Craig Stivala has been Colts Neck’s most versatile track and field athlete. That has enabled Coach Jim Schlentz to use the Cougar senior in a number of different events to help the team.
Saturday, at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships, held at the Armory in New York City, Stivala had the opportunity to put his all-around talents on display in the indoor pentathlon. It was the first time Stivala ever attempted a multi-event competition, and the results were very encouraging. Stivala tallied 3,335 points in the five-event, single-day competition, good enough for eighth place. Donovan Kilmartin of Meridian, Ind., was the boys’ winner with a score of 3,920.
"He always wanted to try it (the pentathlon)," noted Schlentz. "It’s something we talked about. He did well this season and he showed continued improvement in all events."
The pentathlon is made up of the high jump, 60-meter high hurdles, the long jump, shot put and 1,000-meter run. Only the high hurdles and long jump are events Stivala contested before.
Stivala’s grueling day began with a personal best 6-0 1/4 high jump. He ran 8.71 for the high hurdles and reached 19-9 in the long jump. His shot put throw was 37-4 and the almost eight hour competition concluded for him with the 1,000-meter run, which he completed in 2:56.
Also collecting eighth-place finishes at the championships, which were held Friday through Sunday at the Armory, were Freehold Borough’s Debra Vento and Jonas Tepaske.
For Vento, her eighth place drew the curtain on an extraordinary indoor season where she reached heights she never expected in terms of school records and championships. She had a near-perfect season that was capped off by her Group I and Meet of Champions state championship wins. The junior also won the Eastern States Championship at the Armory. Her jump of 5-8 tied for best in the state and ranked as high as second in the country. She did 5-5 at the nationals. The title went to Shaunte Howard from Riverside, Calif., who jumped 5-10.
Tepaske, the outdoor state champion in the pole vault, has had very little opportunity to vault this indoor season. The pole vault is not contested as a championship event in New Jersey, limiting Tepaske’s competitions indoors. His best vault was 13-0 until Sunday when he flew over the bar at 14-0. Steve Elliot of Claremont, Okla., scaled 15-5 3/4 to win the national title.
Vaulting 14-0 in March bodes well for Tepaske for the outdoor season. He’ll begin next month having started at a height that won him the state title last June. His outdoor best is 14-6.