Lancers Pull Off an Upset, 69-71:
On Tuesday, October 15, the Livingston High School girls’ cross country squad won the Super Essex Conference (SEC) Championship meet.
The Columbia High School Cougars had been the pre-season favorites and remained so all season, running strong races outside the SEC league meets.
“The coaching staff and girls of Livingston knew they were facing a tough task,” said coach Dave Czeizinger. “The coaches reviewed all the data, and scenarios were presented to the team that could give them a chance to put up a good fight despite the odds. They knew every place would count. Against this backdrop, 66 athletes lined up in Branch Brook Park in Newark to battle for the SEC crown.”
The race went out “predictably,” said the coach, with West Orange’s Ava Neretic and LHS’Sophia Paparsenos taking the lead.
“It became apparent that the Lancers were all in that day,” he recounted. “Six of their seven runners had their fastest opening miles of the season. As the race progressed to the second mile, the Lancers’ top two, Paparsenos and Sophie Schumacher (21:00; eighth), were doing their part. Looking to step up for the day was their third, Sarah Nidhan, who passed mile two close to 30 seconds faster than she had all season. Lila Maru held the fourth spot. Meanwhile, Columbia was working its race plans and was still in a position to win.”
After a personal best time in week four, Lancer Kiera D’Souza, #5, also passed the second mile in her fastest time to date.
“This was shaping up to be a down to the wire finish,” commented Coach Czeizinger. Lancers Annie Ferrans (#6; 23:38; 38th) and Avery Lerman (#7; 24:05; 44th) also went by mile two with their best times of the year.
“Although measured by a watch, place is the final authority in a cross country race score,” explained the coach. “Columbia’s Keira Monagle (19:14) cruised in for the individual title a full 26 seconds ahead of second place Neretic (19:40). Paparsenos took third in 19:59.6.”
Columbia had the fastest top five girls’average for the day at 21:37.02. The Cougars put six girls in before the Lancers got five in.
“The LHS coaches gathered the Lancer squad, and applauded their efforts, not knowing the final results as it truly was too close to call by a simple visual analysis,” explained Coach Czeizinger. “They had been told there is no shame in a better team winning, and that giving your all is all that can be asked. They had done that.”
Nidhan (21:25; 11th) had run a personal best time to get ahead of Columbia’s pack, while Maru (22:28; 24th) had held off two Columbia runners who had faster times than she coming into the race. D’Souza (23:13; 33rd) passed two runners over the final 600 meters in her attempt to catch a Columbia runner.
“It was not just one thing, one girl, it was a true team effort,” said Czeizinger. The squad ran a five-girl average of 21:37.30.
As the final results were tabulated, the Lancers pulled off the upset 69-71 over Columbia to be crowned SEC champions. Millburn nipped Montclair by two points, and those teams placed third and fourth, respectively.
Freshmen and Junior Varsity In earlier action, the Lancer freshman girls, led by Ava Gelfenshteyn (eighth), Allison Zhou (12th) and Summer Levy (14th) finished third as a freshman team. The junior varsity 5K crew raced well, with Lexis Chen (fifth), Carolina Romero Vasquez (sixth) and Jordyn Fersko (seventh) leading the JV squad to a second place finish.
Essex Coaches’ Invitational On Saturday, October 19, the team went to Cedar Grove Park, the new home of the Essex County Championship in 2024, for the Essex County Track Coaches’Invitational. This is a “class” meet to experience the new course prior to the Counties this Friday, October 25. Races were run according to academic class.
In the freshman race, seven Lancers competed, with Shubhada Bhoyar (fourth), Gelfenshteyn (sixth) and Levy (11th) leading the way. Richelle Lederman (14th), Kayla Greenfeld (16th), Ioanna Gliati (17th) and Samridhi Sharma (20th) all contributed as the freshmen took home the first place team plaque.
For the sophomores, Kaya Bhansali (eighth) teamed up with Kacey Law (13th) and Jessica Yu (18th) to finish second.
The juniors were led by Schumacher (fourth), who was backed by Ferrans (ninth), Chen (10th), and Romero Vasquez (13th), to earn another second place finish.
The seniors saw Paparsenos win in 19:58, combining with Darcy Bialick (ninth) and Fersko (16th) to grab third place.
“The crew had quite the week, becoming only the second LHS squad since the inception of the SEC in 2009 to go undefeated in dual meets and capture the championship crown,” said Coach Czeizinger. “It was done in the inaugural year of 2009 and now 15 years later for a second time.”
Next up are the Essex County Championships, during which the Lancers will again battle top-seeded Columbia and close rivals West Orange, Montclair and Millburn among the 35 teams scheduled to compete. In 1765, Samo’s Tavern, the site of the first Township meeting in 1813, was built by William Ely, Jr. on the southwest corner of the intersection of what are now Livingston and Mt. Pleasant Avenues.
Co-captains Sophia Paparsenos and Lila Maru display the Lancer girls’ cross country team’s 10-0 plaque and Conference Championship plaque.
