Kim Mineo ‘03
In 2009, Kim MIneo was named the Most Notable Female Athlete in the first 50 years of Glen Rock High School. Kim helped lead Glen Rock’s soccer and track & field teams to some of the school’s greatest successes, while being honored by The Record for three All-Decade teams: soccer; winter track & field; and spring track & field.
Kim was an unprecedented three-time winner of the 800 meters at the State Meet of Champions. In fact, she was the first North Jersey athlete – male or female – to ever win three straight State Meet of Champions in the same event.
As a freshman, Kim had an immediate impact on the success of the 2000 track & field team by being a member of four of the school’s nine victorious relay teams at the Group 1, Bergen County Relays, which contributed to Glen Rock’s team championship at that meet. She then helped Glen Rock win victories at the B-PSL King Championship, the Group 1, Bergen County Championship and the Group 1, Sectional Championship. At the league championship, she finished second in the 400 hurdles, in the 800 and in the 1,600; at the county championship, she finished first in the 400 hurdles, second in the 800 and first in the 1,600; and at the sectional championship, she finished third in the 400, first in the 400 hurdles and first in the 800. At the season ending Group 1, State Championship, Kim was a medalist in the 400 (finishing fourth), the 400 hurdles (finishing third) and the 800 (finishing fourth), helping Glen Rock win the Group 1, State Championship (61-60 over second place Palmyra).
In the winter of 2001, Kim won the Bergen County Indoor Track & Field Championship in the 600 meters. She was also a member of the 4×800 meters relay team (with Hall of Fame inductee Erin Henry, Hall of Fame inductee Leah Jerome and Danielle Patoir) that achieved a time of 9:41.3, that was then the fourth fastest time in Bergen County history.
That spring, Kim had the first of her three historically outstanding track & field seasons. At the Group 1, Bergen County Relays, she again helped lead Glen Rock to victories in the 3×400 hurdles and the sprint medley and a repeat team championship. At the subsequent Penn Relays, against top schools from the entire country, she was a member of the 4×800 relay team (with Erin, Danielle and Liz Saydah) that ran a 9:34.09 — the seventh fastest time in Bergen County history (and only exceeded by six Ridgewood teams) and still one of the fastest times in county history – as well as still the school record for that event.
As of 2019, it was #31.
Kim then helped lead Glen Rock to victories at the B-PSL King Championship, the Group 1, Bergen County Championship and the Group 1, Sectional Championship. At the league championship, she finished first in the 400 and in the 400 hurdles; at the county championship, she finished first in those same events; and at the sectional championship, she again finished first in those two events and also finished first in the 800. At the subsequent Bergen County Meet of Champions, Kim captured the 400 hurdles championship. Finally, at the season ending Group 1, State Championship meet, Kim, Erin and Danielle led Glen Rock to a second consecutive Group 1, State Championship with Kim finishing second in both the 400 and in the 400 hurdles – and then winning the 800. With Erin and Danielle finishing second and third in the 800, and Erin and Danielle finishing first and second in the 1,600 and the 3,200 and other teammates earning numerous other medals, Glen Rock won that championship by a 76-58 margin over Palmyra.
Kim then advanced to the State Meet of Champions where she was victorious in the 800 meters with a time of 2:12.12 that was then the fourth fastest time in Bergen County history and still is one of the very fastest times in county history – as well as still is the school record for that event.
After the State Meet of Champions, Kim, Erin, Danielle and Lauren Robbins won the Eastern States Championship in the distance medley with a time of 12:16.8 that was then the sixth fastest time in Bergen County history and still is one of the very fastest times in county history – as well as still is the school record for that event.
In the winter of 2002, Kim won her second consecutive Bergen County Championship in the 600 meters and was a member of the school’s 4×800 relay team (with Erin, Danielle and Liz Saydah) that ran a 9:28 time that was then the second fastest time in Bergen County history.
That spring, Kim had another historically outstanding track & field season. At the Group 1, Bergen County Relays, she helped lead Glen Rock to victories in the 3×400 hurdles, the sprint medley and the 1,600, and an overall second place finish in the team competition. She then helped lead Glen Rock to victories at the B-PSL Carpenter Championship, the Group 1, Bergen County Championship and the Group 1, Sectional Championship. At the league championship, she finished first in the 400 and was a member of the first place 4×400 relay team; at the county championship, she finished first in the 400, in the 400 hurdles and was a member of the first place 4×400 relay team; and at the sectional championship, she again finished first in the 400 and in the 400 hurdles – and also finished first in the 800. At the subsequent Bergen County Meet of Champions, Kim captured the 400 hurdles championship. Finally, at the Group 1, State Championship meet, Kim and Erin led Glen Rock to a third consecutive Group 1, State Championship with Kim finishing first in all three of her events — the 400, the 400 hurdles and the 800 – making her only the second Bergen County athlete (male of female) to win three Group, State Championships in the same year (after Erin accomplished that in 2000). With Erin winning the 1,600 and the 3,200 and other teammates earning numerous other medals, Glen Rock won that championship by a 69-26 margin over Penns Grove.
Kim then advanced to the State Meet of Champions where she was victorious in the 800 meters with a time of 2:12.21, nearly as fast as her winning time in 2001.
In the winter of 200, Kim won the Bergen County Championship in the 1,000 meters and was a member of the school’s championship 4×400 relay team (with Christine Patoir, Kelly Moore and Danielle Patoir).
Finally, that spring, in her senior year, Kim had an even more outstanding track & field season. At the Group 1, Bergen County Relays, she helped lead Glen Rock to victories in the 3×400 hurdles, the sprint medley, the 1,600 and the high jump, and the school’s third team championship in Kim’s four years. She then helped lead Glen Rock to victories at the B-PSL Carpenter Championship, the Group 1, Bergen County Championship and the Group 1, Sectional Championship, At the league championship, she finished first in the 400 and in the 400 hurdles, second in the 100 hurdles and ran the anchor leg for the 4×400 relay team that secured the team championship with its victory; at the county championship, she finished first in the 400, in the 400 hurdles and again ran the anchor leg for the 4×400 relay team that clinched the team championship with its victory; and at the sectional championship, she again finished first in the 400, in the 400 hurdles and in the 800 while also running the anchor leg for the winning 4×400 relay team. Finally, at the Group 1, State Championship meet, Kim and Danielle led Glen Rock to a fourth consecutive Group 1, State Championship. With Kim repeating as Group, State Champion in the 400 hurdles and the 800 and finishing second in the 400, Danielle finishing second in the 1,600 and third in the 3,200 and other teammates earning numerous other medals, Glen Rock won that championship by a 62-49 margin over Paulsboro.
Kim then advanced to the State Meet of Champions where she was victorious in the 800 meters with a time of 2:12.28, again nearly as fast as her winning time in 2001, winning the race by 10 meters. As a result of this victory, she was the first North Jersey athlete (male or female) to win three consecutive SMOC events.
After her senior year, The Record named Kim North Jersey’s Track & Field Athlete of the Year. She graduated having won a total of eleven Group Sectional titles, eight Group Bergen County titles and six Group State titles and having helped lead her school to four Group State Team Championships. In her sophomore through senior years, she was undefeated in the 400 hurdles and in the 800 meters.
Kim holds the school record for the 400 meters (58.14), for the 800 meters (2:12.12) and for the 400 intermediate hurdles (61.98). She graduated with the third fastest time in the 400 hurdles and the fourth fastest time in the 800 meters in Bergen County history.
Kim was also one of Glen Rock’s top all-time soccer players. As a freshman, she helped the 1999 Soccer Team win the Group 1, State Championship. The team won the Group 1, Sectional Championship with a 3-0 victory over North Arlington, won the Group 1, North Jersey Championship with a 6-0 victory over North Warren and won the Group 1, State Championship game with a 2-0 victory over Rumson-Fair Haven with Kim scoring goals in each of those games. The team’s final record was 21-1-1 with its only loss in the All Group, Bergen County Tournament. Fellow freshman Leah Jerome, senior Jodie Gabel and Kim were the team’s top three scorers, with Kim delivering 21 goals and 10 assists.
In the following season, Kim helped lead the team to its sixth consecutive Group, Sectional Championship. The team defeated Hasbrouck Heights/Wood Ridge by a score of 3-0 to win the sectional championship but were then upset by New Providence in the Group 1, North Jersey Championship game. Its final record was 18-3. After Leah, Kim was the team’s second leading scorer with 18 goals and 10 assists and was named to the Third Team, All-County.
In Kim’s junior year, Glen Rock was upset by Westwood (2-1) in the Group 1, Sectional Final despite outshooting its opponent 17-5. The team’s final record was 18-3-1. With Leah scoring 28 goals and having 20 assists and Kim scoring 23 goals and having 18 assists, they cemented their standing as the best scoring duo in Bergen County and possibly in the state. At the end of the season, Kim was named to the First Team, All-County and to the Second Team, All-North Jersey.
As seniors, Kim (33 goals and 21 assists) and Leah (34 goals and 16 assists) led the 2002 Soccer Team to a 23-2-1 record and the Group 1, State, Co-Championship. The duo combined for both goals in the team’s 2-0 defeat of Hasbrouck Heights/Wood Ridge for the Group 1, Sectional Championship and scored all three goals in the team’s 3-1 defeat of Butler to win the Group 1, North Jersey Championship. In the Group 1, State Championship game against Pennsville, the Panthers dominated play with several near goals being stopped by superb goalkeeping or the posts. The game ended in a 1-1 tie with the two teams sharing the championship trophy.
At the end of the season, Kim and Leah were selected North Jersey Co-Players of the Year and Glen Rock was ranked #1 in North Jersey (by The Record). They were also both selected for the First Team, All-State (by the Associated Press), the First Team, All-North Jersey and the First Team, All-County.
After graduating from Glen Rock, Kim attended and played soccer at Rutgers University (with Carli Lloyd) and was named a Big-East Academic All-Star, After graduating from Rutgers, she played semi-pro soccer with her Glen Rock teammate, Leah Jerome.
In 2010, The Record selected Kim for its All-Decade All-County Track & Field Team. In addition, The Record also chose Kim’s victory as a sophomore in the 800 meters at the 2001 New Jersey Meet of Champions as the “Moment of the Decade.” In that race, Kim was in fifth place with only 250 meters to go – displaying her unique competitive drive, she sprinted to win the race in 2:12.12.
In addition, thanks to Kim, Erin and other great athletes leading Glen Rock to four consecutive Group 1, State Championships from 2000 through 2003 under the leadership of Hall of Fame Head Coach D.J. Nimphius, The Record also named Glen Rock High School the Bergen County Girls Track & Field Program of the Decade.
The Record also honored Kim by giving her Honorable Mention to its All-Decade All-County Soccer Team and to its All-Decade All-County Winter Track & Field Team, joining Erin as one of a select number of Bergen County athletes honored to three All-Decade teams.