By Tim Morris
With the finish line quickly approaching, Ciara Roche believed the NJSIAA Meet of Champions (MOC) 1,600-meter race would be hers.
“I thought I might have the ability to lean it out — it was so close,” the Freehold Township High School distance runner said of the race June 8 at Central Regional High School.
Roche and Haddonfield High School’s Briana Gess were side-by-side, waging a one-on-one duel and throwing everything they had at each other.
“It was so close,” Roche said. “I spent my entire four years working for this. I gave everything. It was all heart.”
The runners touched elbows a few meters before the finish line, which was just enough for Roche to lose her stride for a split second and to keep her from nudging into the lead. Gess, the two-time defending champion, got to the line first in 4:50.09, with Roche right there at 4:50.57.
“I did everything I could,” said the Patriots’ senior, who was trying to win her first individual MOC title.
The race did not unfold as expected, and Roche ran from the front at a pedestrian pace.
“I didn’t expect that everyone would be sitting on me,” she said. “I took it out easy, ran comfortably.”
With everyone following her, Roche backed the pace off, which played into her last-lap kick. The first 800 passed in 2:32. Nothing changed on the third lap, with Gess moving up alongside Roche. Both opened up their strides on the backstretch. That’s where Roche has been untouchable this year, but she was facing a defending champion who can close fast as well.
Heading into the final turn, Roche was ready to strike. Running in lane two, she looked to get past Gess coming off the turn.
“I was was running outside her, which meant I was running faster,” Roche said. “I was looking to get a slingshot off the turn and get to the inside.”
But Gess matched her speed, preventing Roche from getting the inside position. The two great champions hit the homestretch side-by-side. Roche dug down in the final 50 meters looking for that one last burst of speed before they touched elbows.
“I knew she would be tough to catch. That’s why I tried to open it up early,” Roche said.
After the disappointment in the 1,600, Roche brushed herself off and gave the 800 a try. Although the stretch run in the 1,600 had taken the sting out of her kick, she still gave it her all and finished fourth (2:13.36).
“I wanted to give everything I have one more time,” Roche said of her decision to come back and run the 800.
After it was all behind her, the Cornell University-bound Roche said she had a great four years of high school running in New Jersey. She said goodbye to New Jersey track putting it all on the line, indicative of the way she has competed in every race throughout her four years. Although she leaves without an individual MOC title, she does not exit without an MOC championship. She was a part of Freehold Township’s record-setting 4×800 relay team that won the MOC in 2014.
Howell High School’s Rachel Kern likes to warm up for the javelin competition with a series of stretching exercises. She explained that it helps her be ready to make a fast start. She makes her best throws in the early rounds, and she likes to set the marker that others have to shoot for.
At the MOC, Kern got off her best throw of the day, 134-7, on her first throw. It was a mark that only Cherokee High School’s Kaela Schrier topped with her mark of 134-10, which also came in the qualifying round.
Unfortunately for the girls, they were throwing into a gusty headwind throughout the competition, making it difficult to come up with personal bests.
Kern said that she waited as long as she could when it was her turn to throw for the wind to die down, but she had no such luck. Her mark was an effort well beyond what the tape measured.
Kern noted that she was pleased overall with the way she threw the javelin. It was the best she could do on that day.
This was a big breakout season for the Rebels’ junior, culminating with her Group IV state title and second-place finish at the MOC. She started the season just looking to make it to the MOC. She did more than qualify for the MOC, becoming a championship contender with her group title and school record throw of 139-10. She now has something more to aim for than personal bests next spring. She is a serious contender for an MOC title, something no Rebels girl has done since 1998, when Lindsey Gallo won the 1,600 meters.
When Kern won the Group IV javelin title, she was the first Rebel since Gallo in 2000 to win a group championship.
Colts Neck High School’s Jordan Brannan was looking for bookend MOC titles at Central Regional, having won the indoor 3,200 title. It wasn’t a lack of effort or determination on his part that he did not win the outdoor crown. The junior ran his fastest 3,200 in 9:08.17, finishing fourth. Millburn High School’s Matt Gross won the hotly contested 3,200 in 9:06.25.
Brannan, however, still labeled the outdoor season as a disappointment.
“It was less than I expected,” he said. “I need to learn from some of the tactical mistakes I made.”
He would have traded those personal bests in the 1,600 (4:13.87) and 3,200 for championships, he noted.
It was still a season in which Brannan joined the state’s elite and proved during the indoor season that he can win big races. That has raised his personal expectations as he looks ahead to 2016-17.
“I expect a lot more from myself now,” he said.
Brannan’s teammate, Anthony Russo, did not medal (top 8), but he turned in a big personal-best effort of 9:13.92 to finish ninth in the 3,200.
Russo and Brannan will be the backbone of what could be a state championship cross-country team in the fall.
Niamh Hayes has been chasing Gallo’s Howell school records throughout her career from Holmdel Park to the indoor track season to the outdoor campaign. The junior took down Gallo’s outdoor record for 3,200 meters when she ran 10:37.72, placing fifth and winning her first MOC medal. Gallo’s mark of 10:41.60 had stood since 2000.
“I”m very excited [about the record],” the Howell distance-running standout.
This was a year in which Hayes, like Brannan, took herself to another level, winning county, conference and state sectional titles as well as setting a string of school and personal records. Along with her MOC medal, the other highlight of the season for Hayes was finally dipping under five minutes for the 1,600 (4:59.77).
This spring season, Hayes said she learned to hold back a bit at the start of races to have more left at the end in order to out-kick runners rather than being out-kicked.
“I’ve gained more confidence in myself in finishing races,” she said. “I’m very excited about training for the cross-country season.”
Hayes is now third-time all-time in the Freehold Regional High School District for the 3,200 behind only Colts Neck legend Ashley Higginson (10:13.44) and Roche (10:33.09).
Howell’s Stephanie Bock has been one of the most consistent throwers throughout the season and was rewarded for it by claiming her first MOC medal. The Rebels’ senior finished eighth in the shot put with a toss of 41-4¼. She’s headed to Georgian Court University, where she has plans to continue throwing.
Monica Heil, who lives in Manalapan and attends St. John Vianney High School, finished her scholastic career by coming in seventh in the 400 dash (57.21). She’s headed to Boston College.
