Throughout the season, the Livingston High School girls’ cross country team completed a solid campaign through the invitational, conference, and county competitions.
The team got through the first section of the three-tiered state tournament with a third place qualifier to reach the Group 4 State Championship. The girls traveled to Holmdel on Saturday, November 9, to compete against eight state-ranked teams. Only two LHS girls’ cross country teams have ever completed the Group 4 Championship with a score higher than 16th place. The Lancers entered the meet seeded 18th.
Captains Sophia Paparsenos and Lila Maru, along with fellow senior Sarah Nidhan, competed in their last cross country race in a Lancer uniform. They were joined by Sophie Schumacher, Kiera D’Souza, Avery Lerman, and Carolina Romero Vasquez. As they passed the high point of the course near the first mile marker, Paparsenos and Schumacher were on pace. Nidhan, who had not run this course previously, was ahead of projection. Maru passed next and was followed by D’Souza, Lerman, and Romero Vasquez. Heading into the second mile, the girls geared up to make moves on the flat segment, as they prepared to use the downhill part of the course to their advantage before tackling the climb section.
As they passed the two-mile mark, Maru and D’Souza were closely followed by Romero Vasquez. Lerman passed next, also ahead of her projected pace. The final 800 meters stretch through a wooded trail and weave its way downhill to the final open field dash to the finish line. First to cross the line was Paparsenos (20:57; 49th). Schumacher (21:14; 61st) and Nidhan (21:45; 70th) followed close behind. Rounding out the top five were Maru (23:49; 119th), and D’Souza (24:34; 128th), with Romero Vasquez (24:47; 131st) and Lerman (25:47; 137th) filling out the LHS crew on this day. The girls ran an average over 80 seconds faster than their previous race at Holmdel on October 5. They clocked a 22:27 five girl average and their score of 378 had earned them a 15th place finish, three spots better than their seed. This put the team as the third best finish for an LHS squad in the Group 4 State Championship. Paparsenos, Schumacher, and Nidhan also posted times that placed them in the top 12 of the LHS list of best times run at Holmdel Park.
This was the strongest performing girls’cross country team since 2009.
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