The Northeast Footlocker trials at Van Cortlandt park this Saturday
look like one of the toughest ever for both boys and girls, but New Jersey
may be able to place at least one qualifier in each race off the results of
its AG meet at Holmdel last Saturday.

The boys; race was the fastest mass finish in some years with six
boys under the 16:00 mark, three of them from a Haddonfield team which came
within 15 seconds of the team course record (Had John Bernetich been healthy
this fall, they surely would have broken it).

Dan Deichert of Eastern pressed the pace, but faded in the last
mile and it was favorite Marc Pelerin who came over the line first in 15:43.
Junior Chris Platt of Haddonfield was next in 15:48 and Jim Flannery of St.
Joseph (Metuchen) 3rd in 15:51, just nipping another junior, Peter Hess of
Toms River North. It was quite a comeback for Flannery, who was the best
frosh in the state three years ago, but dropped out halfway through last
fall with a collapsed lung.

Pelerin and Platt could both make the Footlocker finals and you
can't count out the four boys behind them. Platt had the fastest NJ time on
the VCP 2.5M course this fall with teammate Skip Stiles next best, followed
by Pelerin.

The girls' AG race provided the biggest upset since Jodie Bilotta,
as a soph, defeated NJ VCP 2.5M record-holder Karen Ahearn of Bernards in
1985. (Alearn finished 3rd that day behind future Olympian Anne Marie
Letko).

Junior Lindsay VanAlstine of Hawthorne Christian improved her
Holmdel time by about 40 seconds to reverse earlier losses to Jesse Mizzone
of Passaic Valley. Van Alstine took the lead from the gun and finished 50
yards ahead in 18:43. She is a one-girl team who plays basketball in the
winter and softball in the spring, though that could change after this
success. Both girls have a shot at Orlando in a very tough and deep field.

The team titles went to the favorites by large margins, neighbors
Haddonfield and Moorestown---both Gr. II schools (the second smallest group
in our state). The Haddonfield win ended a six-year string for Christian
Brothers (which finished 8th with two regulars on the sidelines who might
have got them up to 6th,m but no higher). It was an even longer time since a
public school (Gr. I Bernards) had last won the boys' title in 1985.