RAIDER ROUNDUP
By: Rudy Brandl
Ashley Uniszkiewicz accomplished some great things in winning Saturday’s Varsity Girls B division race in the Shore Coaches Invitational at Holmdel Park.
The Hillsborough High sophomore continued her marvelous campaign by winning her biggest race so far. She also broke the 20-minute barrier on the grueling state championship course, hitting the wire in 19:57. Uniszkiewicz improved upon her previous Holmdel Park best time by nearly 1:30, running past Ridgewood’s Clair Nowakowski after an early struggle.
"We were right next to each other for more than half the race," said Uniszkiewicz, who made her move on the steep incline known as the bowl. "That’s when I really wanted to get away from her. I just kicked it in and that’s where I got most of my space."
Hillsborough finished fifth in the girls’ team standings. Jessica Tsai was the team’s second finisher, taking 30th overall in a time of 22:27. Emily Geng (36th, 22:40), Eileen Cafferty (44th, 23:04) and Amanda Walzer (47th, 23:18) also counted places. Ingrid Mellor (50th, 23:35) and Stacey Ablett (56th, 23:50) weren’t far behind their pack of teammates.
The HHS boys had a solid day at Shore, finishing second behind state power Christian Brothers Academy. The Raiders (95) trailed CBA (67) but defeated Ridgewood, Memorial and Toms River South, compiling an average time of 17:32.2.
Nick Vaccaro led the HHS pack for the first time this season, finishing sixth in a time of 17:03. Mike Klueber (9th, 17:11) and Matt Lunemann (11th, 17:14) were also within striking distance.
Russ Zaleski also broke the 18-minute barrier and finished 31st overall in 17:58. Other Raider runners in the varsity race included Erik Szabocsik (39th, 18:12), John Folger (58th, 18:26) and Jared Lewinski (77th, 18:55).
Joe Brennan led the HHS boys to a fourth place finish in the Jayvee A race. Brennan finished eighth in a time of 18:14.3.
Other Raiders contributing for the jayvee team were Chris Dennis (23rd, 18:41), Chris Brower (24th, 18:43), Kani Brown (31st, 18:59) and Justin Szeto (56th, 19:37).
Katie King set the pace for the Hillsborough jayvee girls, finishing 23rd in 23:20. Teammates Caitlin Kosec (40th, 24:07) and Nancy Todaro (54th, 24:28) also ran well for the Raiders, who finished seventh in the team standings.
X-C teams split
tough tri-meet
The final score of 21-38 was a popular number in last week’s high school cross country tri-meet featuring Hillsborough, Hunterdon Central and Watchung Hills at the Warren Municipal Fields.
Hillsborough split in both the boys’ and girls’ meets, defeating Watchung and losing to Central. Both losses came by 21-38 scores, while the Raider boys also notched a 21-38 victory over Watchung. The lone exception was a 23-38 victory by the HHS girls over the host team.
Ashley Uniszkiewicz won the girls’ race in a time of 20:47, but Central dominated the rest of the top 10. Hillsborough’s next finisher was Jessica Tsai, who took eighth in 22:45.
Ingrid Mellor (11th, 23:18), Jaci Pfeiffer (12th, 23:21), Emily Geng (14th, 23:34), Amanda Walzer (15th, 23:50) and Eileen Cafferty (16th, 24:00) rounded out the top seven. Other runners who contributed to the final score included Stacey Ablett (24:07), Katie King (24:29), Jessica Du (24:30), Diana Marazzo (25:16), Caitlin Kosec (25:29), Nancy Todaro (25:31) and Kristen Pappalardo (26:02).
Mike Klueber led the HHS boys with a third-place finish in 17:20. Nick Vaccaro ran fifth in 17:54 and Matt Lunemann took seventh in 18:08. Erik Szabocsik (15th, 18:50) and John Folger (16th, 18:57) also broke 19 minutes, but this wasn’t a great day for times.
"We didn’t run well," Raider head coach Rich Refi said. "The times were slow, but it’s a pretty tough course. (Central) was a little better than us going in, but we should have done better."
Other Raiders who finished the course before Watchung’s top seven included Russ Zaleski (19:03), Chris Dennis (19:06), Jared Lewinski (19:06), Kani Brown (19:24) and Eric Mueller (19:25).
Both Raider teams were slated to host Bridgewater and Franklin in a tri-meet at Pleasant Valley Park this week.
Boys stay unbeaten
after early scare
The HHS boys’ soccer team trailed for the first time this season but fought back for a 4-2 victory over Hunterdon Central last Thursday.
Central stunned the Raiders for two early goals, which put the team’s perfect record and stronghold on the Delaware Division in jeopardy. The Raiders may have taken the game lightly after being ranked in the state’s top 20 earlier in the week.
However, HHS stormed back with four unanswered goals to win its seventh in a row. Scott Visnic gave the team some life by knocking in a rebound of his own shot. Tony Flores scored the tying and go-ahead goals, with help from Lamar Spencer and Sean Pyne. Spencer’s pass over the Central defense set up the first Flores tally, while Pyne’s hustle and tenacity produced the second opportunity.
Freshman Chad Barbieri scored an insurance goal later in the first half and the teams played a scoreless second half.
The Raiders opened the week with an easy 4-0 shutout over North Hunterdon. Pyne scored in the game’s third minute off a Visnic feed. Fullback Eric Stickle made a run that turned into the second goal for the Raiders.
Visnic hammered in another rebound for a 3-0 cushion and Danny Reed provided the final tally on an assist from Rob Szymnanik, who moved to midfield from his goalkeeper position.
The Raiders (7-0) were slated to host Franklin and Warren Hills this week.
Gymnasts relax
during light week
The Hillsborough High gymnasts needed an easy week.
After battling injuries and some tough competition in recent weeks, the Raiders took it easy and did a little healing. Hillsborough defeated Montgomery 100.075-85.8 in its only meet of the week.
"It was a good relaxing week," HHS head coach Beth Murrin said. "We could recover from the injuries and get over the mid-season aches and pains. We’re a little tired, so this was a good week for us. We want to keep everyone going into the rest of the season."
Kristen Watts stepped up and won the all-around with a total score of 33.975. Watts won vault (8.75) and floor (8.675) and finished third on beam (8.125) and bars (8.425). Kyra Lysyj also competed in the all-around and scored 30.9.
Kim Yates competed on bars and won with a 9.175. Yates sat out the rest of the events to rest her back.
Ashley Miller won balance beam (8.725) and also competed on bars (8.2). Krystina DeLuca placed third on vault (8.3) and floor (8.025).
The Raiders (4-1) were slated to face Somerville and Scotch Plains-Fanwood this week before hosting a huge tri-meet with Hunterdon Central and North Hunterdon next Friday night.

