By Christopher Hunt
NEW YORK – Shaker’s Mike Libruk remarked after the race how the similarities between his teammates are uncanny. They are around the same height and build. He said they have similar personalities.
They are all slaves to habit. They race in the same socks, wear the same style of racing spikes and they even all wear a size 10 shoe.
The Shaker team moves like they are all tied together with an invisible string. They make sure to never leave anyone out of a team picture. They even do interviews as a team.
“We have a little buddy system going,” Libruk said.
It doesn’t work any place as well as it does in races. Shaker used a 15-second, 5-man compression to win the Eastern States Championship race at the Manhattan Invitational with 102 points. Libruk led the squad in 14th place, finishing in 13:08.02 with Jon Vallecorsa right behind in 16th, in 13:11.28. Casey Gilboy produced his best race of the season to follow in 18th, clocking 13:13.68. Christian Delago was 22nd (13:18.64) and Kyle Foster 32nd (13:23.01).
When the season started, the Bison considered themselves one of the favorites for a New York State title. They no idea they were this good.
“I think this is our biggest win ever and going into this race it was probably our biggest race ever,” Libruk said.
Libruk, Vallecorsa and Gilboy started out in a pack, picked through the crowd together, made their moves as a unit and shoved five runners across the finish line before Christian Brothers (N.J.) could cross its fourth. CBA finished second with 144 points. Fayetteville-Manilus, led by Mark McGurrin (seventh, 12:57.13) and Andrew Roache (12:58.08), placed third with 168. Warwick Valley was fourth with 183.
The race makes Shaker the clear front-runner for a state title. In Shaker coach Ed Springstead’s 53rd year coach, he said this is his best team ever.
“We were looking to have a good race,” Libruk said. “We did not expect to win.”
Most did expect Jim Rosa to win though. The race for the individual title turned into a match race behind West Winsor-Plainsboro North’s Rosa and Edward Cheserk of St. Benedicts. Cheserk rode Rosa’s shoulder from the start. Cheserk said he made multiple attempts to get around Rosa in the final kilometer but Rosa never let off the gas.
Rosa finished in 12:28.70, well behind the pace he expected. Cheserek was secondin 12:34.41. Mike Mazzaccaro led CBA in third in 12:49.20.
Jim’s twin brother, Joe Rosa, underwent foot surgery last week and will miss the remainder of the season. Joe said he didn’t feel right after the first 1,200 meters and acknowledged that it was different not being able to work off his brother. He would have rathered his brother in the race for a number of reasons.
“I want to win the honorable way,” he said after the race. “I don’t want to win a race without my brother in it.”