RBC harriers win four-way race
Take Shore Coaches Invitational Girls Varsity D title

The four-team chase for the Girls Varsity D Division title at Saturday's Shore Coaches Invitational came down to which team was the most balanced.

That played into the hands of Mary Banks' Caseys. They didn't have the fastest runner or the best tandem at Holmdel Park, but RBC had the least separation between its runners. With only a 19-second difference between their second through fifth runners, the Caseys won the highly competitive contest with 74 points. Monsignor Donovan (83) and Hopewell Valley (92), both state-ranked like RBC, and Summit (95) were the teams vying with the Caseys for the team championship.

Hopewell Valley had the first- and third-place finishers in Megan Fitzpatrick (19:02) and Clare Buck (19:12), but fell off when they got their fourth and fifth scorers (38th and 39th).

Monsignor Donovan also had two runners across the line before the Caseys with Molly Kempton second (19:05) and Briana Crowe sixth (19:46). But they too had a big gap between their fourth and fifth runners (25th and 33rd).

Senior Erin Lunny gave the Caseys the needed single-digit scorer by finishing seventh. She toured the 5K course in 20:02.

RBC's strength then surfaced, starting with Caitlin Dorgan (20:30) and Janine Louie (20:31), who were 13th and 14th. Michelle Capozzi was seven seconds back in 19th, and fifth scorer Emily Rooney was 24th (20:49). In team scoring, Capozzi and Rooney were 18th and 22nd.

Up-and-coming Rumson-Fair Haven was fifth (184), led by Hannah Satzke (20:39) in 20th and Sara Robinson (20:53), 26th.

In Varsity E, Shore Regional's girls were 10th (280). Sara Walsh (22:03) and Margaret Jackson (22:06) were 35th and 39th in team scoring.

Tuesday, the local harriers will run for Monmouth County championships at Holmdel Park. Last year's champions were the Colts Neck girls and Christian Brothers Academy boys. Colts Neck had both individual winners in Ashley Higginson and Craig Forys.

The girls championship has talent good enough to be a state meet. Colts Neck is the top-ranked team in the state, with Howell and RBC rated among the top five or six teams. That makes collectively for a lot of talent.

Higginson will be the favorite, with Freehold Township's Charlotte Walsh, Howell's Lindsey Lambert and Mater Dei's Marie Walsh her closest rivals.

CBA is the favorite to repeat, with Colts Neck's boys the only team that could push the Colts. Forys is a lock to repeat, if the Cougar races (he's running at the Manhattan Invitational tomorrow).