Cross Country: Emma Zawatski, Freehold Township girls off to flying start
There was rain, there was wind, there was a trail of muddy footing that one observer compared to chocolate ice cream.
Didn’t matter to Emma Zawatski and the Freehold Township High School girls cross county team. In an impressive display of grit, they overcome the elements to post eye-opening results at Saturday’s Shore Coaches’ Invitational.
Zawatski placed first in the Varsity A race, featuring the biggest schools, by covering Holmdel Park’s hilly 3.1-mile course in time of 18 minutes, 37 seconds in leading the Patriots to the team title. Hers was the third-fastest time among all six girls races, behind only Union Catholics’ Peyton Hollis and Kent Place’s Lindsay Hausman, both of whom clocked 18:33.
It marked an eight-second improvement from Zawatski’s time at last November’s NJSIAA Meet of Champions, where she placed 12th. And she probably lost 10 seconds, at least, due to the conditions.
“It was like a mudslide,” she said. “There were certain turns in the backwoods where I had to walk around almost, because if I didn’t, I would have face-planted.”
Zawatski, a junior who is coming off a Meet of Champions title in the outdoor 1600 (4:48), ran unchallenged. She crossed the mile marker in 6:01 and the two-mile marker in 12:01, alone both times. The second-place finisher, Toms River North freshman Jessica Abbott, crossed the finish line 33 seconds later in 19:10.
“Emma looked very much under control,” Freehold Township coach Todd Briggs said. “If the race is taken out faster or she has a group to run with throughout the race, she certainly has the potential for a faster time.”
More:Girls cross country preview: Tilly O'Connor time; Shore Conference runners, teams to watch
The same probably can be said for her teammates. Junior Ava Biemuller (11th place, 20:11), sophomore Leah Rutledge (21st, 21:05), junior Heather Feinstein (24th, 21:08) and sophomore Sophia Briggs (35th, 21:34) rounded out the scoring as the Patriots won by 51 points. This marked the first time their full lineup raced together this season, and their average time of 20:31 was fourth-fastest of the entire meet, behind Union Catholic (19:16), Clearview (20:18) and Northern Highlands (20:27).
“I’m so proud of them,” Zawatski said. “We knew we could take a whole bunch of steps forward this season. To start off our first top-seven race with a win at a big meet like this is incredible.”
The 20:31 also marks the third-fastest average in program history. The first two (including the record of 20:14, set in 2013) came at the state group level in November.
“As much as I want to downplay it and remain humble and not get overexcited, you look at it and it’s pretty startling when you look at our history,” Briggs said. “We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but at the very least it tells me the potential is there for something.”
He’ll find out a bit more Oct. 11 at the Monmouth County Championships, also at Holmdel Park. The girls’ race will be loaded with talent as seniors Tilly O’Connor of St. Rose and Cate DeSousa of Red Bank Catholic – two of the state’s best distance runners – will toe the line alongside Zawatski.
“Definitely looking forward to it,” Zawatski said. “I’ve raced Cate and Tilly and a couple of other girls in the race a whole bunch of times. Whether I get a win or not, it’s a great experience racing against them. You know you’re going to get a fast time.”
Top Shore Conference showings
Here are the top performances by Shore Conference entrants at the Shore Coaches meet.
Boys Teams: 1. Christian Brothers 16:59; 2. Southern 17:07; 3. Howell 17:33; 4. Rumson-Fair Haven 18:09; 5. Jackson Liberty 18:17.
Boys Individuals: 1. Fabian Ramales (Southern) 16:12; 2. Matthew Mastroly (CBA) 16:40; 3. Alex Mastroly (CBA) 16:41; 4. Santino D’Amelio (Southern) 16:45; 5. Andrew Bowker (Southern) 16:48; 6. Christopher Seegobin (Howell) 16:49; 7. Conor Clifford (CBA) 16:50; 8. Nicholas Loffredo (Manchester) 16:55; 9. William DeMarco (CBA) 17:21; 10. (tie) Mickey Schroeder (Rumson-Fair Haven), Dante Morisi (Howell) 17:26.
More:Boys cross country preview: CBA's best team ever? Shore Conference runners, teams to watch
Girls Teams: 1. Freehold Township 20:31; 2. Rumson-Fair Haven 20:50; 3. Shore Regional 21:15; 4. Toms River North 21:16; 5. Southern 22:08.
Girls Individuals: 1. Emma Zawatski (Freehold Township) 18:37; 2. Lily Oliver (Toms River South) 18:51; 3. Megan Donlevie (Shore) 19:09; 4. Jessica Abbott (Toms River North) 19:10; 5. Julia Shanes (Rumson-Fair Haven) 19:26; 6. Ava Biemuller (Freehold Township) 20:11; 7. Catherine Bonan (Trinity Hall) 20:16; 8. Sarah Butler (Rumson-Fair Haven) 20:58; 9. Olivia Palutis (Ocean Township) 20:58; 10. Logan Rettino (Rumson-Fair Haven) 20:59.
Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday, Oct. 11: Monmouth County Championships at Holmdel Park, 4 p.m. girls, 4:20 p.m. boys
Thursday, Oct. 13: Ocean County Championships at Ocean County Park in Lakewood, 4 p.m. girls, 4:20 p.m. boys
Thursday, Oct. 20: Shore Conference Championships at Ocean County Park in Lakewood, 4 p.m. boys, 4:20 p.m. girls
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Cross Country: Emma Zawatski, Freehold Township girls set the pace
