HNT Girls Cross Country: South Brunswick looks to repeat as GMC champs with experienced runners back

It was a pretty good cross country pun, and she didn’t even know it.

South Brunswick senior Nicole Fenske noted how the Vikings potential this season with several returning runners just pushes everyone to be there for each other.

“It definitely helps,” she said. “It’s like a constant drive where even if you’re not having a good day you kind of have to think about the long run and how it’s going to help then.” 

Yes, while the Vikings are putting in long summer runs, they’re also thinking about the long run—as in championship season success in October and November. South Brunswick returns six of its top seven runners after repeating as the girls Greater Middlesex Conference champions in 2016.

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The hope, of course, is more GMC success, but also making a run in the postseason. Last year, South Brunswick finished fourth in Central Group IV, seven points behind champion Hillsborough.

“If we can put it together, stay healthy, we’d love to compete for the Central Jersey Group IV and we’d love to place and qualify to go to Meet of Champions,” Vikings coach Wilfredo Rivera said. “I think we have that type of team on paper. But paper is worth exactly that. It’s just the idea that it’s possible. But in order to make something a reality, it’s a lot of work and sacrifice.”

Leading the way is junior Chantel Osley (fourth place in the GMC) and Fenske (eighth in GMC). Having strong summer workouts, according to Rivera, were junior Rebecca Hartman (17th in GMC) and sophomore Sophia Milla, who took 15th in the GMC as a freshman.

Also back are juniors Nikhila Obbineni (13th in GMC) and Riley Elia (19th in GMC). The team graduated Natalie Ginez (10th in GMC). Others may emerge come the cold races at Thompson Park. The talent pipeline includes GMC team titles in last season’s junior varsity and freshmen meets for the program’s first three-level sweep.

“I think we’re pretty competitive, one through six,” Rivera said. “It looks like that’s pretty much kind of set. But seven, eight, nine, 10, are definitely positions where people can be moving up and down.  … Obviously we’re kind of fortunate in that regard, that we’re bringing everybody back. But it’s a new year. Of course, we want to see how everyone blends together and how it shakes out. But we’re excited in the sense of opportunity, I think, to do well.”

South Brunswick having success in races isn’t a new thing. The girls spring track team has captured 12-straight GMC titles and GMC relay titles. Fenske is pleased that the distance runners have held their weight recently, supporting the powerhouse sprinters and throwers. Now, the aim is have it translate into the fall.

“It makes me super excited,” Fenske said. “I feel like it makes us more motivated to come to practice because we know we have so much potential to do really well. It helps if you’re not having a good day to have other people to push you.”

Osley has certainly done her share of pacing teammates. In the GMC Championships on Oct. 22 at Thompson Park in Jamesburg, she set her personal best in 19:12. Colonia then-junior Shelby Piccinic won in 18:46.21. As a freshman, Osley made a splash by taking fifth in 19:36.86.

Interestingly, Osley almost had a career as a sprinter. She started in the short distances in elementary school. In middle school, a coach put her in the 1500. She did well in national meets for her age group. As she’s maturing, Osley has also been focusing on the nuances of the sport “like my running form. I’ve been working on that recently because the coaches tell me that sometimes my elbows go out and like my shoulders rise. So I’ve been just trying to relax and focus on my form.”

Every little thing can make a difference through up the hills and through the woods.

Now, she’s sort of an ambassador for cross country, getting some of her sprinting friends on the track team to run in the fall. Besides having success, the team has a close-knit atmosphere with bonding chats on all those six-and eight-mile runs. Recently, the camaraderie carried to their annual team camp at Keene Lake in Pennsylvania, which featured cookouts and beach volleyball, in addition to the running.

“We’ve all been really close because we pretty much see these people like every day,” Fenske said. “So we’ll talk about anything, really. Anything that just comes up on a run.”

And the more they do it, the more it will help them in the long run.