North Jersey Female Athlete of the Week makes wise decision about health

Lakeland cross-country coach Dan Burkert said something on Oct. 22 after Mollie Horevay won her second straight Passaic County championship that a lot of coaches say about their best athletes.

“She can be as good as she allows herself to be,” Burkert said after the sophomore easily repeated as the individual champion and led her team to its sixth team championship in seven years.

And judging by the decision she made several days later, the sky appears to be the limit for the precocious star.

Horevay, in the midst of a remarkable autumn that saw her lose only once (to the reigning state champion) and set course bests each time she ran, called it quits on the cross-country season after learning she had been diagnosed with a stress fracture in her foot.

“It started a couple of weeks ago,” said Horevay, the North Jersey Girls Athlete of the Week presented by HSS. “It didn’t hurt that badly, and I went to the doctor to get it wrapped as we tried to find out what was wrong. I was cross-training the last few weeks, spending less time running, and it didn’t hurt much when I ran the race.”

Her doctor sent her for an MRI last week, but the results didn’t come back until Horevay already had run 19:01 for 5,000 meters at Garret Mountain (a personal best), winning by more than a minute. Her 2026 goal of finishing in the top 10 at the State Meet of Champions seemed alive even when the diagnosis came back.

“I was kind of I thinking I’m going to be OK,” she said. But she took the weekend off, spoke with her family and prayed a lot. “My faith is very important to me, and I realized that God has a plan for me, and this was part of it.”

The pain began to get worse, and Horevay made the wise decision to shut things down.

“Of course it’s disappointing, and of course she’s upset about it,” said Burkert. “She’s been running so spectacularly, but it’s a mature, thoughtful decision and typical of who she and her family are.”

Mollie is the latest in a line of runners in the Mizzone/Horevay family – mom is the former three-time Passaic champion Amy Mizzone – that numbers 12 All-County runners going back more than 60 years to the patriarch: 1961-62 Passaic champ Tom Mizzone, the leader of Passaic Valley’s only state-championship teams.

“It’s crazy to be able to continue the legacy,” says Mollie Horevay, whose brother Owen and sister Abby both were Passaic County legends as well. “I knew what my family had done, but I didn’t realize the extent of it until I got to high school.”

“It’s something I’ve embraced, taking it one step at a time,” Horevay said. “What’s happening to me now is happening for a reason, and I trust God’s plan.”

Horevay, who will be on crutches when she goes to cheer on her teammates at the North 1, Group 2 sectional on Oct. 31, is going to make sure she cooperates with that plan. “I’m going to do whatever the doctor tells me [the first step is a period of complete rest]. I’m going to keep eating and sleeping healthy and do whatever I can to get back when I’m fully ready.”

“She’s not an official captain yet, but she’s a great leader for our young team, and her presence at the meet Saturday will be a big boost to our girls,” said Burkert, whose team should still qualify for the Nov. 7 Group 2 state finals.

Horevay has already dealt with mononucleosis last winter and is confident that this latest setback is just another bump in a long road.

It’s just going to take a little longer to get to that next step.

Mollie Horevay

Sport: Cross-country

School: Lakeland

Class: Sophomore  Age: 15

Accomplishment: Horevay became just the third sophomore to go back-to-back when she repeated her win at the Passaic County cross-country championship.

Also nominated: Katherine Keating of Ridgewood for cross-country; Grace Morris, Ramsey for field hockey; Sydney Edwards, Bergen Tech for soccer and Angelina Oliveira of Mahwah; and Ryan Liles of Tenafly for volleyball.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: North Jersey Female Athlete of the Week makes wise decision about health