2006 Scotch Plains Boys Cross Country Preview

For the past few years Scotch Plains Fanwood Cross Country Coach Jeff Koegel has been
attempting to build the deep type of lineup that can withstand the injuries that always seem to attack young runners who are pounding out heavy mileage for the first time.

While they are unlikely to approach the small army that Westfield features, the Raiders have a solid group of over fifteen runners with a strong core returning from last year’s 9-1 group that lost only to the Blue Devils.

But injuries to several key runners have put a huge question mark on the team and the Raiders will rely on their depth to help them through the early part of the season.

Luckily for the Raiders, their top runner, senior Adam Biner has remained healthy and should be one of the top runners in the county. Biner was the Raiders’ top miler last spring, running a personal best 4:27.

“Adam worked hard this summer and is ready for a very strong season,” said Koegel, who is 74-12 in nine seasons as coach.

Junior Dan Sapienza who matched Biner with a 17:07 time in the Verona 5K on Labor Day had elevated himself to the second spot but has been suffering from shin splints. While it has kept Sapienza out of practice the past few days it is far less serious than the stress fracture that Koegel had feared.

“Dan's condition has improved. His x-rays were clear and he is progressing every day He said he has a history of shin splints in his family. If he hasn't shown significant improvement by the middle of this week, he will schedule further tests,” said Koegel.

With Sapienza shelved, Junior Patrick Doliber, who had an excellent track season, moves up to second. Another of the likely top five, Sophomore Martin Sweeney, a sensation as a freshman last year, has been battling knee problems but has been cleared to run.

“Martin missed a lot of training time. He has been working on his base building. We need him back to where he should be,” said Koegel.

The injury bug also caught one of Koegel’s two prize freshmen; Brian Walsh rolled his ankle during the teams’ opening victory over Linden last Tuesday at Warinanco Park.
Walsh had to be carried off the course with what turned out to be an ankle sprain. Walsh is off crutches and wearing an air cast.

“He has some swelling in his ankle, but it's not the size of a softball or anything. He should be back to running in a week or so. He thought he heard a crack when he rolled his ankle, but apparently, it was the tree branch he stepped on breaking.” said a relieved Koegel.

“He's a good kid who works hard, and he has been showing massive improvements
lately. He took well over two minutes off his 5K time from Downtown Westfield to Verona,” added Koegel.

The other top freshman is Bobby Evans, who is injury free. With all the injuries Koegel will rely more heavily on three solid juniors, lettermen Adam Horowitz and Greg Bencivengo and newcomer Dan Ragan, who had a solid year on track last spring.

One additional runner not yet mentioned is three year letter winner, Senior Mike Miller, who at press time wasn’t certain if he would run this year.

The missing runners frustrate Koegel, who considers the county wide open this year with Westfield’s graduation losses. The Raiders have never won the county title although they have had numerous close calls.

“We need some things to happen before I would consider us contenders. That includes getting Sap, Sweeney, and Walsh back to health,” warned Koegel.

“If we get everything together. There is a lot more parity in the county this year. Westfield should have a good team together. Roselle Catholic looks pretty good, too, but I’m more concerned with getting our runners healthy.”