Shore’s Ullmeyer anxious to prove she can do it again Blue Devil harrier is defending county, conference champion

Shore’s Ullmeyer anxious to
prove she can do it again
Blue Devil harrier is
defending county,
conference champion

Julie Ullmeyer didn’t appreciate her astonishing freshman cross country season until the wins stopped coming. That was early in the outdoor track and field season when an injury, diagnosed as bursitis in her left hip, left her in serious pain and running with a limp. Her track season was over.

"I didn’t realize how good I had it until my injury," the Shore Regional sophomore noted.

Ullmeyer didn’t run for two months. The bursitis, it turns out, came from throwing her left leg outward on her stride.

Being unable to run made the summer a tough one for Ullmeyer, who took the state by storm last year, winning the Monmouth County and Shore Conference championships as a freshman and placing second to the legendary Erin Donohue of Haddonfield at both the Central Jersey Group II and State Group II meets.

A solid indoor season followed and big things were expected outdoors. But that’s when the bursitis developed.

It wasn’t until the middle of July that Ullmeyer was able to take her first tentative steps. Just 10 to 20 minutes at first, but the good news was that they were pain free. She was able to increase her runs to an hour long, make her new stride (keeping the left leg more inward) seem natural during that time and clear the psychological hurdle as well.

"I really don’t think about my hip anymore," she said.

Ullmeyer even tested her hip on the notoriously difficult Holmdel Park course with all its uphill climbs and fast downhill ascents. On the eve of the cross country season, she was running pain free.

"With the hour runs in, I was able to get my distance in," she said. "I wasn’t able to do any speed work, but I can make that up during the season."

The Blue Devil knows that, injury aside, the 2001 cross country season won’t be the same. Ullmeyer is no longer the freshman who is startling everyone. There are now high expectations and she is the one running around with the bull’s-eye on her back.

She’s also competing in the most competitive conference in the state. Rumson-Fair Haven’s Christy Planer, Red Bank Catholic’s Julia Barker and Toms River North’s Jen Blank finished eighth, ninth and 11th at the Meet of Champions, where Ullmeyer was 10th (suffering her only loss to a Shore runner). This quartet is among the state’s top half dozen or so returning harriers and contenders for state titles.

Ullmeyer does see a silver lining in all this. Missing the track season has left her hungry to regain her prominence.

She knows that the injury may have left many runners thinking that she has come back to the pack and that this is the time to get her.

"I think it takes a little of the pressure off," Ullmeyer said. "I have to prove I can do it again." The county and conference champion also thinks that a summer away from races and hard training will make her stronger in November. She may be vulnerable early in the season, but watch out.

"I’m a little behind of where I was last year," she said. "Last year I was faster at the beginning of the season and slowed down at the end. I’m hoping that this will help me peak for later in the season."

The Blue Devils have been fortified as a team by a strong incoming freshman class that includes sister Nicole Ullmeyer. Another frosh, Lauren Ostrowsky, like Nicole, is among the top seven on the Shore Regional squad. Senior veterans Teresa Mancini and Ali Major are the team’s second and third runners at this point. Sophomore Laura Hayden is among the team’s top five. The future is very bright in West Long Branch, so don’t count the young Devils out.

The Blue Devils began the dual meet season Monday against Shore Conference B Central favorite Rumson. The Bulldogs, led by Planer’s overall win (20:06), edged the young Blue Devils, 27-29, at Holmdel Park. Ullmeyer, putting herself to the test in a race for the first time since May, ran a respectable 21:38 in second place.

The result bodes well for the rest of the season for the Blue Devils, who proved they can run with one of the Shore’s top teams while their freshmen have just begun to get their feet wet. Look for them to continue to improve like their leader as the season progresses.