Ask Robbinsville High cross-country coach Anthony Dentino if either the boys’ or girls’ team will be good this year, and he will say both. Ask him who will be the top runner for each program, and he will say everybody.
It could be that kind of year for the Ravens, and the runners are feeling it.
“I think that we have a great shot to succeed this year,” senior Jared Taylor said. “Our coach has been writing great training programs for us; hitting all the zones we need to make us as prepared as possible. Since the summer we’ve had big goals—win the CVC divisional championship, defend our Group II Central Jersey sectional title, and be in the top two teams at states to advance to the Meet of Champions.”
Senior Kylie Jones is feeling the same way about the girls’ team.
“I think we have a great chance of placing high at sectionals this year,” Jones said. “We have some new runners and some veterans that are ready to step up and really put in the training and the effort it takes to be a great team.”
Both outfits have talent across the board. No one may claim an individual title in the extremely tough Mercer County or Group II meets. But as a group they have the potential to finish close together in the top 10 or 20, which leads to team success.
“A low-stick (true No. 1) runner is very important to the success of a program, which is why we feel so fortunate to have essentially four really heavy hitters on the guys side and a core of seven to eight very solid girl runners,” Dentino said. “The reality is that our county, section, and group is phenomenal, and we don’t really have a person who can go out and win any of these meets. Runners like that can really make up for other deficiencies within a team. But we try to work with what we do have. And what we have are some really strong individuals, several really important pieces on both sides, and a bunch of great kids.”
As an added bonus, the cohesion between the teams helps make it an enjoyable, competitive atmosphere that can lead to success. Dentino took over the program last year and credits former coaches Mike Walker Martine McGrath and current volunteer assistant Brian Harshman for establishing such a culture. He is also appreciative that his inherited runners bought into the coach’s philosophy.
“Not only are our boys close with one another, and our girls close with one another, but they also operate as one giant family,” Dentino said. “The previous coaches and I all have preached that unity is important, and it is something that I walked into from Day One. Their inside jokes, senses of humor and team bonding among the entire program is unique and a key factor in our past, current and—hopefully—future successes.”
Jones and Taylor agree that in addition to focusing on how their own teams do, they are constantly supporting the opposite gender.
“We’re really close with the boys’ team,” Taylor said. “We always cheer each other on in the meets and get together for pasta parties. I’ve loved watching them improve as a program throughout the past few years and seeing them win the sectional last year. It was also really cool to watch the whole varsity team in the Meet of Champs last year. I hope they qualify again.”
Jones said the boys’ team is equally supportive of the girls, who did not have state success last year but managed to maintain its dominance in the Patriot Division.
“Our girls’ team looks like they can achieve a lot this year,” Jones said. “The relationship between our two teams is great. We practice, workout, and spend hours at meets together so that really builds a strong bond between us. They have similar goals to us and they look to continue their long streak of winning the CVC divisional meet.”
The girls lost one key runner in Nicole Radosti, who led the Ravens to fourth-place in the Mercer County meet and fifth in the Central Jersey Group III meet last year. Returning from that team are seniors Gil Carr, Toni Escuadro, Katie Henderson, Chelsea Manto and Jones. The coaches are also excited about sophomores Blake Gommoll and Alyssa Sepcic and freshman Aubrey Strand.
“This year, we are in a really great place with our girls’ team,” Dentino said. “We bring back five very experienced varsity-level seniors who are responsible, work hard, and lead well. We welcome eight new freshmen and some may make an impact right away. Seven or eight runners can all switch order and vie for our number one. We are also loaded with girls who are willing to compete and run smart races. This will serve us well come championship season.”
The seniors serve well as team leaders after a summer of working hard and recruiting new runners on to the team. Things have set up nicely but, as with any team, not perfectly.
“We do have a few questions to answer, namely, how far can our pack move up and how high can we place in big-time races?” Dentino said. “Also, can someone establish themselves each meet as a clear low-stick for our team? The girls have lots of potential and, as a coach, it is a real pleasure to watch kids start to realize their potential and have their hard work pay off. This was the case for our guys’ team last year, and I see the girls having a similar season in terms of when things may really snap into place.”
Don’t mistake that for a prediction. Dentino is the first to admit that no success is guaranteed but feels it is an optimistic group. He hopes the girls can maintain their division streak, take a top three in the county and reach the Group II state meet for the 12th straight year.
Jones feels the lack of a clear-cut No. 1 runner is actually the Ravens biggest “strength” so to speak.
“The pack that we have is our biggest superpower,” she said. “Most of us have been training together for the past few years and we have all seemed to stay together. This works really well for us because we can help push each other by encouraging the others to all stay together. If one girl makes a move, it’s not uncommon for the rest of us to follow. We all like to see each other improve and it’s great when we can do it together as a team.”
She could very well have been talking about the boys’ team, which returns junior Tyler Bork and seniors Dan White, Taylor and Dean Gervasini as three-year varsity performers. While there is no clear-cut number one, Taylor and White work out as racing partners, and “Ty and Dean key off of them nicely,” according to Dentino. “The expectation is that Ty and Dean will continue to close the gap between them.”
The big question entering the regular season was who would step up as the fifth man. That slot was being fought for sophomore Sri Nara and seniors Howie Schulz, Zach Siracusa and Jon Freeman.
“We have some really hungry, capable runners to fill in this spot, but it will take some time,” Dentino said. “But, we do believe that things will click for us as a unit by the end of the year.”
Robbinsville finished fifth in the counties, won CJ Group II and took third in the Group II state meet, which got it into the Meet of Champions. Once again, the pack is the key.
“This year’s success will rely on how close our one-five split will be,” Taylor said. “At our first meet at the Cherokee Challenge, our top three runners were all within four seconds of each other, which was great. It’s amazing to watch how things can come together so nicely when you have a group of guys working together to hit the same goal. We also have a huge sophomore group this year and it’s great to see them push each other in workouts and really start to love the sport as they will be the future to our program.”
As for the present, Dentino is cautiously optimistic.
“In addition to having the experience of what it takes to win a sectional title and qualify for the Meet of Champions, they are also progressing well in workouts and are hungry for more success. This is something we’ve talked about for a while now and we want to see if we can place in the top three in the county, repeat as sectional champions, and qualify for the Meet of Champions again. There are some great teams in our county, section, and group, so we are focusing not only on running fast, but running tough and intelligent races when it counts the most in October and November.”
Robbinsville runners Dan White (4th), Jared Taylor (16th), Tyler Bork (21st), and Alyssa Sepcic (22nd in girls’ race) earned medals in the top varsity division at the South Jersey Shootout invitational Sept. 15, 2018.,
