Girls Cross Country Takes 13th at Meet of Champions

Olcott, a senior at Summit, was battered with tests and various other school work. While most of her classmates had a nice, relaxing weekend ahead, that wasn't the case for Olcott and her six teammates. They had to face the state’s pre-eminent cross country meet set for Saturday morning.

 “I was physically exhausted, so I went to bed pretty early,” said Olcott, who went to sleep at 9:15 p.m. Friday–about two hours earlier than usual. “I like it like this. I didn’t think about the race until right before we started.”

Olcott’s relaxed aura carried through across most of her teammates as the Summit girls cross country team posted a 13th place finish at the annual Meet of Champions race at Holmdel Park. Summit earned 297 points, which was 30 points behind Hopewell Valley and 12 points ahead of 14th place Seneca.

Hillsborough captured the team crown, defeating Randolph, 78-79, while Kingsway’s Chelsea Ley posted a time of 17:56 to take the top individual prize among the 179 total competitors.

Like four of the team’s top six runners, Olcott improved from last week’s time at the Group II race at the same course. She sliced 33 seconds off her time, recording a 20:07 to finish in 58th place individually.

Katie Watson took 69th in the race (20:21), Nikki Hallenborg captured 101th place (21:03), Hannah Rose was 110th overall (21:20), and Isabella Yozzi and Alexia Diaz (20:03) completed the race together in 137th and 138th place, respectively. The top five runners count toward the team scoring.

Summit ran a total time of 1:44:44, which was about a minute and a half quicker than the Group 2 race a week ago. The Hilltoppers had to battle rainy conditions last week, causing several of the harriers to fall and add precious seconds to their time.

“We ran better than we did last week,” said Summit coach Dave Field, whose program was making its first appearance in the M of C since 2006. “It was definitely good for us to be here, and I’m pleased with our performances.”

Olcott didn’t reach her personal best of 19:36 but she was pleased with her showing. Rather than running at a steady pace at the course’s infamous “Bowl,” she aggressively attacked that section of the race and that made a difference.

 “I usually don’t go at it as fast,” said Olcott, who averaged a 6:29 mile. “This week I was feeling good, and I just went for it, and I think it helped my confidence a lot.”

Watson, a junior, reached her top time Saturday, edging out Katie Sylvester of Holy Angels.

“I tried to start out with an easier pace, and I felt more mentally focused and that helped,” Watson said.

Summit was making its second appearance ever in the Meet of Champions. Despite injuries to many of their top runners, the Hilltoppers managed to capture the Union County Championship for the first time since 1990, in addition to its other accolades.  

“I think we surprised ourselves as well as our team,” said Watson, who has battled through a thigh injury and stress fractures this season. “This is the best we’ve ever done for a really long time.”

Hallenborg, who has   IT Band Syndrome – an injury that can lead to pain and inflamation in the knee area, was running for only the second time in a month but still contributed to her team’s total.

 “We didn’t even go to Groups last year, so the fact that we’re here means a lot to us,” the senior Hallen borg said.

The future bodes well for Summit, which returns five of its top seven runners next

season. In addition to Watson, Rose, a freshman, ranked among the top 14 in her class and Yozzi and Diaz, a pair of sophomores managed to crack the top 140.

“The freshmen this year were amazing,” The Wake Forest-bound Olcott said. “The next few years are going to be great for this program.”

 

Girls result: Summit 13th place 297 points.

58 – Kearlsey Olcott  20:07

69 – Katie Watson 20:21

101 – Nikki Hallenborg 21:03

110 – Hannah Rose 21:10

137 – Isabella Yozzi 22:03

138 – Aleixa Diaz 22:03

152 – Emily Richards 22:30