Schools
RFH Track Duo Savors Meet of Champions Experience
RFH runners Shannon McCarthy and Rachel Christ each finished in the top 15 in the state in the 800-meter race in their inaugural trip to the outdoor NJSIAA Meet of Champions.
Running in the prestigious outdoor NJSIAA Meet of Champions for the first time in their careers on Thursday, the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) duo of sophomore Rachel Christ and junior Shannon McCarthy savored the experience.
The two competed in the 800-meter race after having each placed in the top six in last weekend’s Group II Championships. On Thursday, in the sweltering heat at Old Bridge High School, McCarthy finished 13th in 2:17.98, with Christ taking 15th in 2:19.16. McCarthy has participated in the indoor MOC in the past two seasons, but this was her first outdoor experience at New Jersey’s most high-profile meet, while this was the first time for Christ.
“This year luckily I got here, so I’m really excited,’’ Christ said. “I think I’m still just kind of shocked being in this whole atmosphere because I didn’t think I would get here as early as sophomore year. The whole atmosphere is incredible. It’s moving really, really fast, but I’m so happy to be here at such a prestigious meet.’’
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Christ was coming off a personal-best time of 2:16.54 to take third in Group II, but had a little trouble adjusting to the intense heat that reached nearly 100 degrees by race time.
“I have bad heat exhaustion problems,’’ she said. “I’ve always struggled to exercise (in the heat) even when I was young, so today was a good example of just trying to stay positive in my head and try my hardest. Shannon and I did really, really well, and we worked with each other, so I’m happy about that.’’
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McCarthy also had run a personal-best time at last week’s Group II meet, taking sixth with a 2:17.41. Like Christ, she was able to gauge the level she needs to reach in order to compete with the elite 800 runners in New Jersey.
“It’s really different because everyone is running pretty much the same times, so you have really good competition,’’ McCarthy said. “What I took away from it is knowing how good New Jersey really is at track and how much harder I have to work to be the best.’’
