BAYONNE – Two years ago as an unknown freshman, Kearny’s Maria Laverde shocked the local cross country scene by coming out of nowhere to finish second to two-time defending champion Weeshamar Senatus of Hudson Catholic at the Hudson County Track Coaches Association’s championships.
So it only made sense that Laverde would have been one of the favorites to win the HCTCA title last year as a sophomore.
But that didn’t happen.
In fact, Laverde didn’t even finish the race as McNair Academic’s Claire Chapeau rolled to the championship in county meet record time of 18:35.
“I just wasn’t in it,” Laverde said about her performance a year ago. “I didn’t feel well mentally. I was tired. I felt like I needed a break.”
Kearny head track and field and cross country coach Al Perez knew that Laverde didn’t have it that day.
“She had a tough season,” Perez said. “I know she wanted to come back from that.”
She sure did.
“It was not a good decision for me to quit,” Laverde said. “I regret it a lot. I learned a lot from it. I learned that I can never give up. I’m going to finish everything I start.”
So as the HCTCA championships approached again recently at Bayonne County Park, Laverde made sure she was ready for the challenge – except for a slight mishap on Friday, the day before the race.
“I fell,” Laverde said. “I tripped against a sidewalk running in Kearny and went down.”
Laverde suffered a severely skinned knee as a result of the fall.
“But I knew I was going to race,” Laverde said. “I was lucky I didn’t hurt my knee more. That would have been horrible.”
Laverde put a bandage on the knee Saturday morning, but it didn’t last long when the race began, falling off and exposing the bloody knee.
“I went about things differently,” Laverde said. “I learned that if I take one step back, then I take two steps forward.”
Laverde engaged in an early battle with Kayla Sullivan of St. Dominic Academy, allowing Sullivan to take the early lead.
“I don’t like taking the lead,” Laverde said. “I like to lay back and stick to my race.”
But at approximately the halfway mark of the 3.1 mile race, Laverde went for the gold.
“I just started to pick up the pace a little and open up the race,” Laverde said. “I wanted to come out and win for my team because I thought the win would benefit my team.”
Perez liked Laverde’s strategy in the race.
“She waited and stayed behind the others,” Perez said. “She let the other girls do all the work and then she took off. It was exactly the way we wanted Maria to run. She showed enormous focus.”
Sure enough, Laverde did win the race, crossing the finish line in an even 19 minutes, some 42 seconds ahead of runner-up Sullivan.
“I wanted to go faster,” Laverde said. “But I’m happy with it.”
And for her efforts, Laverde has been selected as The Observer Athlete of the Week for the past week.
Laverde’s winning effort didn’t help the Kardinals capture the team title, but they did run a surprising second as a team to perennial power St. Dominic, who won for the third straight year.
But the win enabled Laverde to take her place among the 19 other county champions in Kearny history, a storied list of great performers.
While Laverde is the first Kardinal girl to win the county cross county title since 2012, she certainly belongs on the same plateau as some of the more recent champions like Erika Alzamora (2012), Cayleigh Solano (2010), Tanya Bernadino (2008), Jennifer Arocha (2006) and Denise Araujo (2004).
Laverde was aware of all the other champions.
The list also includes three-time champions Paula Costa (1991 through 1993) and Liz Duarte (1985, 1986 and 1988) and two-time champions Julie Corbett (1995 and 1996) and Laura Wronski (1981 and 1982).
Other Kearny cross country county champs include Ann Marie Richard (1990), Donna Scheifer (1983) and Kathy Gray (1980).
It’s a litany of cross country stalwarts – that now welcomes Laverde.
“It really means a lot to me,” Laverde said. “It can appreciate it more this year. It shows me that all the hard work I put in has paid off.”
Perez said that Laverde displayed a lot of intestinal fortitude in coming back this year and winning.
“She’s extremely resilient,” Perez said. “She’s very tough and very committed. She was able to fight through her tough times and stay the course. She showed a lot of resiliency, especially winning here. She stuck with the program and it paid off for her.”
Laverde continued her fine season at the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV championships at the Garret Mountain Reserve in Woodland Park last Saturday.
Laverde finished fourth overall in 19:18, punching her ticket to the overall Group IV championships at Holmdel Park this Saturday.
The Kardinals finished fifth as a team, also qualifying for the Group IV meet, a great reward for the Kar dinals and their fantastic season.
“I’m very happy with our performance,” Perez said. “I thought we had a chance to win the county. But I’m happy where we placed and now we’re moving on to Holmdel Park. There’s a very good vibe to the team. I knew we could run well.”
Senior Abigail Rosas was 27th overall at the state sectional meet, crossing the line in 21:33. Junior Noelia Almanzar was right behind Rosas, crossing the finish line in 21:36. Junior Nicolle De La Fuente was 30th in 21:39.
But the redemption belonged to the talented junior, whose name will forever be placed with the 18 others who became Hudson County cross country champions – just like Maria Laverde.
CAPTION
Kearny junior cross country standout Maria Laverde romps to a victory at the Hudson County Track Coaches Association championships at Bayonne County Park. Photo by Jim Hague
“Today wasn’t a bad day,” Laverde said. “In fact, it was just a great day.”
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”