Hornets Galasso is California Dreamin'
Qualifies for Foot Locker Nationals
BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer
Don't tell George Galasso that dreams don't come true. At Saturday's Foot Locker Northeast Region Qualifier held at the famed Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y., the Holmdel senior qualified for the Dec. 13 Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego, Calif., by finishing ninth. The top 10 finishers at the Region advanced to the nationals.

ERIC SUCAR staff Holmdel High School's George Galasso will compete in the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships in San Diego on Dec. 13.

"The way I approached it, I always believed it was possible," he said. "Qualifying for Foot Locker has been a dream. In this case, it came true."

Thanks to some very determined running by the Hornet, who finished the race minus his left shoe, it all worked out.

Just as he was crossing the bridge heading into the backwoods, Galasso's heal slipped out of his shoe. He has been running with orthotics this fall and he has lost a shoe before.

"It crossed my mind (losing the shoe) and I thought, 'not again,' " he recalled.

Galasso had put extra tape on his shoes this time and ran the second half of the race on his toes with the front half of his foot covered. In a way, he said, the incident helped keep his mind off just how hard he was running the hills.

"It was real, real hard," he said. "Coach (Sean) McCafferty sat down with me and told me to expect that first mile to be very fast. He told me to be relaxed and keep in contact with the lead group. I was in the top 30 which was fine. My first mile was 4:53.

"When we went over the bridge, I started to pick off people," he added.

Leaving the back hills and crossing the bridge over the Henry Hudson Parkway for the second time, Galasso could hear people counting off numbers. He was in the top 20 and moving.

On the sharp downhill heading for the flats and the finish line, Galasso had moved up to 10th and was targeting another New Jersey runner, Brett Johnson of Ocean City. Leaving the woods, Galasso's left shoe came completely off, but it didn't matter. He had other things on his mind.

"The last 300 was a dead sprint," he said, "I didn't think about the shoe. I wanted it (top 10)," he remarked. "I didn't want anyone to pass me."

Galasso ran in Johnson's shadow all the way to the finish line with Johnson getting eighth (15:50.1) and Galasso ninth (15:50.4), becoming the first Hornet to qualify for the nationals.

"It's a pretty big deal," he said. "I'm looking forward to Foot Locker."

New Jersey will be well represented with three of the 10 qualifiers. In addition to Galasso and Johnson, state champion Tyler Udland of Millburn, was runner-up (15:36.6).

Galasso's 15:50.4 is one of the fastest times run by a Shore harrier on the longer VCP 5K course. He said his seventh place at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions the week before had been a 'good stepping stone.' It indicated that he was peaking at the right time and was ready for another big effort at VCP. Now, Galasso is confident that he has one more big race in his legs.

In Wappingers Falls, New York on Saturday, Christian Brothers Academy, competing as the Brothers Track Club, finished eighth at the Nike Cross Nationals Northeast Championship with 239 points. The Colts' New Jersey rivals, West Windsor-Plainsboro North (Knight XC Club) and Don Bosco (Bergen XC Club) finished one-two with 71 and 75 points respectively and qualified for the NCN championship on Dec. 6 in Portland, Or.

Sophomore Mike Mezzacarro led the Colts finishing 12th overall (16:31.4) on the 5K Bowdoin Park lay out. He was eighth in team scoring. Dan Bailey (17:06.2) and Dennis Smith (17:29.2) were 31st and 46th in team scoring for the Colts.