By: Rudy Brandl
There’s only one championship that has gotten away from the Hillsborough High boys’ track and field team during the last three spring outdoor seasons. This weekend, the Raiders are poised to claim it.
Hillsborough’s track and field program has become known and respected as one of the state’s finest, with its boys and girls capturing countless division, county and conference crowns the past few years. There haven’t been too many meet titles that have eluded the Raiders during this productive, exciting stretch.
The HHS girls exorcised their Skyland Conference demons with a landslide victory in the championship meet a few weeks ago. Now it’s the boys’ turn to get a monkey off their backs.
The scholastic track and field post-season gets under way Friday and Saturday with sectional meets around the state to decide which athletes advance to the State Group finals June 2-3 at Egg Harbor. While the HHS boys expect to send several athletes to the Group 4 Championships, they have more team-related issues on their mind this weekend.
“It’s our last chance to leave our mark here,” senior sprinter, hurdler and long jump standout Jared Jones said. “The guys have a good feeling. We really want to take the sectionals.”
Hillsborough has come so close in recent years but hasn’t won a CJ 4 crown since 1995 when Eric Jones and Shaun O’Hara were seniors. This team has similar character and even better depth, which head coach Fred Keiper hopes will propel his troops to the elusive victory.
“We have more depth than we’ve had the past few years going into the sectionals,” Keiper said. “None of these seniors (except for Jimmy Leonard in soccer) has won a sectional title. This will be their last shot at winning a sectional championship.”
Keiper’s crew is senior-dominated, which is a plus in the post-season. These guys have run big races and they’ve all battled the elements of this meet at least once before.
The Raiders are loaded with versatile athletes who can place in a number of events. Hillsborough is strongest on the track, especially in the sprints and hurdles.
Jones, fellow senior Offie Dennis and junior Scott Robinson are all capable of scoring in four events. Jones will run the 400 hurdles and long jump and could also appear in the 100, 200 or 4×400 relay. Leonard could also score in any of the sprints in addition to helping the relay team.
Dennis, the school record-holder in the 100 (10.7) and 110 high hurdles (14.2), will definitely high jump and possibly run the 200 or 400 hurdles. Robinson will run a mix of hurdles and sprints.
“We’re going to need to get a lot of points in our high-profile events, like the 400 hurdles,” Keiper said. “We also have to pick up points in some of the other events.”
Hillsborough figures to be chasing Piscataway, Trenton and defending CJ 4 champion Old Bridge for the title. Piscataway will have the edge in the weights, while Old Bridge and Trenton are better on the track.
Keiper is also hoping for big things from senior distance star Miguel Jones, the indoor state champion in the 1,600 meters. Senior teammate Rob Uniszkiewicz gives the Raiders a great shot in the 3,200 meters, where he set a school-record (9:32.6) in winning the county title last week.
The Raiders did not score in the 3,200 last year and Dennis wasn’t nearly as dominant as he’s become this spring. Uniszkiewicz placing in the 3,200 and the emergence of Dennis could put the Raiders over the top.
“We want to win this for the team,” Dennis said. “I have my school records. Now I want to win the sectionals.”
The HHS girls will be gunning for their third straight sectional championship, something no other team in the school has achieved. Rich Refi’s young squad has been somewhat of a surprise in 2000, rolling to victories in every meet.
Despite losing key athletes to graduation last season, the Raiders have been more successful so far this year. They’ll need to three-peat to maintain their perfect record.
“Every year you get a new hand and the kids have to deliver,” Refi said. “So far, they’ve done very well.”
Everyone expects Kristen Meyer to win her distance races and she’s responded with more meet records and personal-bests. However, several other athletes have become reliable scorers in multiple events.
Senior Lois Malenchek has emerged as a consistent force in the weights, winning conference and county titles in the discus.
Malenchek also won the conference shot put and placed second in last week’s county meet. Malenchek has broken her own standards in the shot (35-2) and discus (school-record 119-10) repeatedly this spring, but she’s not finished.
“I still want to keep improving,” she said. “As the meets get bigger, every throw means more. I can’t complain about 35 (feet) in shot, but 120s in discus would be exciting.”
Juniors Erin Fuller and Jaci Pfeiffer are two of the team’s most versatile athletes. Both scored in four events at last week’s county meet.
Fuller excels in the 200, where she set the school record this spring with a sizzling 25.3. She can also run the 100, 400, 100 hurdles and throw the javelin.
“I like doing different events,” Fuller said. “I think it helps me sometimes. I can’t let anything distract me. I just have to focus.”
Fuller, Pfeiffer, Lauren Kloss and Kaitlin Meiser will look to score in the hurdles and jumps, while junior Deanna Willard and senior Heather Laine support Meyer in the distance races.
The Raiders hope to dominate in the distance events and grab enough points elsewhere to hold off Trenton and Piscataway.
“We’re really nervous about Trenton,” Fuller said. “We just have to go out like we did last year. It’s going to be a hard meet, but I think we can do it again.”
