Trotters, Kingsbery anxious for indoor season to start
Monmouth County Relays Saturday
at Red Bank
It’s been since June that Amanda and Katy Trotter and Katie Kingsbery ran in a race for Red Bank Regional High School.
According to coach Corey Radcliffe, his trio of extraordinary runners can’t wait for Saturday’s Monmouth County Relays at RBR because it will be their first taste of competition since the NJSIAA Outdoor Meet of Champions. High expectations will follow the trio all winter long as they look to top what they did undercover in 2001. It won’t be easy.
Amanda and Katy Trotter won Indoor Meet of Champions crowns last February, with Amanda capturing the 1,600 meters and Katy, the 800. They became the first sisters in the history of the meet to win state titles the same year in the process. They were also undefeated in championship races in their events for the year.
But that was only part of their story. At the Eastern States Championships held at the Armory in New York City, the Trotters teamed with Kingsbery and Christine Hurley to set a state indoor record in the Distance Medley, 12:00.66 in finishing second to Boys and Girls, Brooklyn, N.Y., (12:00.07). The time was the fourth fastest run in the country for the year and earned them a national ranking.
With the quartet returning intact, expectations are high. They will be shooting for the Easterns, and another shot at the state record, and perhaps, this year, the championship. With everyone expected to be faster this year, they have the chance to be a very special DM team.
"One of our goals is to focus on the later meets, the states and Shore Conference" said Radcliffe. "We want to run well at the Easterns and get a qualifying time for the Penn Relays."
Red Bank’s Big Four will again make the Bucs a championship contender for relay and championship meet titles. Last winter, the Bucs won Monmouth County, Shore Conference and State Group III titles.
Amanda Trotter will be favorite in the 1,600 and 3,200, and runs the 800 as well, while Katy doubles in the 800 and 1,600. The versatile Kingsbery runs the 400 and 800, and Hurley is a top 400 runner as well. The foursome turned out to be a pretty impressive 4×400 relay team as well, finishing fifth in the state last year.
There is more to the Bucs this year than the Trotters, Kingsbery and Hurley. Melissa Doolley has great range and can help the team in the hurdles, high jump and even the distances.
Sprinters Melissa Thornton, Melissa Taylor and Rosalie Bostic give RBR a solid sprint relay squad. Newcomers Alexis Brutmen and Beth Mayer add depth here.
Laura Orsini and Jessie Grohol add to the already stacked distance corps.
The strength of Red Bank’s boys will be their outstanding cross-country runners. The Bucs won the Monmouth County and Central Jersey Group III titles in the fall.
With the likes of CJ individual champion Robbie Dennis, Greg Langley and Jovannie Cortez, the Bucs can put together competitive DM and 4×800 teams. The addition of Joe Kingsbery to the mix adds to the Bucs’ distance strength. All these runners should be contenders individually as well as a collective unit.
Red Bank can also call on a quality sprinter/hurdler group led by Phil Ruggiero. With Kiningham, the Bucs also have one of the county’s top shot putters.
"We have 16 sophomores on the team," noted Radcliffe. "We’re young and inexperienced."
The Bucs are building a very good foundation for the future with so many promising talents. There will be some ups and downs with such a young team, but the Bucs will be a team that will get better with each meet.
After Saturday’s Monmouth County Relays, the next major meet will be the NJSIAA State Relays set for Jan. 6 at Princeton University.
The Monmouth County Champion-ships are Jan. 17 for the boys and the 18th for the girls at RBR. The Shore Conference meet is Jan. 30 in Red Bank.
The NJSIAA Groups II and III Individual Championships are Jan. 20 at Princeton with Meet of Champions Feb. 3, each at Princeton.
The Eastern States are Feb. 26 at the Armory.