HOLMDEL, N.J. — The Manalapan girls varsity cross country team claimed a historic victory Tuesday at the A-North Championships, capturing the 5-kilometer team title at Holmdel Park with an impressive 33 points.
This marks the first time the Braves have topped the podium at the annual Holmdel Park event, ending Middletown South’s winning streak since 2018.
While Middletown South was absent from this year’s meet, Manalapan’s triumph can be credited to the outstanding performances of their runners, led by Sadie Honig, who finished first at 19:28.57. Close behind was teammates Alivia Schweibinz (19:32.80) and Jessica Abbott (19:41.69), securing the top three spots and showcasing the depth of talent on this year’s varsity squad.
Freehold Township finished second with 39 points, led by Leah Rutledge placing fourth at 20:01.93, followed by Colts Neck taking third at 49 points. Lydia Bereznitski was the top competitor for Colts Neck, finishing fifth in 20:13.38.
Honig’s first-place finish at the season opener showcased her growth as an athlete from a year ago. Honig ran 20:36.06 at the 2023 A-North Championships to secure second place behind Middletown South’s Rosemary Shay (20:08.52).
At the XC Fall Classic in October, Honig dropped her 5K time to 19:56.3 with a meet win. At the 2023 Shore Conference Championships she set a PR in the distance with 18:44.7. Her progression in a short time was promising. According to Honig, she looks at every meet “as a chance to improve.”
And the hard work in training paid off. Honig ended the season last year at the New Jersey Meet of Champions running 19:17.0 at Holmdel Park. This meet is among her favorites for being able to showcase her talent.
“It shows where you are over the whole state. It’s a chance to PR and show what you can do,” she said.
She went into her race at A-North feeling confident, finishing in her third-fastest time on the course.
“We’ve been training so hard this summer,” said Honig, a senior. “We’ve all reached our highest milage and we are all going at it.
She knew she had to maintain her speed even when “knowing how hard it’s going to be” when it came to the courses biggest challenge, “The Bowl.”
Her strategy was to push after conquering this portion of the course.
“It could hurt during it, and you don’t want to waste your energy going up The Bowl,” Honig said.
“It’s daunting because you see a big downhill,” she added. “And then you’re looking up at this huge hill. You see all the coaches at the top, and you’re running up it thinking ‘is it over yet,’ and it’s not. Then you turn the corner and the course gets steeper. Once it’s over you know the course is downhill It’s at this part in the course that runners pick up the pace and start ‘actually running.’”
Honig ran 19:27.0 at the Group Championships at Holmdel Park last year, so it can be anticipated to be a successful season for her if continued in this direction.
Schweibinz said the plan was to treat the meet as a tempo run, but ended up finishing with her fastest time on the course. In 2022, she ran 21:17.0 at the meet to place fourth. She came in fourth place again last year in 20:39.72.
Schweibinz improved her 5K course time at the Group Championships later in the season with 19:48.0.
“The race itself, I felt good the entire time,” she said. “I’m really happy with the results.”
Honig, Schweibinz, and Abbott planned to stay in a pack, a strategy that paid off to get them the top three spots. Having her teammates near her helped her push through the race. “Sometimes I can be very negative to myself. I can be like, ‘I can’t do it. This is really hard,’ but running as a pack made me feeling motivated to run.”
Abbott, Honig, and Schweibinz (left to right.)
Schweibinz said the girls talked during the race and focused on having fun. This meant starting at an easier pace, saving the energy to push especially in the final 800 meters. “I had a lot left in me,” she said.
She has a goal to break 19 minutes at the Holdmel course this season
Abbott, who rounded out the top three, proved to be a great asset to Manalapan. This was the first race the three-time USATF Junior Olympic XC National Champion competed in with the team after transferring from Toms River North.
Abbott said she went in relaxed for the 2.5 miles and then picked it up at the downhill.
“The Bowl is never easy,” she said. “But it’s a good challenge. We stayed close and pushed each other,” she added.
The Manalapan newcomer and well-accomplished athlete went into the meet without a time goal, but is pursuing running faster than 18:39 at some point this season.
“It’s just the starting point,” Abbott said. “So as we go on with the season, we’re all going to progress.”
Honig said that she was excited to run with Abbott, her favorite part of being part of the team practices. She looks forward to bus ride where the team sings songs and practices where they all bond and push each other.
Being the “top pack” these three athletes are supportive of each other and all emphasize their desires for the team as a whole to have a great season. It seems like Abbott fits in like a missing puzzle piece with the Braves, completing the top three alongside Honig and Schweibinz to solidify their place on the podium.
Also strong competitors at A-North was Manalapan’s Madalyn Bacharde, Chloe Li and Kaitlyn Uhl. Referred to as the “second pack,” all three seniors had solid performances. Bacharde finished 11th in 21:45.51. Li placed 16th at 21:58.70, with Uhl immediately following in 17th at 22:02.34.
Honig’s goals include earning some team titles for this season, and after this meet the girls are off on the right foot.