Just like the leaves changing and the temperature cooling, another autumn ritual held true to form this year as cross-country was once again a source of pride at Robbinsville High School.
The boys’ team’s 12th-place finish in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions—its first trip since 2010—was a major highlight, and although the girls were unable to make a return trip after advancing last season, sophomore Lauren Kroepfl made it as an individual, placing 45th.
Both teams advanced to the Group II State Championships, as the boys finished second and the girls took third in Central Jersey Group II.
Each team surpassed their seeding in the state meet. The boys were seeded seventh and finished third, and with that finish, advanced to the MOC—the top three finishers move on. The girls were seeded 10th and finished sixth.
The girls weren’t happy with not advancing, as the Ravens visited the MOC four of the previous six years. But coach Mike Walker had no complaints, noting that Kroepfl will still represent the red and black at the meet.
“The bar has been set so high with the program that the girls were disappointed by the sixth place,” Walker said. “But I am pleased with how the season went and think all the girls did a great job with improving as the season went along.
Kroepfl advanced by finishing 10th in the Group II meet in a time of 19:22. She was in with the fifth and sixth runners by the time the pack hit Holmdel Park’s infamous bowl, which is long decline into a straightaway followed by a sharp incline.
“I tried to stay with the girls from there,” she said. “I ended up 10th, and I was really happy with how I ran.”
Kroepfl was Robbinsville’s top runner this year, taking ninth in the CJ II meet in 19:51 at Thompson Park in Jamesburg. At Holmdel, she knocked off a whopping 29 seconds off her sectional time while running on a much tougher course. She finished sixth in the Mercer County Championships at Thompson in 19:42.
Also contributing to the second-place finish at sectionals were seniors Erin Holzbaur (18th, 20:25) and Gabby Manto (26th, 20:49), sophomore Enlin Carow (35th, 21:20) and senior Makenzie Bayless (44th, 21:46). Holzbaur also had a strong showing at the Mercer meet with a 12th-place time of 20:00.
In the county freshman meet, Kayli Heverin was third and Emma Bennett took seventh, while Bayless was seventh in the JV meet.
Despite not reaching the Meet of Champions, Kroepfl felt it was a solid season for the girls.
“Definitely,” she said. “We all had a bunch of PRs and we had a great season together. It was good overall. It was definitely what I hoped for.
Last year, she said, the girls advanced while the boys stayed behind.
“It would have been nice for us to both go together this year but it was still really successful,” she said. “It was a really fun season. We got to know the seniors a little better, so that’s always good.”
Unfortunately, one of those seniors had to sit out after another tough-luck year.
“One of our teammates (Annalise Celano) has been injured for most of the season, and we kind of did it for her,” Kroepfl said. “She missed all last year and ran the first half this year but had a stress reaction in her femur. We wanted to do our best for her.”
Speaking of injuries, the boys had to overcome their fair share to reach the top meet.
“It was a fun season,” junior Zach Michon said. “There were ups and downs to it, but we pulled together when we needed our team the most.”
Michon was one of those with health issues, as he had a knee injury that caused him to miss the county meet, but he came back in time to finish as Robbinsville’s second runner in both the CJ II meet (eighth, 16:45) and the state meet (15th, 16:43).
While he still favors his right side, Michon is slowly creeping his way back to 100 percent.
“Zach looks around 80 percent and is getting better with each race,” Walker said after the state meet. “A few other guys have asthma issues that the cold weather has been tough on, and we also have had some medical issues that guys had holding them back. It seems like we had to deal with a little more adversity than in a normal season, but it looks like the guys have everything worked out and were healthy for the past couple of weeks.”
Robbinsville finished a strong third in the county meet behind juniors Christian Roberts (fifth, 16:32) and Richie Kasper (sixth, 16:37), senior Patrick Buonamassa (13th, 17:12), sophomore Bobby Hastie (23rd, 17:34) and junior Dan Milo (48th, 18:19). Junior Parth Mandrekar was the Ravens top finisher in the JV meet (18:17), while Jared Miller was seventh in the freshman meet in 19:29.
In the CJ II meet, Kasper led the way with a fourth-place finish (16:21), followed by Michon, Roberts (9th, 16:46), Buonamassa (14th) and Hastie (16th). In the states, the Ravens persevered behind Roberts (16:21), Michon, Hastie (16:52), Kasper (16:57) and Buonamassa (17:29).
Health issues surfaced in both meets. At the state meet, Kasper suffered from a severe stomach cramp during the last mile, while Roberts continued to struggle with a lung issue that first surfaced after an asthma attack at sectionals.
“But we kind of pulled together,” Michon said. “We were looking at a state title for a long time now, and this would be the season we would try really hard to win one. We didn’t get the title but we’re still going to Meet of Champs.”
In the end, it all went according to plan.
“Based on our times throughout the season, we knew we had a chance of placing in the top three at the state meet if everyone was near their best,” Walker said. “We had a good early part to our season with a few invite wins and winning the division, but we were really focused on getting ready for groups and the Meet of Champs. The team ran a tough, gritty race at states.”
And kept an autumn tradition alive at RHS.
,
