SPECIAL FORCE: Members of the Wilberforce School boys’ cross country team show off the medals they earned at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public B championship meet earlier this month. The Wolverines took third in the team standings at the meet, led by senior Caleb Brox who placed first individually. Freshman Micah Brox placed seventh, while freshman Elias Edwards came in eighth. Pictured, from left, are Philip Schidlovsky, Henry Jepson, Elias Edwards, John David, Caleb Brox, Micah Brox, and Andy Pratt. (Photo provided courtesy of Lois Szeliga)

By Bill Alden

As the Wilberforce School cross country runners competed in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public B championship meet earlier this month, Caleb Brox achieved a historic double for the Wolverine boys while the girls’ squad fell agonizingly short of making history of their own.

Senior Brox pulled away from the pack to place first individually in the Non-Public B boys’ race, making it two titles this fall as he had previously placed first in the Mercer County championship meet in mid-October.

Brox covered the 5,000-meter course at Holmdel Park in 16:56, 32 seconds ahead of runner-up Ryan Gaulrapp from Bishop Eustace. The Wolverines had two other runners finish in the top 10 as freshman Micah Brox placed seventh in 18:16 while freshman Elias Edwards came in eighth at 18:18. Wilberforce finished third in the team standings with a score of 85 in a meet won by Bishop Eustace, which had a winning total of 77.

“Caleb was very strong, he really had the game plan to run to win. Coming out of the bowl, he just took off and didn’t look back,” said Wilberforce head coach Lois Szeliga. “It was beautiful to see, it is just something that he wanted. I was just so happy to see him do that.”

Coming off his triumph in the country meet, Brox was primed for the title double.

“He was ready, but of course you never take anything for granted,” said Szeliga. “You have to do it the day of. It was definitely one of his goals coming into the season. Once he got healthy in time for counties and he won counties, he was really looking forward to seeing if he could have that other feather in his cap this season.”

Seeing freshmen Micah Brox, the younger brother of Caleb, and Edwards finish in the top 10 was a feather in the cap for Szeliga. The two newcomers are following in the footsteps of older siblings as Edwards’ older sister, Adeline, stars for the Wolverine girls’ squad.

“Even though that is not their technical personal record, that was their Holmdel PR, that was a PR effort,” said Szeliga, who had a third freshman, Henry Jepson, excel at the meet as he took 25th in 19:39. “I think when you have people with older siblings who run, they are wondering is this really my thing. They really established this year that this is their thing. They are really talented.”

The squad’s younger runners have been inspired by senior star Brox.

“Caleb is a very strong leader, he has a very hard work ethic,” said Szeliga. “He is the perfect captain to have when I have such a young team. They were very excited for him, they all almost tasted the victory.”

Ending the fall by competing in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions at Holmdel on November 11, senior Brox took 104th at 17:12 while the younger Brox finished 156th in 18:45 and Edwards took 159th in 19:11.

“I think for Caleb, his goal is always to be there; there is nothing like the MOC in our sport, it is everybody running at once,” says Szeliga. “I think for the freshman to be able to compete at that is great because nobody is expecting anything. It is the experience. It is the top runners in the state and you have earned that. That is something to be very proud of, to be able to compete at the MOC.”

Heading into the Non-Public B meet, the Wolverine girls knew they were in for a tough competition against rival Villa Walsh. The last two years, Wilberforce had placed first at the meet with the Vikings just behind in second.

“It was a battle of battles, it is a great rivalry,” said Szeliga. “They had won the Prep B meet this year, they had won meet after meet. We could see the lineups, we could see where their runners were and where our runners were.”

This year’s battle between the rivals turned out to be a nail-biter decided by the narrowest of margins as the Wolverines fell just short of the championship three-peat, getting edged 38-39 by Villa Walsh.

While disappointed to see her team get nipped, Szeliga had no qualms about the effort she got from her girls.

“It was just so close, it did hurt losing by one point,” said Szeliga, whose team was led by sophomore Laura Sallade, the fourth place finisher in 20:00, while junior Adeline Edwards placed seventh in 20:38 and sophomore Eve Szeliga, the coach’s daughter, took 10th in 20:53.

“I said to the girls after the race, ‘You all did the best you could do that day and we were a point short. All you can do on any given day is do the best you can do.

Somebody wins and somebody loses.’ For them to come so close to another state championship in spite of all of the adversity they faced this fall with injuries, I am very proud. These girls ran with so much heart.”

The two top Wilberforce runners, Sallade and Edwards, showed heart as they battled through leg injuries.

“Laura was running with pain, Adeline ran in pain too,” said Szeliga. “Adeline said she was so proud of that day, even though they lost. She had been coming off of an injury so going into the meet, the girls had faced adversity.”

Szeliga is proud of her daughter’s progress as she went on to be the only Wolverine girl to compete in the MOC, taking 92nd in 20:38.

“For Eve to have that No. 10 spot at the Non-Public meet was great, she is just becoming a cross country runner,” said Szeliga. “She was a soccer player and she did some races to get that confidence. You learn by doing and now she has gotten a few races under her belt. She did have confidence coming into that race to score for the team. They did have their assignments, they did know what the other team was capable of. They did all execute and that did include trying to get three runners in the top 10.”

Senior Virginia Whitman also executed at the Non-Public meet, taking 14th in 21:58.

“Virginia had a great season; she is our captain and she was always in our top five,” said Szeliga. “She was a constant this year, someone we could really depend on, especially with some of the injuries we had. She is someone who would always perform. She had her PR, this was her best season by far. She improved by a lot, she won our most improved award. She had a great season.”

Another Wilberforce veteran, junior Gwen Mersereau, has likewise been a constant for the squad.

“Gwen is the same, she is always on our top five,” said Szeliga. “If you are going to have a No. 5 runner it is great to have someone like Gwen who is fierce down to the line. There was someone bearing down on her in the Non-Public meet and she stayed ahead of that person. She just performs for the team.”

While the Wilberforce runners performed well collectively this fall, the younger athletes are primed to do even better going forward.

“We have some very special senior athletes graduating, but I think the program is in great hands,” said Szeliga. “Sometimes not winning can make you hungry. They were all happy with how they did. They were proud of themselves and yet they are hungry for next year.”