Bucs’ Dennis takes first at county x-country meet
RBR’s Katy and Amanda Trotter go one-two in
girls’ race
By tim morris
Staff Writer

VERONICA YANKOWSKI Katy (l) and Amanda Trotter were side by side at the finish of the Monmouth County girls’ cross country championships at Holmdel Park on Oct. 15. Katy Trotter got the win in a photo finish.

Rob Dennis knew that the Monmouth County Cross Country Championship was his for the taking.

But the Buc junior, who was third behind two graduating seniors in 2001, also knew that no one was going to give him the race. He would have to earn it.

The first red flag went up at the Shore Coaches Invitational on Oct. 5 at Holmdel Park. On that day, Christian Brothers Academy’s Will Melofchik, one of his chief rivals, ran faster than him. Melofchik ran a 16:25.3 in finishing third in the B Division race while Dennis toured the 5K Holmdel Park course in 16:30.5, taking second in the C Division.

"Melofchik ran great last week [at the Shore Coaches Meet]," he said. "The times this year have been amazingly fast. I’ve kept my training mileage up."

VERONICA YANKOWSKI Julie Ullmeyer led the Shore Regional Blue Devils to a fifth place at the Monmouth County Cross Country Championships with her sixth-place finish. The championships were held Oct. 15 at Holmdel Park.

The fast times turned in so early in the season all over made Dennis buckle down and work even harder. As he pointed out, he kept his training mileage high while still finding time to do some speed work, work that would come back to pay dividends. All of his energies were focused on winning the Monmouth County title.

Before the race, Dennis wrote 2M (for two miles) on one hand and WWHS on the other. The 2M was a reminder that that is the point at which the race begins in earnest, while WWHS stood for "What Would Harrison Say," meaning Geoff Harrison, Dennis’ track and field coach.

Harrison calls Dennis ‘Rube,’ the same nickname that Oregon coach Bill Bowerman gave the great Steve Prefontaine.

"He tells me when I take the lead, ‘Finish it,’" said Dennis.

Which is exactly what Dennis did in winning the county championship in a personal best of 16:16.5, ahead of Melofchik’s 16:24.2.

The race actually came down to 800 meters for Dennis. He and a pack of runners were following Red Bank Catholic’s Rob Piccarello at the 2-mile mark. Piccarello, a senior, was fourth last year and was doing his best not to let it come down to a big-kick finish. But he couldn’t shake the other contenders and it would come down to leg speed at the end.

With 800 meters to go, Dennis, who had been biding his time, struck. It was the decisive move that Harrison told him to make.

"We were going back-and-forth the whole race," recalled Dennis. "With 800 meters left, I went. Melofchik was right on my back. I was going as hard as I could. All the time I kept telling myself how badly I wanted this."

That reminder gave Dennis all the incentive he needed to "finish it." WWHS? Harrison would say it was a job well done.

"It’s really great," Dennis said following his victory. "I had to work pretty hard to get it."

While Dennis was winning his battle with Melofchik, CBA was winning the war. The Colts would avenge last year’s loss to Red Bank Regional decisively, 46-90.

Behind Dennis, Shane Kimmins was 12th (16:51.4), Jovannie Cortez was 16th (16:16:58.7), and Steve Waite was 17th (17:00.8). But even with four runners in the first 17, the Bucs couldn’t match a Colts team that had three runners in the first seven, four in the first 13 and its fifth runner, 20th.

Despite the loss to CBA, the Bucs proved their point. They wanted to let everyone know that 2001 wasn’t a fluke, that they are going to consistently be a contender. With Dennis and Waite in their junior year, and fifth man Andrew Fouratt just a sophomore, the nucleus is there for RBR to be back in contention next fall.

Behind the CBA-RBR duel, Red Bank Catholic finished third (130). The Caseys could match both through the first three runners but not their depth.

The Caseys put three runners in the top 10 led by Piccarello. Conrad Laskowski (16:38.8) and James McCarthy (16:48.4) ran eighth and ninth for RBC.

Shore Regional was 10th (242) led by Marc Altenau’s 19th place (17:06.2).

Trotters run one-two

Unlike Dennis, schoolmates Katy and Amanda Trotter had no competition in the girls’ race. They produced one of the most one-sided finishes in history, winning by more than 1:10.

The twins ran side by side with the photo saying Katy had won in 18:40.0 while Amanda was next at 18:40.2. Katy’s win gave the Red Bank Regional harriers a sweep of the boys’ and girls’ individual championships.

The times the Trotters posted in just their second championship race at Holmdel Park moved them up on the all-time Holmdel Park list. Katy Trotter is now tied with Sterling’s Mindy Rowand for 21st place and Amanda is next in 23rd.

The real race last week was for the team championship between RBR and Middletown South. In a very short time, the two teams have become rivals. In their first meeting of the year, the Eagles finished ahead of the Bucs at the Shore Coaches Invitational. But three days later, in a dual meet, the Bucs ended the Eagles’ eight-year, 45 dual meet winning streak, the longest girls’ streak in the Shore, 27-29.

Middletown South got back at RBR at the county championships, winning by a slim four points, 87-91, in a race that came down to the fifth runner.

The Eagles were able to overcome the Trotters’ one-two finish by putting three runners in the top 10.

Beth Mayer ran a fine race and was 16th for the Bucs (21:03.8), and Michelle Walsh was 30th (21:29.9). But it wasn’t enough to overcome the edge the Eagles had from third through fifth.

Defending champion Red Bank Catholic (96) made it a three-team race in its bid to repeat, finishing just nine points behind the Eagles. The Caseys were led by Lauren Pfeifer (20:34.3) and Chelsea Bollerman (20:43.3) who were 11th and 12th. Kat Shareshian was 19th (21:11.7).

Shore Regional’s girls ran well and finished fifth (122) behind Julie Ullmeyer in sixth place (20:11.6). She was followed by Laura Hayden (21:16.2), Martine McGrath (21:24.1) and Nicole Ullmeyer (21:27.2), who were 21st, 27th and 29th.