for her finishing time of 35:22.
Of course, teams are the thing in cross
country and the Adidas Garden State Track Club ruled in the open men’s division
with Izewski and Leskow their top two men.
The unexpected appearance of the Breakneck Track Club upset the usual
results line-up as the team from South Jersey finished in second place with
Quilty and Dubois their top two men. The
Garden State’s B team finished in third and the Garmin Runners in fourth.
The Garmin runners topped the M40 team
division thanks to Crowley and Davidson, while the Garden State men took second
with the Shore Athletic Club in third.
It was close in the M50 division with the
Garmin runners only two points up on the Garden State team. The Raritan Valley Road Runners took third.
The Shore M60 team placed first in their
division lead in by Stirrat, with the Fleet Feet Essex taking second with
Charlie Slaughter of Parsippany bringing that team in. The Shore’s B team place third.
In the M70 division the top finishers were Clifton,
North Jersey Masters, and the Shore AC in that order.
The Shore’s open women won their division with the Garden State team taking second andtheir B team in third.The Shore’s W40 team also won their division with the Garden State women taking secondand Clifton third.Mary Christian, 54, of Flanders brought the Garmin W50 team in to first place in their division.The Clifton Road Runners were second and the North Jersey Masters third.
With Cary at their helm the North Jersey
Masters won the W60 division, with the Clifton Road Runners in second and the
Raritan Valley team in third. The Morris
County Striders W70 team was the sole competitor in that division.
Counting all divisions, 75 teams competed with
most of the 258 runners on a team.
The outstanding performances by the Adidas Garden
State Track Club resulted with a strong lead for the club in the overall Garmin
sponsored club grand prix., with the Clifton team well back in second and the
Shore club in third. Rounding out the
top five are the North Jersey Masters and the Garmin team.
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Race Results can often be
found at www.compuscore.com or at www.bestrace.com
A calendar of USATF
sanctioned events can be found at www.usatfnj.org
or at www.raceforum.com for running and
tri and biathlon events.
Contact Madeline Bost at madelinebost@verizon.net
