Millburn Senior Runners Heading to Meet of Champions

After finishing 7th in the 3,200 meter at last year's Group III Championships when West Windsor's Jim Rosa took the title, Tyler Udland came into Saturday's race at the same stage, this time looking to topple Jim's brother Joe. Udland came up just short with a 9:10.78 finish, a little over two seconds off Rosa 9:08.07 pace.

Udland came out slow with a 4:40 split on his first mile. Rosa and Udland stayed even for most of the race until Rosa took the lead with one and a half laps to go. The West Windsor junior held on from there to beat Udland in one of many meetings between the Rosa twins and the senior Millburn harrier over the last three years.

Blake Udland, Tyler's younger brother, turned in an impressive fourth place finish at 9:23.41. Blake was the only sophomore to finish in the top 10 in a field dominated by juniors and seniors.

"I thought Blake ran really well," said the elder Udland. "For me, I thought the race wasn't great. I wanted to come out faster. Looking back, I really should have made a move earlier. Instead, I led it come down to those last 600 meters, and that was the difference."

The Rosa twins became a problem for Millburn again in the 1,600 meter as the talented pair of juniors turned in a 1-2 finish in front of Miller senior Brian Robinson. Even though Robinson ran a great race, turning in a personal best of 4:12.14, he was just a step behind the twins. Joe took home first place to the tune of a 4:11.16 mile.

"Friday's race was really the perfect race," said Robinson. "It went exactly how I wanted it to for the first half-mile. Then I followed that up with my fastest second half-mile of the season. I ran a personal best, so I am very happy with how it turned out."

Blake Udland put up another good showing running alongside Robinson in the 1,600, coming in sixth with a time of 4:18.69. Once again, Udland was the only sophomore in the top ten. If the youngest Udland's strong performances as a sophomore are any indication, he is poised to follow in his older brothers' footsteps.

Shayna Rose also put forth a solid showing for the Millers, with an eighth place finish in the Girls 3,200 Meter. Rose finished in 11:35.45, a little over a minute off the pace of winner Colette Whitney.

Rose was no stranger to seeing Whitney capture titles. The Vorhees senior won both the 1,600 and 3,200 meter in the sectionals when Rose had a phenomenal meet, capturing third place in the 3,200 and a fifth place finish in the 1,600.

Rose fell just short of qualifying for the Meet of Champions, but both Udlands and Robinson will start gearing up for Thursday's competition immediately.

"The 3,200 is going to be a completely different race on Thursday," predicted Udland. "It's going to be at least 10 seconds faster. The Meet of Champs is always a completely different event. People will just be holding on for dear life in every race. It's going to be great."

"Thursday's races will be extremely difficult," agreed Robinson. "Looking at the 1,600, everyone around the state has gotten so much faster in the mile. The level of competition is just higher. Hopefully, I can put up another top five finish, but it will be hard. There are at least 10 guys that will be in the 1,600 that have been right around my time, so really anything could happen."

The Millburn boys will not have much time to prepare for their final races of the spring with only four more days until the prestigious Meet of Champions. For seniors Udland and Robinson, it will be the last race of their illustrious high school careers.

"It is our last race on Thursday, but we're just focused on running well," said Udland. Even if Udland isn't putting any pressure on himself, expectations will still be high for Millburn's dynamic duo as they try to cap off their careers in style next week.