Cougars Move on to Meet of Champions

When the elite runners from around the Garden State return to Holmdel Park next Saturday, Chatham junior Tara Hanley will be in the mix of athletes hoping to end the year with a medal around their necks from the Meet of Champions. 

Even after finishing in second in all of Group II today, Hanley said she had still hoped to head into the next round of meets as the group champion, but was happy to be moving on at all. "I'm going to the Meet of Champions so I'm just thrilled about that ultimately," she said. "The goal was to win, but the second goal was to come in second and move on to the next round."

Now, Hanley said she wants to finish in the top 10 in all the state. "That's a huge goal, but I'm pretty motivated to do it," she said. Whatever the results are next week, Hanley said all the success she has gotten out of the effort she has put in will only help her for her senior campaign. I think it does help me get ready for next year to feel stronger and more confident about myself," she said. "I can't wait to hopefully be a captain and help aspiring runners excel to their best."

Following Hanley, the next member of the team to finish was fellow junior Julia Harrigan who finished with a 21:10. Harrigan said she had no complaints when it came to her performance Saturday afternoon. "I was really happy with it," she said. "That was my second best time of the season." The junior said the group championship was the result of a lot of hard work put in over a long season. "This is the end of my season so it's the peak of my training," she said.

The junior's performance at the meet is made even more impressive by the fact that it marks the end of her first year in the sport. "Next year I'll have faster goals," she said. "Next year I'll know what to expect. I'm just looking forward to having a lot of fun again."

After those two runners, the next Cougar to finish was fellow junior Tara Malanga who ran a 22:19, while another junior, Kayla Michell ran a 22:30 to finish not too far behind Malanga.

In a 20 team group, the Cougars finished in 12th place with 282 points, but the Group II title easily went to Voorhees who finished the afternoon with 46 points. That total put them well ahead of the second place team from Bernards that finished with 104 points.

The Chatham boys will also be represented at the Meet of Champions thanks to a last ditch effort by junior Anthony Malatesta to crack the top 10 in the boys race and earn himself the last ticket to the next level. Malatesta ran a 16:52 which was just three seconds better than Joe Chegwidden of Wallkill Valley.

After the race Malatesta said that while he was glad to advance, it was not until the very end that he knew he would be moving on. "I thought I could make it, but coming down to the end I was 11th out of the 10 who qualify and I made it by the skin of my teeth," he said. And while there is something to be said for the thrill of the chase, the junior said that would not have been required for his enjoyment of the day. "I'd much rather be safe and in 10th place," he said with a laugh. "I was scared the entire race."

Now that he has made it to the biggest meet in the state Malatesta said the pressure is off his shoulders. "The culmination is making it to the Meet of Champions and I made it," he said. "I'm not expecting to place at all. It's going to be a fun experience just to be there and maybe next year if I'm better I'll know what it's like."

The next Chatham runner to finish was senior Stephen Bangs who ended his career with a respectable 18:05 showing  while junior Joseph Kraemer ran an 18:18 and senior Mike Kaiser ran an 18:24.

Coach Pat Barry said he was very proud of the way his team performed against a talented field of competitors. "There were a couple people who surprised me in terms of really improving over the last week and a couple other guys had tough races today," he said. "Overall we had six of our runners way up there and we're happy with our performance."

With 302 points the Cougars finished in 12th in the 20 team group while Haddonfield ran away with the title. With 48 points, their closest competition came from Ramsey who finished with 141 points in comparison.