Justin Haug’s unexpected victory at the Group IV state championships highlighted a track and field season in the Freehold District where no one seemed to take charge.
Haug, who had jumped steadily but not spectacularly during the year, captured the Group IV gold because he was mistake free at the lower heights. When no one could clear 6-4, the title was his because he had made no mistakes on the way up.
The Freehold District team championship couldn’t produce a clear winner as Colts Neck and Manalapan shared the title. It was the first co-championship in the meet’s history.
Haug’s teammate, distance runner Matt Forys, enjoyed a carry over from the cross country season and had the best individual season of anyone.
The pentathlon, indoor’s multi-event test of endurance, isn’t contested on the state level but is at the nationals. That allowed Colts Neck’s Craig Stivala to demonstrate his all-around prowess, which he did by finishing eighth in his first-ever attempt. He was the district’s top long-sprinter.
Haug, Forys and Stivala head the News Transcript’s 2002 boys’ All-Freehold District Indoor Track and Field Team.
Also on the squad are Freehold Borough’s Bret Jones (55-meter hurdles), Tony Pena (55-meter dash) and Elton Cooke (shot put); Colts Neck’s Jorge Ventura (800) and Israel Payan (1,600); and Freehold Township’s 1,600-meter relay team of Chris Reed, Rich Castaldi, Steve Blenderman and Dan Ceparano.
Stivala was Colts Neck’s Mr. Versatile. He put his all-around talent on display at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships where he was eighth in the five-event pentathlon. For All-District concerns, he was the top 400-meter runner. He won the district title and finished eighth at the Eastern States, where he turned in the year’s fastest time, 50.92. He was pretty good in the hurdles as well, placing second at the Freehold District title meet.
Forys picked up where he left off in the fall, when he earned all-state honors in cross country, by again qualifying for the MOC. The Howell junior had a solid indoor campaign, erasing any doubts of his ability to run undercover. He was second to Holmdel’s state Group II champion Craig Segal in the 3,200 at the cross country championships. He was ninth at the Group IV state championships in the 3,200 and earned a wild card to the MOC, where he ranked 17th in a personal best and created a school record, 9:49.65. He was the district champion in the 3,200 and finished second in the 1,600. In New York City, at the Varsity Classic at the Armory, Forys’ final race won him a fourth place in the 3,200.
Ventura battled injury and illness throughout the season which curtailed him considerably. Still, he was able to win the 800-meter title at the district meet. His teammate, Israel Payan, also battled injury and illness and had the same shortened season, but was able to outkick Forys in the 1,600 at the district meet to get on the team. Payan, second to Forys in the 3,200, ran a 4:48.3 1,600.
In the absence of a dominating sprinter, the Colonials’ Tony Pena was able to grab