By Kevin Cranston
Runningco.com Writer

The Teams

The team battle should be a good one, with Don Bosco Prep, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, Millburn, Cherokee, Haddonfield, Christian Brothers Academy and Morris Hills all in the hunt for the title.

Don Bosco enters the meet as the favorite. Last Saturday, the Ironmen had an impressive showing as they won the Non-Public A race over CBA, 55-71, and posted the day’s best team average of 16:44.6. But being the favorite doesn’t always guarantee a win at this race. Bosco was the favorite heading into last year’s M of C, before being upended by Jackson, which won its first-ever M of C crown.

If the Ironmen have an off day, the title is totally up for grabs.

The race for South Jersey’s top team will be a two-team battle between Cherokee, ranked No. 1 in runningco.com’s Top 20, and No. 2 Haddonfield. The Chiefs were victorious in Group 4 last Saturday, while the Bulldawgs picked up the Group 2 title. In winning its respective groups, Cherokee, led by seniors Alex Yersak and Kevin Schickling, and Haddonfield, led by sophomore Boo Vitez, ran nearly identical team averages, with the Chiefs going 16:53.0 and the Bulldawgs running 16:53.6.

Both teams are pretty even through their top four, with Haddonfield having the slight edge, so the deciding factor could very well be how each team’s No. 5 man runs. The Bulldawgs, third at the 2006 M of C, haven’t been able to get much consistency out of the fifth position for much of the season, and that could really hurt them in a race as big as the M of C. Last weekend, Haddonfield’s gap between its No. 4 man – sophomore Colin Baker – and its No. 5 man – freshman Ethan Quanci (17:38) – was 44 seconds (the team’s five-man spread was 78 seconds).

As for Cherokee, which was ninth at last year’s M of C, its four and five runners last weekend– sophomore Steve Burkholder and junior Ryan McNair – both ran 17:18 as the Chiefs put together a five-man spread of 57 seconds. What could help Cherokee out Saturday is the return of normal No. 5 runner Sean Hartnett, who was sick last Saturday and wasn’t in the lineup.

Prediction: Don Bosco will earn its first M of C title since 1992. Cherokee will finish as South Jersey’s top team, placing third overall.    

Leung or Smith?

The boys’ individual race should be a dandy as West Windsor-Plainsboro South senior Brian Leung and Gill St. Bernard’s junior Doug Smith will run head-to-head for the first time all season. Both runners enter Saturday’s race undefeated.

Last weekend at the NJSIAA state group championships, Leung ripped off a 15:41 – the fastest time out of the six boys’ races – en route to a 24-second Group 4 victory and the No. 11 time on Holmdel Park’s all-time list. In easily winning the Non-Public B race by 62 seconds, Smith toured Holmdel’s 5,000-meter layout in 15:44 – the second-fastest time of the day – and the No. 14 time on Holmdel.

Both Leung and Smith will be going after their first M of C title. Leung finished seventh in 16:00.4 at last year’s M of C, while Smith was third in 15:46.2.

With as tough as these two guys are, neither one is going to let the other get away early on in the race. This could be the type of race where Leung and Smith lock horns at the top of the first hill and throw surge after surge at each other the rest of the way.

Look for these two standouts to emerge out of the woods together, with the winner being decided by whoever has the most left in the tank over the final 300 meters.

Prediction: Both will be under 15:40, with Smith winning in 15:35.

Johnson, Birchmeier or someone else?

Who will be South Jersey’s top finisher on Saturday? There’s no definitive answer for this question, for there are several guys running extremely well right now.

Based off of last Saturday, the slight favorite would be Ocean City junior Brett Johnson, who won the Group 3 race in a Holmdel PR of 16:07 – the fifth-best time of the day and the fastest by a South Jersey runner. Johnson, who was 20th at last year’s M of C, has rectified the breathing problems that plagued him earlier in the year and has looked really strong the past two weeks in winning sectional and state titles.

But right on Johnson’s heels the last two races has been senior teammate Ryan Birchmeier. Last Saturday, Birchmeier was winning the Group 3 race until Johnson passed him with about 400 meters remaining. Birchmeier held on for second in a huge PR of 16:10.

So Johnson or Birchmeier could very well be South Jersey’s top finisher. Others that could earn the distinction include Holy Cross senior Mike Sheehan (16:14 in the Non-Public A race last Saturday), Shawnee sophomore David Forward (16:16 in Group 3), Haddon Heights senior Mickey Borsellino (16:19 in Group 1), Haddonfield sophomore Boo Vitez (16:20 in Group 2), Northern Burlington junior Michael Bowden (16:20 Group 3) and Cherokee senior Alex Yersak (16:21 in Group 4).

Prediction: Johnson is the first South Jersey runner to cross the line, running 16:00 for fifth.