High Schools

Some do-overs from Hispanic Games, others free from schedule conflicts for Millrose Trials at Armory

The thought here was that Richburg was ready to rock, and that did not seem to be the case Saturday. He had to race again Sunday at Essex County Relays, this seems a busy schedule, lets hope he's ok, stays healthy, and runs fast when he should. Last year Tyler Udland had a "Road To Millrose Blog" and proceeded to come not very close to being selected and had immense difficulty getting near 4:20 at times. Light indoor schedule? Who knows. There wound up being a lot of races last indoor season, state meets, Easterns, nationals, and so on...just not many real good ones. The girls race looks a bit open, but South Brunswick's Sophia Ginez could have the tools to run 4:something right now and make some noise.

Good Inside Look Interview with D2 Stud Oscar Ogwaro, from underappreciated Queens University

Interview from Grotepoll.com California Chief, Kaiber Takamiya

An interview with Queens University – Charlotte NCAA Division II Cross Country All-American Oscar Ogwaro

Oscar Ogwaro placed 7^th at the 2009 NCAA Division 2 Cross Country Championships with a time of 31:18

Grotepoll.com - so how did u start your running career?

Oscar Ogwaro - ahhhhhh!! Off a bet...one of my cool buddies ran in student run la program and he said he could beat me in a 5k

he was #1 in my high school xc team too. so the coach asked me to join

The Hispanic Games Mile(s)

Like I said, the Armory is where's its at on Saturday...until the Jets game at 4:30, of course, then my couch is where it's at.

Early indoor action, 2010 forecast...

Every season in NJ seems to produces races that one-up the prior season, as hard as it seems to fathom. What will be this year's Leung-Smith dual or Robby Andrews warpath? There are quite a few candidates. A few headliners return like Nick Vena, Ajee Wilson, The Brothers Rosa and so on, but as seems to be the pattern now, stars emerge each year, each season.

Looking Forward, Looking Back...

Waxing nostalgic already about 2009, as it nears its end, so many memorable moments from the Jersey scene its really hard to organize them or rank them, so I shall just rattle off some big ones:

Joe Rosa's 15:03 was such a stunning drop, a shocking dismantling of a venerable course. 14:56 took it a step farther. I was there to witness that one, and had to hustle quite a bit from the 2-mile mark to the finish to see the history. These were simply unforgetable races, no matter what happens in the Rosa's senior season. Oh yeah, Jim controlled and won the outdoor MoC 3200m and Joe honestly made the race that saw Liam Tansey (he's good at running) pull away to blast a 4:08.11 winner, and 6 go under 4:12.

Take any Meet of Champions race that Lanie Thompson always found a way to run and go ahead and call it the textbook way to be a winner. She's a true champion, great leader, great teammate, and so on. Her indoor 3200m win was a closer call than expected, but she found a way. Outdoors she dropped out of the event she dominated most to run the 1600m, and again found a way, gutting out a close win in 4:46.28.

Robby Andrews...yikes. He will excite people for years to come at The University of Vigilante. Everybody knew he had wheels, but he matured into a guy who could use them off of a fast or slow pace and even from the front of the field. Millrose, Webb's 1000m record, Penn anchor, 1:48.66 at MoC, the 4:03y at Lewis & Clark. Heck of a year...wait until he really starts to develop.

Jillian Smith...a machine, but a good one. Another Millrose win, 2:04, etc.

Sean Pohorence, obviously no dummy, ran a smart, cool race to win indoor Meet of Champs going away. What a day for MoHills in the Bennett Center with Tansey's win and Clyne's near miss. Too bad he missed the conclusion of his outdoor season after running 1:53.

Speaking of relays, this was the race of all races in 2009. Albemarle-MoHills. This is the race that in a few years I will fondly recall the rumble and roar of the crowd even though I wasn't actually there. Two teams slugging it out for 4 legs, Tansey hammering, then hammering again, then flying, closing in 25, and "losing". Epic.

Surely there were other moments, other events involving a lap or less of running, or even throwing stuff...Nick Vena. These are the few things that stood out most for me. Outside of the NJ HS scene, Dathan's 12:56 won't soon be forgotten, nor will Meb's win at NYC Marathon, or the Jets 3-0 start, or Michael Schumacher deciding to fill-in for a nearly killed Felipe Massa, then undeciding, only to sign to make a full fledged comeback for a German-engined squad in 2010. What a year.

History is just that, and there is always more to be made, so clear a path.