Brevet, Weeks pack one, two punch for Metuchen
Girls cross country wins championship
BY SHAWN LAYTON Staff Writer
With an average finishing time of 21:18, the Metuchen High School girls cross country team dominated the field to win the Central Jersey Group I title at Thompson Park in Jamesburg for a third straight year.

Brevet won the sectional title in 19:48.89. In just her first year running cross country, Brevet has continued to improve and looks like a real threat to make some noise this weekend at Holmdel Park and the Group I title race.

"Elise had a lot of confidence heading into the race," Metuchen head coach Kelli Redding said. "She wanted to take the lead early, and once she did she just kept pressing the pace. She took the lead in the first mile and kept building it. She's had an unbelievable year, and hopefully she'll keep getting better from here. She didn't run her best time, so she's excited to see what she can do this week."

Because Brevet left the pack behind pretty early, she had nobody to push her along the course.

"With other people competing to the finish, I think we'll see Elise run an even better time than 19:48." Redding said. "That's still a very good time, but I know she has better times in her."

Weeks' time of 20:07.77 was a personal best and put her across the finish line in second place.

"It was definitely impressive for us to go first and second place," Redding said. "This made a huge difference in the team scoring."

Weeks ran a tough race and moved into second place behind Brevet in the opening mile.

"Fiona didn't panic at the beginning of the race when a group of girls from Robbinsville took off with Elise," Redding said. "She really ran a great race."

Metuchen's Michele Yip also ran a personal best to finish in eighth place in 21:50.29 and was followed across the line by teammate Amber Michaliszyn in ninth place (21:56.46).

"Michele kept moving up throughout the entire race," Redding said. "She beat her previous best by 22 seconds."

The Bulldogs' ability to put four runners in the top 10 solidified the team win and the three-peat.

"We simply would not have won without that performance," Redding said. "That was the kind of performance the team needed."

Cristina Lombardi topped her previous personal best by 45 seconds to place 19th in a time of 22:45.78. Freshman Lindsey Michaliszyn crossed the line in 22:47 for a 20th-place finish, while teammate Rachel Walton rounded out the Bulldogs' seven with a personal best of 22:57, which put her in 24th place.

"Rachel never quit and kept pushing and passing runner right up to the end," Redding said. "The team's average time of 21:18 was almost a full minute better than last year's average in sectionals."