Lilly Shapiro and Ryan Johnson have made impressive strides regarding what they have accomplished on the CNHS track team. Lilly and Ryan are both seniors at Colts Neck High school and have been on the track team since their freshman year. Each of them have committed to run track at their respective colleges. Lilly is committed to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and Ryan is committed to Cornell University!

Lilly and Ryan’s first accomplishments were advancing to the Meet of Champions. The Meet of Champions is the best in the state. In order to get there, Lilly and Ryan had to advance from Sectionals to Groups, in which only the top 6 runners on the team make it. From Groups they advance to the Meet of Champions, in which only the top 3 runners on the team make it.

At the Meet of Champions, Lilly won the 1600 and the 800 meter races. She finished the 600 meter in 4 minutes and 51 seconds, and she finished the 800 in 2 minutes and 12 seconds. Lilly broke the school record with her 800 meter time. However, perhaps most impressive,  Lilly was the first woman EVER to win both the 1600 and 800! That is extremely impressive, but there’s even more! At another event, Lilly ran the second fastest mile time ever in the state at 4 minutes and 45 seconds. I am writing this as Lilly’s friend, yet I had no idea about any of this. She is one of the most humble people that I have ever met and I can’t believe how much she has accomplished. For our senior superlatives, Lilly was voted as the most likely to win an olympic medal, which is clearly very fitting. 

Ryan also had many impressive accomplishments. For his 1600 meter at the Meet of Champions, his time was 4 minutes and 18 seconds. This places Ryan 3rd of all time at CNHS! Ryan also got awarded as 1st Team All Shore. The Asbury Park Press makes these selections. They choose 3 sprinters, 3 distance runners, and a select number of hurdlers, throwers, and jumpers. Ryan was one of the distance runners. This means that he was among the best track runners in the Shore Conference this winter track season. I am also Ryan’s friend, and I had no idea of his accomplishments until I interviewed him. Ryan is also very modest, yet I should have known his potential given that one of my core memories of middle school is that  when running the required gym mile, Ryan was a good ½ mile ahead  of everyone else. We were all fascinated and dejected, but I guess the feeling of failure was worth it to see all that Ryan has done today. 

Lilly and Ryan deserve everything that they have achieved. They are both extremely talented, yet they are also the nicest and most humble people that I have met. I can’t wait to see what new records they break at UNC and Cornell and I wish them the best of luck.