Ridgewood 9th in State Cross Country Finals

“They didn’t step it up,” Glynn said. “They went out a little too slow and they didn’t run great. They just ran OK.”

Ridgewood earned 203 points, which was good for ninth place overall. The team finished three points ahead of Group 4 runner-up Ridge.

Don Bosco Prep won the team championship with 78 points, and West Windsor-Plainsboro North junior Joe Rosa shattered the course record with a time of 14:56. It marked the first time anyone ran a sub-15 minute time at Holmdel Park.

Upon a quick comparison of last week’s performance, Glynn had reason to be upset with his runners’ effort.

Ridgewood’s overall time was 17 seconds slower than the Group 4 meet, where the track conditions were severely muddy due to a continuous falling rain. Had Ridgewood improved its showing, the Maroon would have likely toppled eighth-place Toms River North, which won the head-to-head matchup Saturday, 202-203.           

In the Group 4 meet, Ridgewood lost to Toms River North, 172-185, to take fourth place and earned a Meet of Champions berth by virtue of a wild card entry.           

Glynn planned to talk to his team and use the race as a learning experience for his younger runners.

“They shouldn’t have been happy with themselves,” Glynn said. “The underclassmen will have learned a great lesson from this, and I think it’ll help them in the long run. We’re never going to leave this park on a negative note with them, but they have to know, they didn’t run it well.”           

Despite falling off from the group competition, the runners seemed more upbeat about their finishes.           

Senior Brian Cleary had the best showing for Ridgewood, taking 65th place with a time of 16:56. Cleary battled through some difficulty coming out of the infamous Bowl—a part of the course that involves running down a bowl-like hill and then a steep incline. But Cleary was able to regain some ground over the final mile of the course.           

“It wasn’t really what I planned to do time-wise,” said Cleary, who ran a 16:44 in the Group 4 race last weekend. “Coming out of the Bowl, my legs were shot, but I was able to pass about 10 guys over the final 1,000 meters."

Cleary, who is choosing between Marist, Manhattan, and Rider colleges, joined 68th and 69th place finishers Pat Rynkowski (17:00) and Jennings (17:02) in a tight pack at the close of the race. The trio were separated by just six seconds.  Despite their proximity to each other, Rynkowski and Jennings couldn’t surpass Toms River North’s Kenny Brady, whose time of 16:59 was good enough for 67th place and helped the Mariners’ point total.

Like Cleary, Rynkowski had some trouble with the middle section of the race. His legs came in contact with another runner, causing him to nearly tumble to the ground on at least one occasion.           

“The first mile was faster for me, but it was pretty packed,” said Rynkowski, who added 15 seconds to his time from a week ago. “At the end everyone kind of spaced out and it was good at that point.”

Senior Nick Francis took 83rd with a time of 17:17, while junior Steve Spreitzer captured 94th place (17:32) to complete the top five harriers for Ridgewood. Senior Alec Ontiveros (18:04) and junior Mohamed Aid (18:06) finished 127nd and 131st, respectively.           

In addition to its finish as one of the top teams in the state, Ridgewood finished the season as the runner-up in Bergen County behind Don Bosco Prep.

“Overall, it was a great season, but I feel we could have done better,” Glynn said.           

The Maroon return their 2-3-4-7-8-9-10 runners, including juniors Rynkowski and Spreitzer and sophomores Jennings, next season.                    

“We have a lot of junior and a lot of sophomores coming up,” Rynkowski said. “I’m very optimistic about the future of this team.”Glynn