Girls Cross Country Takes 3rd in Holmdel

The Summit Girls Cross Country team is a force to be reckoned with.  Just ask any team they've gone up against - with a deep roster, solid coaching, and absolute dedication, they have been racking up wins throughout the season. 

In a mid-season team update posted earlier here on Patch, Coach Dave Field explicitly stated his undefeated team's goal was to "win everything we do."  At the New Jersey State Group Championships this morning in Holmdel Park, the Hilltoppers were at the top of their game.

A driving wind, showers, and a never-ending fog characterized an ominous morning, and terrorized the track by the time the Summit girls lined up to take off.  Several slips and falls didn't shake seniors and captains Kearsley Olcott and Nikki Hallenborg.  In their final year, in one of their final races in maroon and gold, they were ready to set the standard. 

Completion times were lengthening throughout the day as the track got tougher to navigate, but the Hilltoppers clocked in an impressive combined time of 1:46:05 - good enough to notch a 3rd place finish out of 19 teams.  Hallenborg finished an admirable 31st overall with a 6:48 average mile and a 21:06 completion time. 

Her senior counterpart, Olcott, knew the team was facing adversity, but she came across the line at an impressive 17th place overall.  She clocked a 6:39 average mile and a 20:40 completion time.  With mud kicked up all over the girls' uniforms, it looked like a grueling race without seeing anyone run.

"It was tough," she said of her performance, "but I felt real good going into it.  The top ten qualifies, but just being in the top twenty made me keep going.  This whole year has been amazing.  We only had two seniors running, and the freshmen stepped up.  They definitely helped us."

Coach Field couldn't have agreed more. 

"We ran great," he said.  "I thought the girls put every ounce of their being into this race.  Last week we didn't do well, in our opinion but we put ourselves in a good place here."  Seeing the exhausted yet satisfied looks on all of the team members' faces made Field's words resonate.

"It's been a great week of practice," he continued.  "I told them to run today like it is the last race of their year.  I am very proud of them."

Though the seniors anchored Summit this year, there is plenty to look forward to next season.  Their depth and performance from underclassmen was vital to their success throughout the fall.  Junior Katie Watson finished 33rd and only a second behind Hallenborg, while sophomores Emily Richards and Hannah Rose crossed the finish line 47th and 48th with a 6:57 average mile apiece.  Sophomore Isabella Yozzi finished seconds later.