BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

JACKSON — Jackson High School girls cross-country coach Glenda Calabro wasn’t sure how her squad would perform at the recent Randolph Invitational.

After all, the Lady Jaguars entered the race loaded with inexperienced underclassmen. It was the first big meet of the year and Calabro realized that youthful runners need time to adjust to the varsity level.

But led by the mettle of junior standout Jen Clausen, Jackson managed to place second overall in the season-opening event at Freedom Park in Randolph.

“I wasn’t sure really how we were going to handle this race,” Calabro said. “Of course we have Jen, who is one of the best runners in the state, but after her we don’t have a lot of experience. I think we surprised a lot of teams at this meet. The girls’ dedication and resolve during the preseason workouts were the key factors that carried us.”

Clausen, who finished sixth last season at the Meet of Champions, set a new Freedom Park course record by covering the 5,000-meter distance in a time of 18:53.

Clausen shattered her old record, which was set last year.

“This is quite a solid way for her to start the season,” Calabro said.

“Right away she got after it and put forth a big performance. She is healthy and feeling well. We expect she is going to have another outstanding season if she can stay away from injuries.”

Calabro used Toms River North and Toms River East high schools as a measuring stick for this early in the season. Jackson placed four runners ahead of either school.

“That’s kind of impressive,” Calabro said. “We knew that Jen was going to be up at the front of the pack, but we were nicely surprised by the effort we got from a number of other runners.”

Sophomore Amanda Marino finished fourth overall with a time of 18:50 in her varsity debut. As a freshman last year, Marino turned quite a few heads with her performance on the spring track team.

“This was the first time she competed in a cross-country race and she turned in a fine run,” Calabro said. “Again, she is just one of the many talented underclassmen who are on the squad this season.”

Sophomore Ashley Avilleira completed the race in 20:13, while teammate junior Vallerie Sidhoum finished in 20:12.

Sophomore Brittany Prell posted a time of 21:56 and junior Kate Fortunato finished in 22:35. Sophomore Christina Perret had a time of 23:31.

“I was happy with all the times of the runners who competed,” Calabro said. “I thought they all had solid efforts for this early. I think we’ll only get faster as the year goes on.”

Calabro is hopeful Jackson can finish ahead of its 3-3 overall mark of last year. The Lady Jags will be getting much-needed support from senior Ashley Mlotkiewicz, and sophomore Dana Allen.

“It is going to be an interesting regular season,” Calabro said. “To look at us on paper you would think that we’re inexperienced and not very race savvy, but I think we are going to fool a lot of teams out there this season. These girls work hard and have no quit in them.”