Daily Record from Morristown, New Jersey • 24

B4 Daily Record. Morris County. N.J Sunday. November 22. 2009 keeps tadimlpDi fr title QUO pom 1 IU ST Hillsborough edges Rams in team race By JIM HAGUE SPECIAL TO THE DAILY RECORD HOLMDEL All the work, the preparation, the practices for more than two years, the countless meets, the endless training all came down to one final chance for Randolph High School of being crowned the overall girls' cross country state champion.

And what denied the Rams of that impressive distinction? One single, solitary point. GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY Boys TEAM SCOHfS: 1 Don Bosco 78: 2. Christian Brothets 86; 3. WeM Wind8W-Pla'nboro North 118 4 Haddonfield 128; 5. Weattiald 181; 6.

Southern 177; 7. Millburn 188; 8. Toma River North 202; 9. Bidgewood 203; 10. Ridge 206; 11.

Red Bank Catholic 288; 12. Delaware Valley 300; 13 Mendham 317; 14 Holmdel 401; 15 St. Hoae 426' 18 Robblnauille 434; 17. Mountain Lakes 459; 18. Metuchen 488; 18.

Malar Dei 555; 20. Newark Academy 594. TOP INDIVIDUALS: 1 Joe Rosa (West Windsor-Plalnsboro North) (courBe record); 2. Jim Roaa (West Windaor-Plalnsboro North) 3. David Oster (Verona) 4.

Mike Mazzaccaro (Christian Brothers) 5. Jonathan Vitez (Haddonfield) 6. Patrick Schellberg (Delbarton) 15 47; 6. Morgan Pearson (Delbarton) 8. Tyler Udland (Millburn) 9.

Patrick Rono (Lyndhurst) 10. Paul Szulewski (William-stown) 11. Sam Macaluao (West Windsor-Plaineboro South) 15:59: 12. Rafael Vargae (Don Bosco) 16:00: 13. Michael Belgiovins (Don Bosco) 16 02; 14.

Collin Frost (Randolph) 16 04; 15. Brian Schoepfer (West Windeor-Plainsboro South) 16 05; 16 Kyle Davis (North Brunswick) 16 06; 17. Colin Richmond (SI. Rose) 18. Matthew McDonald (North Hunterdon) 19.

Michael Dowd (Colts Neck) 20. Philip Franz (St. Augustine) 21. Howard Rosas (Don Bosco) 22. Jack Leahy (Westfield) 23.

Evan Roelke (Ridge) 16:19: 24. Matthew Nelson (Barne-gat) 25. Devid Forward (Shawnee) 26 Jeremy Elkaim (Livingston) 16 20, 27 Oe-Fabio (Watchung Hills) 28 Ben Pons (Haddonfield) 29 Matt Nussbaum (Haddonheld) 16 22; 30 Ryan Ure (Middletown SouthO 31 Dan Bailey (Christian Brothers) 16 24; 32. Dan Mykityshyn (Chnstian Brothers) 16 24; 34 Chris Banfato (Bndgewater-Raritan) 35 Stephen Lewandowski (Mountain Lakes) 36. Connor Herr (Shawnee) 37.

Phil Wood (Lacey) 16 30; 38. Jake Ruskan (Bndgewater-Raritan) 39. Jonathan Squerl (West Wmdsor-Plain-eboro North) 40. Everett Price (New Providence) 41. Brian Basil! (Columbia) 42.

Erik Lapinski (Don Bosco) 43 Eric Dra-gonetti (Southern) 44. Steven Burkholder (Cherokee) 16 45; 45. John Dugan (Ramsey) 16 46; 46 Aaron Leskow (Toms Rrver North) 16 46; 47. Tim Ball (Bishop Ahr) 16 46; 46 Corey O'Neill (Old Bridge) 16 47; 49. Anthony Belli (Ridge) 16 47; 50.

Matt Metlitz (Red Bank) 16 47. Girls TEAM SCORES: 1. Hillsborough 78; 2. Randolph 79: 3. Holy Angels 151; 4.

Red Bank Catholic 166: 5. Hunterdon Central 182; 6 Ridge 193; 7. South Brunswick 220; 8. Delsea 222; 9. Voorhees 239; 10.

Pingry 250; 11, Haddonfield 260; 12 Hopewell Valley 267; 13. Summit 297; 14. Seneca 309; 15. WeBtwood 340; 16 Mountain Lakes 396; 17. Rob-binsville 428; IB- Villa Walsh 450; 19.

Mater Oet 478 20 Wildwood Catholic 500. TOP INDIVIDUALS: 1 Chelsea Ley (Kingsway) 17 56; 2. Megan Venables (Highland) 18 01; 3. Manelte Halt (Haddonfield) 4. Caroline Kellner (West Wmdsor-Plainsboro South) 16 37, 5.

Laura Vigilante (Mendham) 18 43: 6 Joelle Amaral (Randolph) 18 43; 7. Megan Lacy (Cherokee) 18 48; 8. Erin Thompson (Immaculate Heart) 18 51; 9. Michelle Capozzi (Red Bank Catholic) 10. Colette Whitney (Voortiees) 18 56; 11.

Mary Migton (Roxbury) 18.57: 12 Caillm Orr (Le-nape) 13. Holly Bischof (Bishop Eustace) 14. Emily Scott (West Windsor-Plalnsboro North) 19 02; 15. Ashley Smolinka (Hillsborough) 19 06; 16. Jen Molke (Hoty Angels) 19 07; 17.

Knsten Traub (Eastern Christian) 19.10; 18. Jillian Prentice (Montgomery) 19 Sarah Quinn (Gill St. Bernard s) 19.15: 20. Natalia Ocaeio (Le-nape) 21. Julianna Miller (Hillsborough) 1919; 22.

Afyssa LaGuardia (DePaul) 19 20, 23. Cara Talty (Bndgewater-Raritan) 19 20. 24 Kate Leib (Pmgry) 19 21; 25 Come Gethard (Southern) 19 26; 26 Dana Giordano (Bernards) 19 28: 27. Alexandra Clinton (Ramsey) 19 30: 28 Emily Dunne (Holy Angels) 19 31; 29 Bnanna Feerst (Point Pleasant Beach) 30. Molly McNa-mara (Red Bank Catholic) 19.

32: 31. Ashley Deck-ert (Delsea) 32. Chrsita Strycharz (Hamilton East) 33. Kelly Janokowicz (Hillsborough) 34. Julie Jablonski (Hopewell Valley) 19 38; 35.

Felicia O'Donnell (Delsea) 1939: 36 Georgians Honrath (Manasquan) 19:39: 37 Natalie Arv uiony (Randolph) 19 41; 38 Jennrfer Zackowski (Randolph) 19 42: 39 Emma Giantisco (Delaware Valley) 40. Elizabeth Shaw (Mater Dei) 19 44 41. Date Kinney (Momstown) 19 48: 42. Caroline Wiiliama (Mount St. Mary) 19 49: 43 Meghan Malloy (Cinnaminson) 19 49: 44 Jenna Cody (Princeton) 19 50; 45 Casey Qumto (Hopewell Valley) 19 50; 46 Molly Higgms (Randolph) 19 50; 47.

Maureen Lynch (Hillsborough) 19 52: 48 Jackie Madden (Ridge) 19 56; 49 Reagan Kolakowski (Medham) 19 57; 50. Sophia Gmez (South Brunswick) 19:58. '-jis I twhS. 2 GANNETT NEW JERSEY; KEITH J. WOODS Park in Saturday's NJSIAA Meet SI A A Meet of Champions That was it.

The Rams finished second in Saturday's NJSIAA Meet of Champions to Hillsborough. Hillsborough, whom the Rams defeated last week by seven points to capture the Group IV crown, had 78 points, followed by the Rams with 79. It can't get any closer than that. A place here, a few seconds quicker there and the Rams would have had their first-ever and ever-so-elusive overall state crown. "It's always disappointing," veteran Randolph girls' coach Len Pietrewicz said.

"We ran well. It looked good. But we came up a little short. You're always going to be disappointed when you lose by just one point. It was our dream season, but this was it, our one shot.

We'll never get another chance like this ever again." Individually, Laura Vigilante of Mendham led the way locally, finishing fifth in 18:43. Vigilante, who finished fourth in the of last year en route to her berth in the High School Nationals, was a little disappointed with her performance Saturday. "To be honest, I am not happy," Vigilante said. "I was very tired out there and I'm quite surprised 1 of Champions. by that.

I got tired during the race. My legs got heavy and I couldn't pick it up. I wasn't feeling in top shape today." Vigilante managed to hold off a late-charging Joelle Amaral of Randolph in the final strides. Amaral finished sixth overall, also hitting the wire in 18:43, but if the race was just 10 yards longer, Amaral may have bested Vigilante. "I was a nervous wreck all week," Amaral said.

"I kept thinking of last year." Amaral was abysmal last year at the Meet of Champions, finishing 65th overall in over 20 minutes. But the junior made up for last year in a big way Saturday. "I didn't want the same thing to happen again," Amaral said. "I really felt good from the start. I Schellberg was only a stride or two ahead of his teammate.

They crossed the line almost simultaneously, with Schellberg in sixth and Pearson in seventh, both finishing the race in under 16 minutes. The official time for both will be forever 15:47, so both hold the school record at Holmdel Park. The result couldn't have been any better for the two Green Wave runners. It was expected that Schellberg would finish among the state's best. It was a total surprise for the junior Pearson to finish in the top 10.

"It's really hard to comprehend," Pearson said. "It's a great finish. I just kept getting better as the season went on." 'It's insane," Schellberg said. "I knew that he could run much faster, but to break 16? I never would have predicted that. It's so incredible.

You can definitely see the improvement he made over the season, because he was right there running with me." Schellberg and Pearson headed the local contingent of runners. Randolph's Collin Frost finished 14th overall in a fine time of 16:04. Stephen Lewandowski of Mountain Lakes was 35th in 16:27. Peter Ehmann led the Mendham contingent by finishing 51st in 16:48. Mendham finished 13th as a team, with Mountain Lakes finishing in 17th place.

Joe Rosa of West Windsor-Plain- ji3 a-1 jp of passed a few people when I hit the Bowl (the circular upper rim of the course at the midway mark) and just kept going. I saw Laura and I didn't think I could beat her, but I gave it a good shot. I kept my place and that feels good." Mary Migton of Roxbury was the next local finisher. The talented junior was 11th overall in 18:57, putting a cap on what was a great season. Migton showed remarkable improvement over last year's of performance, where she finished 29th overall.

The Rams received solid efforts from senior Natalie Anthony (37th, 19:41) and sophomore Jennifer Zackowski (38th, "They had a great run at it," Pietrewicz said. "I think we're all going to be a little disappointed with this." It was an exciting week overall sboro won the race in a course record 14:56, followed by his twin brother Jim, who came home in 15:15. Rosa is the first runner to ever run a sub-15 minute race at Holmdel. But the day belonged locally to the Green Wave dynamic duo. Pearson said that his goal was to stay within range of his friend Schellberg.

"I tried to stay with him early, but right before the back woods, he pulled ahead," Pearson said. "I was in the middle of the pack and then I started to work my way up there. The Rosa brothers were pretty far ahead by that point. It made no sense to try to keep up with them. I just kept Pat in sight.

I then think he slowed up a little and I was able to catch up to him a little." While Schellberg was happy for his friend and teammate, the competitive side of him never wavered. "Morgan is a good kid and I'm glad he ran well, but I still didn't want him to beat me," Schellberg said. Schellberg was pleased with the way he bounced back from last week's performance in the NJSIAA Non-Public A race, when he finished behind Pearson in third place, the only time this season that Schellberg didn't win a race in New Jersey, other than Champions race up a path in Holmdel for Vigilante, who gave a non-binding commitment to attend Columbia next fall. "I'm excited and happy with my decision," Vigilante said. "The school itself is great and it's close to home.

My family will get to see me run. I'm just grateful to get this opportunity." Vigilante will run next weekend in the Eastern Regional event in Long Island, with the hope of going back to the Nationals once again. Other locals to fare well Saturday included Dale Kinney of Mor-ristown (41st overall, Molly Higgins of Randolph (46th overall, 19:50) and Reagan Kolakowski, the Mendham freshman, who finished 49th overall in 19:57. It was the fifth-best performance in the state by a freshman. A I 7 Teammates push each other Schellberg, Pearson earn top-10 finishes By JIM HAGUE SPECIAL TO THE DAILY RECORD HOLMDEL Pat Schellberg sensed that his personal energy tank was just about running on empty.

The stride of the Delbarton High School senior was shortening toward the end of the NJSIAA Meet of Champions Saturday morning at Holmdel Park. He knew he wasn't feeling well at all and didn't have much left. BOYS CROSS COUNTRY NJSIAA Meet of Champions "I really started to feel it," Schellberg said. "I was reaching the end of the rope. I was ready to bag it." Luckily for Schellberg, he had a little bit of motivation coming from over his shoulder namely teammate Morgan Pearson.

Pearson was just a few strides behind Schellberg, so Pearson figured it was time to offer some advice to his friend and mentor. "He started to talk to me and tell me that I had to kick it in, that there wasn't much of the race left," Schellberg said. "If Morgan wasn't there, 1 don't know what would have happened. He made me refocus my thinking at that point." As the finish line drew nearer, Success five digs. digs Delbarton's Pat Schellberg leads teammate Morgan Pearson as the two near the finish line In Saturday's NJSIAA Meet of Champions at Holmdel Park.

The pair finished sixth and seventh, j. at 1 1 SPECIAL TO THE DAILY RECORD: JIM HAGUE "I never thought last year that I could actually run with Pat, be right next to him in the Meet of Champions," Pearson said. "I kept getting closer to Pat with every race. He was a good trainer, a good teacher. He knows when to push it, when to hold back.

I learned so much from him." And Pearson repaid the favor by being the inspiration Schellberg needed to get to the finish line Saturday. Schellberg will not compete in next week's Eastern Regional in Long Island, choosing to focus on the upcoming indoor season instead. For Pearson, it's the culmination of a breakthrough season. Before the season began, he was a total unknown, but now, the junior has firmly placed himself among the state's very best, taking a page from his elder teammate. Madison pers the ball on Madison's 27.

But Fant got some revenge when he intercepted Summit's Joe Jaskolski on the Madison 10-yard line. With five minutes left in the game, Madison's offense put together its first sustained drive, which was capped by QB Matt McHale, who scrambled 11 yards untouched for the score to bring Madison within a field goal at 17-14 with 3:35 left in the game. But Summit came right back and extended their lead when Rea broke a 55 yard run to make the score 2314. Madison will finish its season on Thanksgiving when they travel to Mill-burn for its anual rivalry. MADISON (7-3) 0 0 7 7 14 SUMMIT (11-01 14 0 6 23 23 SCORING Brian Feeney 22 pass Irom Joe Jaskolski (Alex Melen-dez kick) Matt Rea 1 run (Melendez kick) Colin McLinden S3 run (Ed McAndrew kick) Melendez 26 FG Matt McHale 1 1 fun (McAndrew kick) Rea 55 run (Kick tailed) kept us in the game," Madison's Colin McLinden said.

"I'm sure that we surprised a lot of people, because we held a 10-0 team that was scoring over 40 points a game to only 14 points in the half, and 23 for the game." In their two previous games, Summit had outscored opponents 111-0. Christian Mazzocchi led Madison with 10 tackles on defense. Spencer Waresk, Mike Staneart -and Will McDonald had six each. Staneart and Jimmy Mattina recovered fumbles for the Dodgers. In the second half, McLinden cut Summit's lead In half when he took a handoff on Madison's second play in the third quarter, started left, and then found a hole and quickly cut up field running 53 yards for the score, A 26-yard field goal by Alex Melen-dez made the score 17-7 and Summit looked ready to put the game out of reach' when Brian Feeney blocked Aaron Fant's punt giving the Hilltop kills, a block and three Falzarano added 13 and four kills, West Morris junior Morgan Blair had a team-high seven kills plus two blocks.

Kristen Helmstetter, a 6-foot-l middle hitter, led Bridgewater-Raritan with 10 kills, three blocks and an ace. Panthers senior Nicole Rovi added eight kills and 12 digs. "We can't be upset about this game, because we had a great season," Uphoff said. "We reached all the goals we set at the beginning. We just don't want to see it end." Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; jhavsyf'i gannett.com; www.

da ily record, com writerjane FROM PAGE Bl scored on two of its three possessions as Madison could not stop either the passing of quarterback Joe Jaskolski or the running of Dwaine Dabney. Despite giving up 14 points in the first quarter, Madison's defense stopped Summit four times on fourth downs and forced three turnovers in the first half to keep the game within reach. Madison's defense stepped up big midway through the second quarter. The Hilltoppers had first-and-goal from the five but Madison's defense withstood four straight running plays, with the line stopping Matt Rea on fourth-and-goal. "Our defense played amazing.

It is the toughest part of the team, and it FROM PAGE 81 very hard to achieve them. It's been a great run." West Morris couldn't contain its enthusiasm at a first Tournament of Champions appearance, making uncharacteristic errors of exuberance, like kills that went out of bounds. Undefeated Bridgewater-Raritan (33-0) ran out to an 8-1 lead, forcing Grasso to call timeout and try to settle her players. It worked briefly, as Maguire had consecutive kills, but the Highlanders never quite got into a rhythm. Maguire finished with.