Southern's Jillian Smith lost a kick in the field to Voorhees junior M

     By - Scott Clayton - Senior Staff Writer

    HOLMDEL - It would have been pretty improbable for Southern's Jillian Smith to roll through the New Jersey cross country season, her first away from a soccer field, unbeaten. As that season wrapped up at Saturday's Meet of Champions at Holmdel Park, it essentially took the effort of three girls to take Smith down.
    Smith led throughout the girls 5-kilometer race, but finished second in a sprint to the line with Voorhees junior Melanie Thompson. Thompson's win - in 18:02 to Smith's 18:03 - put an exclamation point on the greatest single-day race by a team at Holmdel. The Vikings scored just 60 points and their team average of 19:01.0 broke their own week-old state record of 19:04.8. The Shore Conference put two teams on the podium: Toms River North in fifth and Red Bank Catholic in sixth. Monsignor Donovan and Howell also earned top-10 finishes, placing seventh and ninth, respectively.
    While Smith led the pack over the hills, she always had company, first Oak Knoll's Katie McCafferty for the opening mile. Smith was then joined by Kingsway sophomore Chelsea Ley for "The Bowl," and finally Thompson, who had hung 10 meters off the pace throughout, and showed her wheels over the final 200 meters. Thompson actually chased Smith down in the field, passing the Southern star with a little over a 100 meters to go.
    "She had a great race - I think Chelsea Ley did too," Smith said. "Us three, you know, pulled the front pack through. It was a fast race. She just had the leg speed today."
    "I didn't want to be in a sprint with Smith," Thompson said. "She's a 2:08 (800-meter) girl. I think it comes down to strength too. I knew that the person that would win today would be the person that had the better day. This doesn't mean that I'm a better runner than Jill Smith, just that I had a better day."
    "One of the things we talked about was that she didn't have to cover everybody's move," Southern coach Brian Zatorski said. "She was up front, but she never looked uncomfortable being there. When it came down to it, Thompson was just better today."
    Often track times, particularly over shorter distances, can project who will have the most leg speed at the end of the race. On paper it would not seem logical that Thompson, who has a strong 1,600 personal best of 4:54.31 could sprint past Smith, who has run 4:46.87. That, however, is exactly what makes cross country, particularly on a course as challenging as Holmdel Park, so fascinating.
    "I'm a human being like everybody else," Smith said. "People take that for granted. It's good to try my best and coming in second. It's good that there are competitors that I could look to beat in the future."
    Thompson and Smith now occupy No. 8 and 9 on the all-time list at Holmdel Park. Ley's 18:08 for third-place is good for No. 10. It was also the closest "race" in the history of the meet. Red Bank's Katy and Amanda Trotter crossed the line together in nearly identical times in 2002, for the closest all-time finish.
    "I knew coming in it was going to be a sprint to the end," Smith said. "I didn't know how it would turn out obviously. It was obviously a great race, and fast."
    Howell's Lindsay Lambert was the Shore's second finisher, placing 19th overall in 19:08. Toms River North's Angela Rugino (19:17, 22nd) and Colts Neck's Allison Linnell (19:22, 24th) also earned top-25 finishes.
    Rugino helped the Mariners finish off an incredibly successful season on a positive note - incredible because North's top four runners on Saturday did not run cross country in 2006. North, along with 12th-place Southern, will return its entire varsity lineup in 2008.
    "You know you're running with the best of the best, so it's kind of intimidating because everyone you beat is another person who qualified and they're all so amazing that it feels good," Rugino said.
    The Mariners scored 159 points and their 19:58.2 average was a school record. Red Bank Catholic was next in line with 187 points. Freshman Molly McNamara was the fifth Shore Conference finisher and led the Caseys with a 28th-place, 19:31 finish.
    "I was hoping for top-25, but I went out too hard though," McNamara said. "Coming into RBC, I told my parents there's no way I'm ever going to make varsity."

Full results are available here.

E-mail: clayton@digitalsports.com.

SILVER LINING - Girls XC Meet of Champions

Southern's Jillian Smith lost a kick in the field to Voorhees junior Melanie Thompson, but was upbeat about her second-place finish in the XC MOC.

Published: 11/17/2007

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SILVER LINING - Girls XC Meet of Champions Southern's Jillian Smith lost a kick in the field to Voorhees junior Melanie Thompson, but was upbeat about her second-place finish in the XC MOC. Published: 11/17/2007 By - Scott Clayton - Senior Staff Writer HOLMDEL - It would have been pretty improbable for Southern's Jillian Smith to roll through the New Jersey cross country season, her first away from a soccer field, unbeaten. As that season wrapped up at Saturday's Meet of Champions at Holmdel Park, it essentially took the effort of three girls to take Smith down. Smith led throughout the girls 5-kilometer race, but finished second in a sprint to the line with Voorhees junior Melanie Thompson. Thompson's win - in 18:02 to Smith's 18:03 - put an exclamation point on the greatest single-day race by a team at Holmdel. The Vikings scored just 60 points and their team average of 19:01.0 broke their own week-old state record of 19:04.8. The Shore Conference put two teams on the podium: Toms River North in fifth and Red Bank Catholic in sixth. Monsignor Donovan and Howell also earned top-10 finishes, placing seventh and ninth, respectively. While Smith led the pack over the hills, she always had company, first Oak Knoll's Katie McCafferty for the opening mile. Smith was then joined by Kingsway sophomore Chelsea Ley for "The Bowl," and finally Thompson, who had hung 10 meters off the pace throughout, and showed her wheels over the final 200 meters. Thompson actually chased Smith down in the field, passing the Southern star with a little over a 100 meters to go. "She had a great race - I think Chelsea Ley did too," Smith said. "Us three, you know, pulled the front pack through. It was a fast race. She just had the leg speed today." "I didn't want to be in a sprint with Smith," Thompson said. "She's a 2:08 (800-meter) girl. I think it comes down to strength too. I knew that the person that would win today would be the person that had the better day. This doesn't mean that I'm a better runner than Jill Smith, just that I had a better day." "One of the things we talked about was that she didn't have to cover everybody's move," Southern coach Brian Zatorski said. "She was up front, but she never looked uncomfortable being there. When it came down to it, Thompson was just better today." Often track times, particularly over shorter distances, can project who will have the most leg speed at the end of the race. On paper it would not seem logical that Thompson, who has a strong 1,600 personal best of 4:54.31 could sprint past Smith, who has run 4:46.87. That, however, is exactly what makes cross country, particularly on a course as challenging as Holmdel Park, so fascinating. "I'm a human being like everybody else," Smith said. "People take that for granted. It's good to try my best and coming in second. It's good that there are competitors that I could look to beat in the future." Thompson and Smith now occupy No. 8 and 9 on the all-time list at Holmdel Park. Ley's 18:08 for third-place is good for No. 10. It was also the closest "race" in the history of the meet. Red Bank's Katy and Amanda Trotter crossed the line together in nearly identical times in 2002, for the closest all-time finish. "I knew coming in it was going to be a sprint to the end," Smith said. "I didn't know how it would turn out obviously. It was obviously a great race, and fast." Howell's Lindsay Lambert was the Shore's second finisher, placing 19th overall in 19:08. Toms River North's Angela Rugino (19:17, 22nd) and Colts Neck's Allison Linnell (19:22, 24th) also earned top-25 finishes. Rugino helped the Mariners finish off an incredibly successful season on a positive note - incredible because North's top four runners on Saturday did not run cross country in 2006. North, along with 12th-place Southern, will return its entire varsity lineup in 2008. "You know you're running with the best of the best, so it's kind of intimidating because everyone you beat is another person who qualified and they're all so amazing that it feels good," Rugino said. The Mariners scored 159 points and their 19:58.2 average was a school record. Red Bank Catholic was next in line with 187 points. Freshman Molly McNamara was the fifth Shore Conference finisher and led the Caseys with a 28th-place, 19:31 finish. "I was hoping for top-25, but I went out too hard though," McNamara said. "Coming into RBC, I told my parents there's no way I'm ever going to make varsity." Full results are available here. E-mail: clayton@digitalsports.com.
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