HOLMDEL — Bob Roggy still looms large in the track and field world. How else to explain Tom Petranoff’s presence at 14th annual Holmdel International Track and Field Meet last Wednesday night.
Petranoff is a two-time former world record holder in the javelin bidding to make his fourth Olympic team for the United States — at age 42. Yet, there he was in Holmdel five weeks before the Olympic Trials. The reason, the late Bob Roggy, who was Holmdel’s track and field ambassador to the world. He was the inspiration for the Holmdel International Track and Field Meet that began 13 years ago and Petranoff was in Holmdel for the inaugural International.
"Bob was my training partner from 1977-82," said Petranoff. "Bob was the most talented athlete I met in my life. When he threw 314 feet, I knew I had to train like I never trained before."
Roggy and Petranoff both reached extraordinary heights in track and field. Roggy, a 1974 graduate of Holmdel, came into his own as a thrower at Southern Illinois University where he won a national championship. He reached his zenith in 1982 when he set a then-American record 314-4 and was ranked No. 1 in the world. Petranoff, pushed by his former training partner would twice set the world record.
Petranoff is now shooting for a fourth Olympic team and he showed everyone at Holmdel that he is a serious contender. Despite competing on a grass runway that was made slick by a steady drizzle and using a run-up that was half of his usual 28-meters, Petranoff still threw the spear 69.90 meters to capture the Bob Roggy Memorial Men’s Javelin.
Petranoff performance was one of several highlights of the meet.
Dudley Dorival also brought an Olympic flavor to the meet. The University of Connecticut grad is one of the world’s best high hurdlers and he has designs on representing his native Haiti in the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, in September. At the Holmdel International he was in top form flying over the hurdles in a meet record 13.3 in winning the Roger Kingdom Men’s 110-meter high hurdles. The old mark was set by two-time Olympic champion Kingdom himself, 13.38 in 1998.
Two area high school stars had big meets as well.
Red Bank Regional’s newly crowned state Meet of Champions 1,600-meter winner Walton Kingsbery was back to defend his 1999 title in the Vince Cartier High School Mile.
In the week between the Holmdel Invitational and his state championship victory at the Meet of Champions (June 7), Kingsbery had done no running. He had gone to his senior prom and attended a Bruce Springsteen concert. Not the best way to train for a big race, but Kingsbery showed that he was Born to Run last Wednesday.
Competing in a field that included Shore rival Nick Pellegrino of Marlboro and Greg Mason from Staten Island, the New York Catholic High School champion, Kingsbery’s finishing kick lost none of its sting in the week off as he cruised to a 4:21.37 win that included a 61.5 last quarter mile.
Kingsbery went undefeated this year in the metric mile by taking off with 600 meters to go in the race. No New Jersey runner was to match his extra gear nor sustain it for so long. But last Wednesday, it was Mason who was in the lead with 600 to go.
"He pushed it hard," Kingsbery said of the New York state champion. "The pace was honest. I was going to sit back and wait and see if my kick was still there again."
Just before the third lap was completed Kingsbery, dove to the inside and went by Mason. He was at top speed before Mason could respond and when he did, he couldn’t generate the leg speed to catch Kingsbery, who was off on his way to winning his second straight title at Holmdel.
Holmdel’s Christine Vullo had ended her high school season at the MOC on a very high note, running a personal best for the 3,200 meters. She was going to make that the final race of her season until she decided to give the Holmdel International a try. Her reward, a win and another personal best in winning the Mary Decker High School Mile in 5:17.2.
"It’s a nice way to finish the season, PRs [personal record] in my last two races," said Vullo. "It was kind of fun to get the mile PR. I figured the race gave me one more shot at it."
Vullo outran her future competition, one Julie Ullmeyer, who will be a freshman at Shore Regional this fall and was second in 5:18. Ullmeyer set the early pace until Vullo decided to raise the stakes.
"I was feeling good so I decided to pick up the race," she noted. "My goal was to stick with the leaders and see what happened."

