Roche working hard to keep improving

Having lowered the Freehold High School record for 1,600 meters during the spring track campaign, Mackenzie Roche is looking forward to big things this fall.

Mackenzie Roche Now a senior at the school in Freehold Borough, Roche could be one of the Shore Conference's best cross country runners, if not its best kept secret.

While other runners were grabbing the headlines in the spring, Roche quietly went about her business and eventually lowered the school record for the 1,600-meter run to 5:11.38.

That time was 14 seconds faster than the time she ran as a sophomore and puts her in the upper echelon of the conference's distance runners.

"I trained really hard and just went for it," Roche said of her breakout junior track season. "I'm learning how to run the race (1,600), how to surge at different points. I just got faster at the end" (of the season.

Before Roche can go about attacking her own school record and approaching a sub- 5:00 time for the 1,600, there is a little matter of the upcoming 2009 cross country season. It is a season she is looking forward to for two big reasons; first, because she "really likes" cross country and second, because of the confidence the 2009 spring track season gave her.

This summer has been all about building up a base for the long harrier season.

"It's been pretty much heavy mileage," Roche said of her training, most of which has been in Lavallette, where her family has a summer house. Her summer training, which includes cruise miles, has her ahead of where she was at this time last year, which is a very encouraging sign.

Among Roche's goals for the 2009 cross country season is winning the Freehold Regional High School District championship. She was second at the FRHSD Championships in 2008 behind the graduated Rachel Morris of Colts Neck High School.

There will be a lot of competition, however, for the FRHSD title this year (the race will be held on Oct. 1 at Bucks Mill Park in Colts Neck). Also returning are Freehold Township's Chelsea Thorsheim and Howell's Laura Kochenash, who placed fifth and seventh, respectively, a year ago.

Roche figures to be one of the serious contenders for the individual title. If she wins it she will become the first Freehold High School girl to win the crown. That achievement would be as big as any school record because no one can take a championship away from you and it would also bring the Colonials' cross country program some needed recognition.

Roche is also looking to run fast this fall. She wants to break 20:00 for 3.1 miles at Holmdel Park and she wants to break 19:00 at Ocean County Park, if Freehold has an opportunity to run at Ocean County Park in Lakewood this year.

Unlike many of her fellow distance runners, Roche likes running on the difficult Holmdel Park layout.

"It's my favorite course," she said, explaining that she likes the last half-mile of the course because it is downhill and it plays to her strength, a strong finishing kick.

Roche's biggest goal is to qualify for the state Meet of Champions. To achieve that goal she will have to finish among the top 10 runners at the NJSIAA Group III state championships.

Overall, this cross country season figures to be a transition year in the FRHSD. With graduation taking many of the stars of previous seasons, it will be interesting to see who steps up to excel.

Colts Neck's Mike O'Dowd and Freehold Township's Eric Dynarski ran sixth and seventh, respectively, at the Central Jersey Group IV state sectional meet in 2008. Those were the highest places of any returning FRHSD harrier.

Eva Wimberley of Colts Neck (12th) had the best finish of any of the returning girls in the 2008 state sectional meet.

Colts Neck's girls will be defending two long streaks this season. The Cougars have won seven consecutive dual meet division championships and they have built a winning streak of 35 straight meets over the last five years. With the likes of Briana Jackucewicz and Rachel Morris having graduated, the Cougars lack the depth of previous years, making them more vulnerable than they have been in the recent past.

The Cougars' first hurdle will be a meet that includes Freehold Township, Marlboro and Middletown South on Sept. 15 at Holmdel Park. If the Cougars clear that hurdle, on Oct. 6 they will run against Howell at the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell.

The Howell Rebels have been the team that has pushed the Cougars the last few years and the Howell harriers have suffered some heartbreaking losses — such as losing the Central Jersey Group IV team title by one point. The Rebels would like nothing more than to be the team that ends Colts Neck's long win streak.

A solid core of veterans led by Kochenash, Jamie Hand and Alyssa Pinney could make Howell the team to beat.

Manalapan and Colts Neck have ruled in recent years among the boys and both teams were hit hard by graduation. Freehold Township, with the most returning runners, could be the team to watch in 2009.

The Jersey Shore Cross Country Classic, a new meet being hosted by Monsignor Donovan High School, Toms River, will kick off the 2009 cross country season on Sept. 11 at the Robert Miller Airport in Bayville. The course is flat and fast.

The 14th annual Shore Coaches Battle of Monmouth at Monmouth Battlefield State Park, Manalapan, on Sept. 19 is a class meet with harriers running in divisions based on school size.

Colts Neck will host the Cougar Invitational at Bucks Mill Park on Sept. 26. This race has drawn teams from New York, Pennsylvania and all over New Jersey over the years and the list of champions is a Who's Who of New Jersey's top talent.

The FRHSD Championships will be held Oct. 1 at Bucks Mill Park where Howell's girls and Manalapan's boys are the defending team champions. The 2008 individual winners, Morris and Manalapan's Robby Andrews, have graduated.

On Oct. 3, Holmdel Park will host the Shore Coaches Invitational. This race traditionally brings all of the top teams and runners in New Jersey to Holmdel for the first time during the season. It is a good barometer for everyone to judge where they stand against runners they may face during state competition later in the campaign.

The Monmouth County Championships will be held on Oct. 20 at Holmdel Park. The Shore Conference Championships will be held at Holmdel Park on Oct. 31.

The NJSIAA Central Jersey Championships will be held at Thompson Park in Jamesburg in the first week of November. The state Group Championships are set for Nov. 14 at Holmdel Park and the Meet of Champions will be Nov, 21 at Holmdel.

Out-of-state meets include the Manhattan College Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y., on Oct. 10. This meet is critical to teams that are looking for a national ranking and eyeing a spot in the Nike Team Nationals.

The Nike Team Nationals Northeast Regional will be held at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. on Nov, 28, which is the same date as the Foot Locker Northeast Regional at Van Cortlandt Park.