FAST COMPANY: Members of the Wilberforce School girls’ country team are all smiles after they took second at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public B state championship meet earlier this month at Holmdel Park. The Wolverines had a team score of 58 in the meet won by Villa Walsh at 30. Pictured, from left, are Joy Yao, Stella Tobey, Olga Chemodakov, Sophia Vardeman, Laura Sallade, Stella Blanchard, and Emily Prothero. (Photo provided by Lois Szeliga)
By Bill Alden
At the beginning of the fall, Lois Szeliga wasn’t sure what to expect from her Wilberforce School girls’ cross country team as several of her runners were hobbled at that point.
But with some unsung members of the squad stepping up, Wilberforce ended up taking second in the team standings at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public B state championship meet at Holmdel Park earlier this month.
“I am so proud of our team because we had a bunch of significant injuries; we had a freshman coming in who just got injured right away,” said Wilberforce head coach Szeliga, whose team had a score of 58 at the meet won by Villa Walsh at 30. “With the injuries that we had, the way the team came together to get second in the state meet, I think everybody surprised themselves as a team. We always knew we had these two superstars but it is so wonderful when you see everybody come together and accomplish it. That is what it is really about. We had a strong supporting cast that always showed up at practice and always did what they had to do.”
One of the squad’s superstars, junior Stella Blanchard, finished third individually at the meet, clocking a time of 20:20 over the 5,000-meter course.
“Stella had a great year in track and she put in a lot of summer miles; you could tell that she was determined and she just came out of the gate right away,” said Szeliga, noting that Blanchard set a school record of 18:24 in the team’s first meet of the season. “She did really well in the Non-Public B meet. She came in third so she qualified for the Meet of Champions (MOC). The next week at the MOC, she knocked a minute off of her best time at Holmdel with a 19:19. That is a Holmdel record for our team. She is wiping out the record book. She is just a very strong athlete.”
The team’s other superstar, senior Laura Sallade, took sixth at the Non-Public meet with a time of 20:38.
“Laura was incredible, she was our captain,” said Szeliga, noting that Szeliga will be running at Washington and Lee University next year. “She and Stella really pushed each other, they flip-flopped in the regular season races.”
Senior Emily Prothero made a superb debut in her first cross country campaign, culminating by finishing 11th in the Non-Public meet with a time of 22:14.
“When we started, I didn’t know how the season would be, she just made such an impact right away,” said Szeliga. “She was a soccer player and a sprinter. Then last track season she ended up doing the 800 and 1,600. It was something where she didn’t want to graduate without trying it. She ended up being huge for my small team.”
The pair of senior Sophia Vardeman and sophomore Stella Tobey came up big at the Non-Public meet as Vardeman took 22nd in 24:14 while Tobey placed 37th in 25:55.
“Sophia is another senior and she is very solid,” said Szeliga. “When you have cross country, you need those fourth and fifth runners. Stella ran in varsity races last year but being
a scorer is a different thing. She knew she was a scorer this year and was trying to contribute to get that team on the podium at states. She definitely helped us
get there.”
As for the Wilberforce boys’ team, the trio of
junior Elias Edwards, sophomore Caed Wilson, and
junior Henry Jepson led the way as the Wolverines took fourth in the team standings of the Non-Public meet.
“I was so proud of the boys, we have three really top boys, in Elias, Caed, and Henry,” said Szeliga whose team had a score of 138 in the meet won by Montclair Kimberley Academy at 60. “They were definitely determined after last year They saw that they did
well and they were underclassmen. They definitely pushed themselves, especially on distance runs. They stuck together.”
Edwards set the pace for Wilberforce, taking fourth individually as he covered the 5,000-meter course in a time of 17:58. He was three seconds away from taking second as the lead pack battled to the finish line.
“Elias was in that race, he knew going in that Non-Public B was going to be an exciting race for the championship,” said Szeliga. “A lot of the time at the top five
it is not exciting because the runners are spread out. Having that opportunity to fight for it, I was really proud of him.”
Szeliga was also proud of Wilson, who took seventh in 18:22, and Jepson, the 19th place finisher in 19:18.
“Caed had a huge jump, he cut a minute and a half from his PR this year,” said Szeliga. “He went on to break 18 minutes like the other two. Henry is so solid and is so calm. He is a very passionate runner, was thrilled when he broke 18 minutes.”
Newcomer Nicholas Szeto and sophomore Luke Young produced solid performances at the Non-Public meet with Szeto placing 52nd in 20:51 and Young taking 66th in 21:24.
“Szeto was a big surprise because I didn’t know him; he came in as a freshmen,” said Szeliga. “In the training, I kept having to move him up training groups because we did time trials. He is really getting started, he made huge improvements. We run that Shore Coaches meet at Holmdel and he dropped two minutes off of his Holmdel time in just a month. He has a big future ahead of him. Luke showed a lot of maturity this year because he had to do some PT and back off. He was able to finish this season really strong at that crucial No. 5 place.”
The strong finish by the Wilberforce runners at the Non-Public meet bodes well for the program collectively going forward.
“It was great for the boys to get on the podium at the state championship,” said Szeliga. “Seeing how they are all going to be back next year, the season ended with a lot of momentum and excitement for both teams.”