NUTLEY, NJ — In her first year competing in cross-country, Meya Ranges emerged as one of the top high school girls cross-country runners in the area last season.
This fall, the Nutley High School senior was determined to have a better season.
For the second year in a row, Ranges finished third overall at the Essex County Championships at Cedar Grove Park on Oct. 24. Out of a field of 116 runners, Ranges ran 19 minutes, 09.07 seconds.
Ranges then placed sixth out of 78 runners in 19:33.15 at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 state championships at Greystone–Central Park in Morris Plains on Nov. 1, qualifying for the NJSIAA’s Group 3 state championships for the second year in a row.
Ranges put on a strong performance at the Group 3 state championships, finishing 10th in 19:50 at Holmdel Park on Nov. 8, as she qualified for the NJSIAA’s state Meet of Champions. Her time set a new school course record, beating the previous mark by a whopping 19 seconds. Ranges also improved her personal best on that famed course by 40 seconds, from a race in October.
The top 10 finishers in each group earned automatic bids for the Meet of Champions. Last year, Ranges finished 47th at the group meet.
At the Meet of Champions at Holmdel Park on Nov. 15, Ranges gave a strong effort as she clocked 20:10 to finish 107th out of 159 runners.
Ranges, indeed, loved to compete in cross-country.
“Joining cross-country junior year was honestly the best decision I made in high school, and my only regret is not joining sooner,” Ranges said. “Balancing school, practice, swimming and biking wasn’t always easy, but the challenge made me tougher. I’ll always remember the little things too, like my mom making me protein shakes after workouts and rubbing out my sore legs so I could keep going. All of these memories have shaped me and will continue to push me throughout running in college.”
Ranges was very grateful for her support system.
“I’d like to thank my parents and my grandma for their constant support and guidance throughout my cross-country career,” she said. “And a huge thank you to my coaches, Mrs. McNish-Natoli, Mr. Heintz and Mr Rittaco, for always being there for me, putting in the effort to create workouts, and for pushing me to improve.”
NHS head coach Kara McNish-Natoli was ecstatic for Ranges.
“She’s had a great season!” lauded McNish-Natoli, who is also the NHS girls head basketball coach. “She’s really hitting her stride and peaking at the right time and it’s a huge testament to her hard work and her trusting the process. By this point in the season last year, her legs were pretty heavy and she was really starting to fatigue, all while trying to figure out how to pace herself in a 5K, since it was her first year running cross-country. We restructured her training this year and she didn’t compete in some dual meets and smaller invitationals in order to preserve her legs. I know that was hard for her because she wanted to run with her teammates, especially our annual Pizza Invitational, where we celebrated the seniors. It is always the Monday before counties and I sat her out of that. I know it probably sucked for her, but it paid off because she was fresh for Friday and killed it at the county meet. She works so hard and has all season and preseason.”
McNish-Natoli said Ranges did all the preparations to achieve a successful season.
“She also does all the little things behind the scenes that make the big things possible,” McNish-Natoli said. “She really prioritizes her recovery, nutrition and listening to her body. She is really good at communicating with me when something doesn’t feel right and we deviate or adjust the plan according to that. She is truly a pleasure to coach and deserves all the success she is getting. She has worked so hard for it and earned it!”
Photos Courtesy of Nutley HS cross-country head coach Kara McNish-Natoli
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