Voorhees' Romero is Courier News Boys XC Runner of Year
In the seconds after the biggest victory of his life, Chris Romero’s chest heaved for air and his legs begged for a rest.
He had just tapped some hidden reserve of strength, surged past the leader in the final 600 meters and captured the Nike Cross Regionals Northeast race.
It was the crowning achievement to a spectacular season for the Voorhees senior. Romero won the Skyland Conference Raritan Division Championships in 17:07, the Stewart Invitational in 15:32 and the Shore Coaches Invitational in 15:56. He also took first at the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Championships (16:15) and placed second at the Skyland Conference Championships in 15:43.
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He finished first at the NJSIAA North 2 Group II Championships, took second at the Group II Championships and the Meet of Champions and has high hopes for the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Ore., on Saturday.
The Courier News Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year had so many highlights to look back on, but as he collected his thoughts moments after winning the Nike Regionals race, he reflected on his junior season.
“Right when I crossed the finish line,” Romero said, “I bent over and put my hands on my knees and I was like, ‘Oh, wow. I didn’t expect to be winning the regionals compared to where I was last year.”
Last year was a nightmare for Romero. He harbored hopes of a breakthrough season and took aim at some of the best runners in the state. His times, however, inexplicably plateaued. Then, he was running slower and slower. It made no difference how determined he was going into the races or how hard he trained. He couldn’t keep up. His body was betraying him and he didn’t know why.
Looking for answers, Romero turned to his doctors. A blood test finally revealed the problem: He had an iron deficiency. Although a supplement has helped him regain his form and his peace of mind, it’s still alarming period to look back on.
“If you are injured or if you have something wrong, yeah, it’s awful, especially because the timing of an injury can be really bad, like if it’s in the middle of the season,” Romero said. “But, at least you know what’s wrong. I really had no idea what was going on and it made it tough mentally.”
In the toughest of times, Romero had the support of Hunterdon Central’s Justin Cornetta and North Hunterdon’s Ray Sellaro. The three Skyland Conference runners have navigated the hills and dales of four cross country seasons together. They have been friends away from the course or the track, to be sure. Once they line up for a race, however, they are fierce competitors who have pushed each other.
“I think that having them within my own conference just like 15 minutes down the road from me is definitely a big motivating factor because if I had nobody to compete with in the local area, I might lose my edge by the time it came time for the bigger state meets,” Romero said. “So, they keep me on my toes and make sure I’m training hard at all times and not slacking off.”
Their friendships, however, will not be left behind when they graduate in June because Romero, Cornetta and Sellaro will be teammates at the University of Pennsylvania. Although they had playfully talked about how fun it would be to all go away to college together, the decision to all head to Penn mostly came down to fate.
“In the end, we all had a short list of about two or three schools that were tough for us to decide between,” Romero said. “One common theme on all those lists was Penn. It was on all our lists. So, we figured, ‘Why not all go together?’ It will make the transition easier if you know somebody.”
Romero also made fast friends with another longtime competitor, Devin Hart of Point Pleasant Boro. This fall, Hart outpaced Romero at the Meet of Champions. Back during the spring track season, Hart edged Romero in the 1,600 at the Group II Championships.
The way Romero and Hart posed arm in arm for photos and complimented each other after their race in the spring caught the attention of Dr. Silvio Laccetti, a retired humanities professor from the Stevens Institute of Technology. Hart and Romero where honored by the Laccetti Foundation with the first Outstanding Sportsmanship Awards in August.
Romero says when he looks back on his cross country and track careers at Voorhees, the sportsmanship award might be his favorite moment.
“Sportsmanship and courtesy in general – if you can display that after something that requires all your effort and you have to push yourself and you’re angry, too. If you can still be able to say, like, ‘Good job. You really pushed me out there,’ it’s really something I’m proud of,” Romero said.