Goria smiles again while Hebners and Barney shine at Shore Coaches by Paul Schwartz of The Record
HOLMDEL – The afternoon belonged to the Hebner and Barney twins at the Shore Coaches Invitational meet at Holmdel Park on Saturday with Monica and Isabel Hebner of Northern Highlands taking 1-2 in the Girls B race in the best two times of the entire meet and Corinne and Madeline Barney going 1-5 in the Girls C race.
But the morning belonged to River Dell’s Shannon Goria, who missed nearly all of last year with various injuries, but finished second in the Girls D race with the smile that has lit up her face since she started running as a freshman was as broad as it ever was.
After she finished in 19:31 for the 5,000 meter state course in very hot conditions, Goria sheepishly heard her mom cry out, ‘You’re going to be in trouble,’ as the race plan of the Golden Hawk coaches was for Goria to run a minute slower as a step in her long recovery from injuries.
But coach Brianna Bayersdorfer was willing to forgive her eager star, the 2015 Bergen Meet of Champions titlist as a sophomore.
“Just to see her smile like that, I’ll give her a pass,’’ said Bayersdorfer. “This is why we run and this is why we coach, to see how the team helped her come back and how much she enjoys it.
For her part, Goria couldn’t help embracing her teammates who she credited with her ability to fight through her setbacks, especially junior Kellie O’Donnell, her training partner and close friend.
“I got so excited today because I was out there again, I know I went too fast, but it felt so good to be out there again and it’s because Kellie and my teammates,’’ said Goria.
Amazingly her time nearly matched the 19:27 she ran when she won Shore Coaches as a soph, going on to place ninth place in the State Meet of Champions six weeks later.
Early morning PRs
It was hot from the opening races at Holmdel and until clouds rolled in a little after noon, there was little shade or wind to help the runners. But Jeremy Bronstein of Dwight-Englewood and Anthony DiIorio of Bergen Tech still managed large personal bests of the Holmdel course.
Bronstein, seventh last year in Non-Public B, was third in the Boys G race in 16:47, nearly a half minute than he ran last fall while DiIorio was fourth in 17:07, also a Holmdel best by 30 seconds.
“The last two years at Shore, it was miserably wet so I’m fine with today’s weather,’’ said Bronstein, who will race Monday in the NJIC Championships at Garret Mountain. “I felt good today but not perfect.’’
“I wanted to get under 17 today but it’s still a good race for me,’’ said DiIorio, who’ll race Thursday in the Big North Liberty meet.
2015 All-Passaic runner Jaron Jordan of Paterson, who recently transferred to St. Benedict’s, made his first race at Holmdel in two years a great one, when he won the F race in 16:17, more than a minute faster than the last time he ran at Holmdel.
Holy Angels star Mackenzie Hughes fell in the first mile in Girls F and could not finish but the Angels still took third as a team.
Northern Valley/Demarest put three runners and took second in the Boys D race to state Group 2 favorite Haddonfield.
A little magic
The Hebners and Barneys were sensational in their afternoon races, when a slight breeze and some cloud cover seemed to make conditions a little more tolerable.
Corinne Barney, in her first race at the classic state course, easily won C by nearly 200 meters over Jade Tricomy of Toms River South in a terrific 19:23, second fastest time in school history with Madeline fifth, helping the Braves to a second place finish behind Red Bank Regional.
But then the Hebners, who seem to score huge PRs at every course they run went 18:32 (Monica) and 18:39 (Isabel) moving into a tie for seventh and a tie for tenth on the all-time Bergen Holmdel list and scoring Holmdel bests by 80 and 78 second, respectively.
“We’re healthy, we’re eating right and we’re getting sleep,’’ said Monica, with Isabel nodding in agreement. “It’s been a great season so far.’’