#1 2006 Girls Cross Country Team, 11/19/06

#1 Ashley Higginson, Indoor 3200m, 2/27/05

#2 Craig Forys, Outdoor 1600m, 6/08/05

#1 2006 Girls Cross Country Team, 11/19/06

#1  Meet of Champions (NJ All-Groups Champions), Holmdel Park  Nov 19, 2006  

From the left, Ashley Rizzo, Alyssa Morgan, ??? head, Morgan Clark, Allison Linnell, Briana Jackucewicz, Kristen O'Dowd, Ashley Higginson, Erin Donaghy, Allie Flott, Allison Donaghy

Girls MOC Results: (1st 3 teams)

1 Colts Neck 80 pts   average 19:11.2

2 Voorhees 146 pts   average 19:43.6

3 RBC  159 pts   average 20:01.6

In Portland, Oregon, from the left, Erin Donaghy, Morgan Clark, Kristen O'Dowd, Ashley Higginson, Allison Donaghy, Allie Flott, Allison Linnell, Briana Jackucewicz

Girls NTN Results: (1st 4 teams)

1 Fay-Man, NY 128 pts   average 20:18.02

2 Hilton, NY 178 pts   average 20:32.62

3 Carroll, TX  187 pts   average 20:35.4

4 Colts Neck  200 pts   average 20:33.3 

The CN girls at NTN skit night.

Individual MOC Champions 

#1 Ashley Higginson, Indoor 3200m, 2/27/05

#2 Craig Forys, Outdoor 1600m, 6/08/05

#1  Ashley Higginson (Indoor 3200 meters), Princeton,  Feb 27, 2005 

Ashley (#2) has the lead after one lap.  She would settle back and take the lead much later.  picture courtesy of Gary Glasgall

full race result	Ed Grant's meet report
CN website race result	2004-05 season summary

400m Splits:

Ashley would go on and run 10:51.08 for 2 miles at the National Scholastic Champs in NYC which would be good for 4th place to become our 1st individual All-American.

#2  Craig Forys (Outdoor 1600 meters), South Plainfield,  June 8, 2005 

Craig leads Bryon Williams (Ridgewood) with 300m to go.  courtesy of Toby Nygaard

Click here for a full video of the race. (coming)

400m Splits:

Craig would finish the season running a 1:54.5 800 anchoring the 4 x 800 meter relay team to a state record.  The following weekend he would run a 9:07.38 2 mile with a new state sophomore record of 8:29.85 3000 meters along the way and then come back the next day to run 4:12.8 in the anchor leg of the Distance Medley Relay that would finish 2nd in the National Championships.

#3  Craig Forys (Cross Country), Holmdel Park,  Nov 19, 2005 

Craig sprints to the finish on the way to his first MOC XC title.  courtesy of Toby Nygaard

Though Craig was the top returner from the previous year, a new star had appeared on the scene.  Ben Massam of Chatham had become the MOC favorite with a smashing win at the Shore Coaches Inv at Holmdel Park in 15:36, one of the top 5 fastest times in course history.  He was known to hammer the middle part of the race but was not a fast finisher.  Knowing this, Craig had worked on his middle mile of Holmdel Park by running 5:05 for that mile before easing off the pedal and running 15:55 in winning the Group III State Champs.  Ben had then won the Group II Champs in 15:45.  

The plan was to run with Ben the first mile but to let him have a little margin when he took off during the 2nd mile.  The race went exactly as planned.  Craig and Ben were together at the uphill first mile in 5:16.  Almost immediately after the first mile, Ben through a big surge in and ran the 2nd in the unheard of 4:59.  Craig had let Ben go but only by 5 secs, running the 2nd mile himself in 5:04.  The strategy started to work as Ben's form was starting to break.  Sensing this, Craig picked up the pace and caught Ben as they hit the tennis courts, about 1200 meters from the finish.  As he passed Ben, he threw in a big surge to make sure Ben was unable to go with him and he was off to the finish line.  Craig continued the surge to a 5:14 final 1.1 miles (4:44 pace mile pace) to win the race by 12 secs and run the 4th fastest time ever run at Holmdel Park.  He was CN's 1st MOC XC champion.  His time of 15:34 set a new Shore Conference and Freehold District record.

Mile Splits:

Craig would finish his season at the Northeast Footlocker Regional Champs with a horrible race. He felt dead from the first step of the race and finished 28th.  MOC 3rd placer, Jeff Perrella would finish 7th in that race and qualify for the Footlocker Nationals.

looking for a picture, can you help?  courtesy of 

Knowing that Anthony would try to sit on Craig the whole way and try to out-kick him, the plan was to let someone else lead early and then pass the leader just before the turn and pick the pace up notably.  The hope was the leader would then get in Anthony's way on the turn.  By the time the turn ended, Anthony would have to work real hard to catch up.  The increasing pace and the extra energy needed for Anthony to catch up would take his kick away.  

After a slow first 200, Kyle Soloff of Morris Hills took the lead and really picked up the pace.  After the 800, Craig took the lead right before the turn and started his surge.  After getting stuck behind Kyle at first, Anthony ran hard to catch back up.  He stayed close until about 300 meters to go until the pace got to him and he fell back.  Craig continued on his own to win in 4:17.11 by 6.4 secs.  He quickly warmed down to prepare for the 3200. 

Race video of 1600

400m Splits for 1600:

Craig had decided to try to become only the 2nd runner ever to win both the 1600 and the 3200 at the Meet of Champions.  The main opponent was Jeff Perrella from Westfield who had qualified for the Footlocker XC Nationals, which Craig had not.  Jeff's plan was simple, try to set a fast pace and hope Craig would be too tired from the 1600.  With Jeff leading through the 400 at 66.4, which was faster than the 1600 race, the two quickly pulled away from the pack.  The pace settled down and gradually slowed down 400 after 400.  Going into the straightaway with 3 laps to go, Craig surged into the lead and gradually pulled away.  He ran a 32 sec lap and then a 63.1 last 400 to run 9:15.11 and win by 7 secs.

Race video of 3200

400m Splits for 3200:

Craig would finish the season running a 4:05.7 (officials) 1600 split in the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) at the Eastern Champs, a 4:05.5 (officials) 1600 DMR split at the nationals and then a 8:59.98 for two miles in finishing 2nd at the Nike Nationals.  He became only the 2nd NJ runner to break 9:00 in winter track, missing the State record by .2 secs.  It was also a NJ junior state record.  Forys interview before nationals

Eastern Champs DMR Video         Nationals DMR video         Nationals 2 mile video

Briana Jackucewicz (picture from cross country) ran together for 13 laps before Ashley pulled away. 

full race result

Ed Grant's meet report

CN website race result

2005-06 season summary

It had been a really early Group Champs this year due to schedule conflicts at Princeton's Jadwin Gym.  Since the Groups meet, Ashley had set new Freehold District records in the 800 (2:18.9) and the 1600 (4:54.7) so she was in great shape.  She was also the Meet of Champions defending champ in the 3200.

Bri took the first lap in a very fast 37 secs.  They then settled down and they ran all their laps between 39+. and 41+.  The field got spread out very quick but Amy Van Alstine of Midland Park stayed with them until 1200 meters in.  After that, the two teammates pulled away from the field.  With three laps left, when Ashley took the lead, Bri fell back and Ashley went for the meet record of 10:38.87 of Amanda Trotter.  She closed with a big last 400 of 76.2 to beat the record by two full secs.  Bri finished 2nd, 7 secs behind for the unheard of 1-2 finish by teammates.

400m Splits:

The two would go on and lead the team to a new state record and a 1st place finish at the Nationals in the 4 x 1 mile relay.  Bri would give the team the lead on the 3rd leg and Ashley would put it away on the anchor leg with a 4:55.7 mile split.  Ashley would then come back the next day and finish 3rd in the 2 mile in 10:44.2 to make All-American for the 3rd time.

#7 Craig Forys (Outdoor 3200 meters), South Plainfield,  June 7, 2006 

looking for a picture, can you help?  courtesy of 

400m Splits:

Craig would finish the season running the mile at the nationals.  Hoping for a fast, steady pace, he instead got an extremely slow pace and was able to get 6th in 4:11.30.

#8 Craig Forys (Cross Country), Holmdel Park,  Nov 18, 2006 

Mile Splits:

Craig would finish his season at the Northeast Footlocker Regional Champs where he would run the 3rd fastest time ever on Van Cortland Park, setting a new NJ State record of 15:15 in winning the race.  He would then finish 2nd at the Footlocker National Champs in San Diego, California.

Ashley finishes her 3rd straight indoor 3200 MOC title.  picture courtesy of The Track Junkie/dyestat

full race result	dyestat headline
CN website race result	dyestat's meet report
2006-07 season summary

At the gun she took off with only Theresa Cattuna (Cherry Hill East) and Laura Heigus (Pope John) trying to stay close.  They fell off shortly after 800 meters as Ashley was on her own against the clock.  She hit 5:13.5 at the 1600 and was able to come back in 5:13.0, thanks to a last lap of 73.0.  It was the #1 time in the US for 2007 at that point, was a Shore Conference and new meet record, and she became only the 2nd girl to win three indoor MOC 3200 titles.  

400m Splits:

Ashley would finish the season by anchoring the Distance Medley Relay to a 2nd place finish at the Easterns with her 4:52.2 anchor leg.  The team's time was the #6 in NJ history.  She followed that up with her finest weekend.   In the Nationals, she anchored the 4 x 1 mile relay to a new NJ State record by anchoring the team to 1st place to repeat as National Champs.  She ran her fastest split ever, a 4:49.1 for the full mile (4:47.4 for 1600).  The next day she came back in the full 2 mile and set a new NJ State record of 10:16.75 and 3000m in 9:37.1 on the way to win.

Craig sets a new meet record to win his 7th MOC title.  picture courtesy of The Track Junkie/dyestat

After a sensational cross country season, Craig tweaked his upper hamstring on the downhills in the Footlocker Nationals.  After taking a short break he started up again, only having to take more time off.  His first race was the Boston Indoor Games (1/27), even though he was not fit, but did, as he said "be sure they knew I was here," by running a blazing 400 between 600m and 1000m in 61+ before dying to a 4:16.92.  He didn't race again until two weeks later and that was the Shore Conference Champs.  He tried to make it a workout to get used to hurting again.  He managed a 9:29 3200/4:26 1600 double win.  His next meet was the Group IV State Champs where he ran 4:21 and then 9:28 to win both.  He was now going to have to defend his 3200 title, seeded 5th, with a season best of 9:28 against Doug Smith's 9:08.  The race started it was a very slow pace.  Doug would have to take the lead and try to take the sting out of Craig's kick.  After an 800, he did just that.  He dropped it to 69s for two 400s and then 68s for the next 800.  It was soon a two man race with Doug leading and Craig sitting on his prey.  Coming out of the first turn with 3 laps (550m) to go, Craig accelerated and it was over quickly.  He ran a 1:33 last 600 to pull away by 8 secs to run the fastest US time for 2007 at that point.  It was a meet record, his 7th MOC title, 3rd indoors and his 2nd straight indoor 3200 title.  

400m Splits for 3200:

Craig would finish the season running a 4:10.7 1600 split in the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) at the Eastern Champs, a 4:05.8 1600 DMR split at the nationals and then a 9:01.57 tactical two miles in winning the Nike Nationals.  It was his first individual national title.  He also set a new senior state record of 8:30.35 for 3000m enroute to the 2 mile.  

Craig wins the 1600, the first leg of the 1600/3200 double.  both pictures courtesy of Toby Nygaard

In the 1600, the plan was to sit for an 800 and then move.  Brian Guterl (Union Catholic) changed the complexity of the race by running the first lap in 60.  It was a faster start than anticipated but it quickly slowed to a 65 for the 2nd lap.  Craig took over after the 800 and he still had company at the 1200.  He then started to kick and it was over.  He ran the last 400 in 58.9 to win by 5 secs and miss the meet record by .36 secs.

400m Splits for 1600:  

It had been rumored that Andrew Hanko (Trinity Christian) was going to set a torrid pace in the 3200 to break the fatigued Forys.  The first lap was a quick 67.4 (just under 9:00 pace) but it quickly slowed to a 71.2.  At this Andrew took over and tried to break Craig.  He picked it up to 68 and then 67 at the 1600 but the couldn't pick it up any further.  After another 67 and then a slower 68 Andrew was in trouble.  With 600 to go, Craig took the lead and started the drive that NJ had seen for three straight years.  He accelerated to sub 30 for the next 200 and then simply held the pace for another 400 before easing in the last few steps to acknowledge the crowd and set a new meet record of 8:52.58.  He had run the last 1600 in 4:18.0 and the last 800 in 2:02.1, after running a 4:09 1600 earlier in the evening.  It was the greatest double in NJ history and one of the finest in US history.  He became the only NJ boy to win the MOC cross country title and the indoor and outdoor 3200 in one calendar year twice and the only one to win to win four distance titles in one year and he had now done this twice, as well.  Finally, he tied the record for most MOC titles won by any track & field athlete, but the most by any track athlete. 

400m Splits for 3200:

Craig would finish the season finishing 2nd in the National 2 mile Championship.  He set new NJ State records in the 3000m (8:09.9) and 2 mile (8:44.53) which was the #9 time in US history for high school boys.  He then came back the next day to anchor the Distance Medley Relay team to a 2nd place finish.  His split was 4:04.0 and the team set a new Shore Conference record.  He then ran the US Junior Nationals (19 and under) which includes college freshman and he finished 8th.  He set a new Shore Conference record of 3:51.45.

boys 2 mile video flocast     boys 2 mile video dyestat     Boys 2 mile preview

Craig race story     boys DMR video          

Ashley wins her 1st outdoor 3200 MOC title and 4th MOC title overall.  picture courtesy of Toby Nygaard

full race result	dyestat's meet report
CN website race result	2007 season summary

400m Splits:

Ashley would finish the season by winning the 2 mile at the Nationals with a new State record of 10:17.44, running a leg in the 4 x 1 mile relay and then finishing 4th in the 2000 meter steeplechase in a new State record (6:46.67), all within 28 hours.

girls nationals 2 mile video     Ashley nationals race story

Allison wins her 1st MOC title with a huge move over the last 500 meters.  picture courtesy of Toby Nygaard

full race result	dyestat meet preview
CN website race result	dyestat's meet report
2008 season summary

400m Splits:

Allison would finish the season by making All-American by finishing 5th at the Nationals in the 2000 meter steeplechase in 6:56.72, the #2 time in NJ history, behind only her old teammate, Ashley Higginson.