When the Dickinson High School boys’ cross country team made a leap toward the top of the pack in Hudson County circles in 2008, the group wanted to be known as “the Wolfpack.”
It was a little different for a school whose nickname has been the Rams for over a century.
But the group of dedicated runners wanted it to be known that they ran together like a pack, thus the self-imposed moniker.
It was an approach fostered by head coach Leo Laboy and reiterated by dedicated assistant coach John Kennedy that definitely paid dividends, because the Rams – oops –Wolfpack, brought home the school’s first Hudson County Track Coaches Association team title since 1979.
Well, now it’s almost become commonplace, because Dickinson’s boys captured their third straight HCTCA title last Saturday in dominant fashion at Bayonne County Park.
Dickinson placed three runners among the top seven runners and six among the top 24. That’s incredible consistency.
And more importantly, brilliant senior Jose Veras won the race, becoming the first Dickinson runner to ever capture the HCTCA county championship.
Veras won the race in 16:27, some 10 seconds ahead of runner-up Charlie Bates of St. Peter’s Prep, with Veras’ teammate Jose Rivera third in 16:43.
The county championship just adds to the unfathomable legacy of Veras, who has been called by some track experts as the most versatile performer in the entire state.
And that’s no understatement at all.
This is a kid, who is a wonderful, likable kid at that, who has really turned the local track and field on its collective ear.
There has not been a more versatile performer in recent memory in these circles, going back at least 30 years, perhaps ever.
Let’s take a closer look: Veras merely won four events at last year’s HCTCA outdoor championships, winning gold medals in the 110-meter hurdles, the 400-meter hurdles, the 800-meter run, and the high jump.
That alone could stand as his impressive resume. It shows his immense versatility, winning in both hurdles races, a middle distance, and a field event.
But what Veras is doing this cross country season is beyond comprehension. He admittedly said that he really doesn’t like to run longer distances, competing in the 3.1-mile races. He never ran cross country before last season and he finished 15th in the race last year in 18:03. It means he’s improved by almost a minute and a half in a single season. It’s too unbelievable to even consider mind boggling.
Usually, distance runners are distance runners and nothing else. You never see an athlete who looked like a dominant track and field athlete come back and dominate in cross country as well the next year. It just doesn’t happen.
“He’s just a natural athlete,” Laboy said. “Colleges are intrigued by him. I’m getting so many letters about him from all across the country.”
Rivera, who finished third behind Veras in the HCTCA finale last Saturday, thinks that Veras has made everyone on the team work harder.
“He really makes us all that much better,” said Rivera, who finished fifth overall in the race last year in 17:13 – 30 seconds off his time last year. “He’s really been amazing. The first time he ever ran a two-mile race, he beat me. And I’ve been running that race since my freshman year. I can’t get mad he’s beating me, because he’s on my team. But it is really amazing to see someone do all he can do. He said that the reason why he’s running cross country is because we need him on the team. That says a lot about who he is. When you run with him, you have to try to compete harder.”
Rivera has been a mainstay with the “Wolfpack” since he arrived at Dickinson four years ago. Now, as a senior, he wants to make sure that a legacy is left.
“I think it’s more rewarding because it never happened for so many years before we got here,” Rivera said. “We’ve established a chain of winning and we don’t want it to end. We want to keep it going. The program is going good.”
Rivera was asked why the team has been so successful over the last three years.
“I think it’s because we’re all so committed to it,” Rivera said. “We’re working together all the time. We’re doing the miles, six miles one day, eight miles the next.”
“I always thought this group was going to be better,” Laboy said. “Nothing surprises me anymore. It’s been a nice ride. I think we have strong runners who put in the conditioning, who do workouts. They follow what Mr. Kennedy says, and they all strive to be the very best.”
Other than the amazing Veras and Rivera, Dickinson received solid performances from Edwin Young (fifth in 16:51); Jose Aguilar (seventh in 16:58); Luis Reyes (16th in 17:24); Franco Rodriguez (17th in 17:29) and Salmon Zafar (24th in 17:56).
Think about it – all of those runners posted faster times than what county champ Veras ran a year ago. It’s just another sign of his remarkable improvement.
Laboy likes the way his team gets along.
“This team is like a family,” Laboy said. “They are all here in the morning to work out and they come back and eat lunch together. They’re talking together, making plans together. They’re really a family. There’s always a constant communication. They believe in each other. It’s great to have that kind of togetherness.”
Like a pack of wolves.
Dickinson heads to Warinaco Park in Elizabeth this weekend for the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group IV championships, where state powers Ridge and Westfield await. Laboy is hopeful that the Rams can get through the sectionals to the Group IV state championships next weekend at Holmdel Park. The Rams were fourth last year as a team.
“We’re definitely trying to be competitive,” Laboy said. “Westfield has a fantastic team, and they are the favorites.”
“Jose should be in the lead pack, and it’s up to us to stay with him,” Rivera said. “We can’t leave it all in his hands. We’re happy to win the county again, but we don’t want to be too happy. We have bigger goals in mind.”
On the girls’ side, it was a return to glory for the Blue Devils of St. Dominic Academy, which captured the team title for the first time since 2003.
“We have not been good in the recent past,” SDA head coach John Nagel said. “Going that long is atypical. For us, seven years is an eternity, a long time. So we’re very pleased to win it again.”
Nagel pointed out that the Blue Devils didn’t even field a full team last year to compete for a team title.
“This is a completely new team,” Nagel said. “Some of them are totally new to the sport. But they put in a lot of time and hard work over the summer. This didn’t happen by accident. This is a young team. The snowball should be rolling again. This team is going to get a lot better.”
Sophomore Raygine Crespo was third in 20:57 to lead the way for the Blue Devils, with junior Sarah Sisk fourth (21:03) and sophomore Sabrina Campos seventh (21:24). Crespo won the South Hudson championship earlier in the week.
Cayleigh Solano of Kearny won the race in 20:23, with Fawzia Kheir of Dickinson second in 20:50. Caitlin Perez of Union City was fifth.
The local teams all head to the state sectionals this weekend.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.