GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD: The pair advanced by taking second place in the discus and javelin events at last weekend’s Central Jersey Group III Championships.
By: Neil Hay
For Sara Mitchell and Amanada Marshall, the 2002 track and field season is not over, at least not yet. And if these two Hightstown High standouts have their way, there still would two more meets left.
Mitchell, a junior, qualified for today’s state Group III meet at Egg Harbor Township when she placed second in last weekend’s Central Jersey Group III sectional meet at Monmouth Regional. Mitchell threw the javelin 104-feet-9, well below her personal best of 115-feet-9 and behind the winning effort of Lawrence’s Kathleen Rivera, who threw 106-feet-5.
Girls coach Don Hess attributed Mitchell’s subpar performance to a bad back. A healthy Mitchell, contends Hess, would have beaten out Rivera at sectionals as she had during the regular season. If at 100 percent, Mitchell could approach her personal best and earn a shot at qualifying for next week’s Meet of Champions at South Brunswick.
Marshall, meanwhile, coming off a stellar performance at the county freshman-sophomore meet at Hopewell Valley back on May 17th, qualified for the Group III meet with a second place in the discus. Marshall’s 109-feet-8 was a personal best and was beaten out only by Hopewell Valley’s Lauren Manley, who threw 111-feet-5.
At that frosh-soph meet, Marshall won three throwing events, the discus (her 108-feet-11 obliterated the old meet record of 97-feet-10), javelin (85-feet-8), and shot put (32-feet-4.25). Earlier in the season Marshall also placed third at the Mercer County meet with a 107-foot-1 discus throw.
Other solid performances at the C.J. Group III meet included a 94-foot-6 personal best by Kristen Healey in the javelin, Marshall’s 90-foot-8 javelin throw and 33-foot-1.5 (eighth place) in the shot, Natasha Reed’s 30-foot-1.5 shot, and Kelly Gavin (94 feet) and Kristen Ewer (85-feet-6) in the discus.
Colleen DeLuca had a personal best when she cleared 4-feet-8 in the high jump, Latoya Ellis had a 13-foot-11 long jump, 13.4 100, 27.3 (personal best) 200, and 66.7 400, and Obi Onochie had a 14-foot-5 long jump, 27.2 (personal best) 200, and 12.9 (personal best) 100.
Sonii Kollie had a 17.8 personal best in the 100 high hurdles and a 1:14.5 in the 400 intermediate hurdles, while Anne-Lise Cossart had a 1:19.4 in the intermediates and a 19.4 in the high hurdles. Cossart also had a 30.0 personal best in the 200.
In the 1,600 versatile Elena Tous ran 5:38, then took eighth with a personal best of 11:53.8 3200, the best time recorded by a Hightstown distance runner in about fifteen years. Victoria Schemelia had a 6 minute 1600 and a 2:44.1 800, Melanie Wolfson had a personal best of 2:52.8 in the 800, and Chrissie Baumann was timed in 66.5 in the 400.
"I was real pleased with the results," said Hess of the Central Jersey Group III meet. "The girls had a tremendous season, 6-6-1. They really turned it around after last year (2-6 overall).
"The kids are real energetic. They did not let anything interfere with their work ethic. With 11 freshman we have a lot of young talent. And the seniors gave them a lot of direction."