The Blue Streaks, who were hoping for a top-10 finish, wound up an impressive fourth.
Warren Hills’ boys cross country team pulled a trick on itself Thursday at the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex championships at the Phillipsburg Athletic Complex.
“We didn’t feel really good as a team at the finish line,” Blue Streaks’ senior Ethan Wimmer said. “We would have been happy just finishing in the top 10 as a team. We surprised ourselves.”
And it was a big surprise, too.
Warren Hills didn’t just finish in the top 10. They did better.
In fact the Blue Streaks did better than top-5, finishing fourth as a team with 135 points, behind Voorhees (36), Hunterdon Central (53) and North Hunterdon (126), led by Wimmer’s 11th place finish in 16 minutes and 55 seconds.
Blue Streak coach Ken Kurpat couldn’t have been more pleased.
“I think the kids are really peaking at the right time,” he said. “We took it easier on them in practice this week and it really paid off today.”
Wimmer, who said he was trying to stay with Matt Vira of Voorhees (sixth in 16:44) but said he may have taken the first mile out too fast, pointed to two teams in particular as targets for the Blue Streaks
“We want to hunt Phillipsburg and Wallkill Valley,” he said. “We’re coming for them. All of our hard work is starting to show.”
When Wimmer and the team were told they’d defeated both of those teams (Wallkill Valley finished fifth, Phillipsburg sixth) there was general rejoicing among the Blue Streaks, especially about beating the Stateliners, their historic rival.
“We know we’re not in the orbit of Voorhees, Hunterdon Central, teams like that, yet,” Kurpat said. “Teams like Phillipsburg, Wallkill Valley, we’re judging ourselves against. We’re going right in the direction where we want to be.”
And after watching Warren Hills run Thursday, that’s no surprise.
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.