Forys is king of New Jersey cross country

BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Colts Neck’s Craig Forys sprints to the finish line en route to the Meet of Champions title at Holmdel Park on Nov. 19. One of Craig Forys’ greatest strengths as a runner is his ability to assess what is unfolding during a race, while it is happening.

Before the NJSIAA Meet of Champions race on Nov. 19 at Holmdel Park and his anticipated showdown with Chatham’s Ben Massam, he and Colts Neck coach Jim Schlentz discussed race strategy. They knew that the last 1.1 miles of the race belonged to Forys, the state’s 1,600-meter track champion. Massam, who earlier in the season had posted the fastest time at Holmdel Park this year, a fast 15:35 that tied him for fourth place all-time, had shown a propensity to run the first two miles of the race very fast. He had run the first uphill mile as quickly as 5:08, and then pushed the pace hard over the second mile. That was enough to bid adieu to the competition. But the race is 3.1 miles, 5,000 meters, and in all of his Holmdel Park races, Massam slowed over the last 1.1 miles. Schlentz had told Forys before the race “get to the tennis courts [1,000 meters to go], and the race is yours.”

Forys expected Massam to push the pace at the MOC as he had at the State Group II race, but instead the Chatham senior waited until the downhill, leading to the first mile, to put on his surge.

“He switched it up,” said Forys. “I thought he would blast the first mile. He accelerated at the mile mark.”

Massam would rip off a sub-5:00 mile and pass the two-mile mark near 10:12 with a five-second gap on Forys. At the two-mile mark, though, he took a look behind him. It was the turning point of the race.

Forys was still there, and he could tell that Massam was tiring. Massam had figured on breaking Forys as he had everyone else during his undefeated season. Now, Massam was feeling the bite of his very fast second mile, and he had the state’s best closer running him down.

“He took his best shot at me, and I took it,” said Forys. “I thought it would be a stronger move and longer than it was. It was the defining mile of the race.”

Now, Massam was about to get Forys’ best shot. As the state’s two best distance runners circled the tennis courts before heading back into the wooded paths of the park and the downhill finish, Forys struck.

“I was going to wait until we got around the tennis courts, but I was feeling too good,” said the Cougar. “I had the momentum going.”

Once Forys edged ahead of Massam, it was over. The Chatham runner had no response as the competitors headed into the woods. With each stride Forys was disappearing in front of him, and with it, his MOC bid.

Forys had put down the hammer and wasn’t about to let up. Running strongly, as if on a mission, until the very end, he stopped the timer in 15:34, the fourth-fastest 5K every run at Holmdel Park. He managed a smile of relief as he raced toward the finish line and the end of a yearlong quest that started here last year, when he finished second to Gil St. Bernard’s Bobby Papazian.

“That was awesome,” he said after the race. “I can’t even explain the feeling. There was so much emotion leading up to race. It had built up all season, and I was the underdog.”

Colts team rises to the occasion

There was an extra bounce in Tom Heath’s step. The veteran Christian Brothers Academy cross country coach had two reasons to celebrate on Nov. 19. One, it was his birthday, and two, his Colts delivered a birthday present of a coaching lifetime.

The Colts turned in the greatest team performance in state history at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. They not only routed Morris Hills, 48-100, a team expected to be right on the Colts’ heels, but demolished the state record for team average at Holmdel Park. Kevin Rogers (15:52) Chris Horel (15:53), Greg Leach (16:18), Chris Lombardi (16:26) and Anthony Pellegrino (16:49) each ran or equaled personal bests as they collectively averaged 16:15.60, breaking the old state record set by (who else?) CBA. That mark was 16:18.40 set back in 1982.

Heath said the record was an afterthought to the mission Saturday, which was to beat Morris Hills and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that CBA was the best in the state for 2005.

“We were just trying to run for place, not time,” he said. “That’s when you run your best. They just ran extraordinarily well.”

In team scoring, the Colts were 1-2-6-11-28, easily beating Morris Hills’ 4-5-10-22-59.

The next day, the Colts claimed their second prize of the weekend when they were extended an automatic invitation to the Nike Team Nationals, which will be run on Dec. 3 in Portland, Ore. The Colts are ranked No. 2 in the Northeast Region. The country in divided into eight regions for the NTN, with the top two teams from each region getting an automatic bid to bring the field to 16 teams. The other four spots are wild cards. The Colts are currently ranked No. 5 in the country. This is the second straight year the Colts have qualified for the NTN. They finished 11th last year.

Chris Horel was confident that the Colts were going to come through with a huge effort at the MOC.

“I knew that we would win and that everyone would run their best time,” he said. “We pointed for this race all year.”

The Colts started the 2005 season slower than usual. Heath had his top seven runners train through September and not start the racing season until October. The plan was to start later to have his harriers ready to run their best at the MOC and the NTN.

When Morris Hills ran a faster time than CBA at the Shore Coaches, where the Colts made their season debut, it put the Colts on the defensive. Morris Hills was looked at as at least an equal with CBA. The Colts, though, never doubted that they would be ready for Nov., 19 and that’s because of Heath.

“Coach Heath had us doing his workouts all year,” he said. “We can trust him.”

That trust put the Colts in the record books as the fastest, if not the best, cross country team in state history.