Hopewell track team in midseason form

Winter track

By: Jim Green
   Although the Hopewell Valley Central High School winter track team is still in preseason mode, it was in midseason form Saturday at the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) Invitational at The Armory Track and Field Center in New York.
   Highlighted by a 4×800-meter relay team that finished second with a time of 9:56.63, the Hopewell Valley girls winter track team finished tied for 10th at the meet with 18 team points. It was the first meet this season in which the entire Hopewell Valley co-ed winter track team competed.
   "It was a good day," Hopewell Valley girls winter track coach Aaron Oldfield said. "It was a long day, but it was well worth it."
   Despite having missed a great deal of practice time early in the season due to unfavorable weather conditions, the Lady Bulldogs’ 4×800 team of seniors Kate Willever, Sarah Seiler and Jessie Pall and sophomore Lucy Weise posted a time more than 14 seconds better than it had at the 2002 Group II state relay championships.
   The Lady Bulldogs’ performance in the 4×800 qualified the team to possibly compete in the 2003 Penn Relays. Hopewell Valley’s distance medley relay team of Willever, Seiler, Pall and sophomore Natalie Mapp also qualified for the Penn Relays with a time of 12:39 at the Holiday Classic on Dec. 27.
   "I don’t know how we’re getting where we are with all the practices we’ve missed," Oldfield said. "All the times are encouraging."
   While the Lady Bulldogs have qualified for the prestigious Penn Relays in two events, they are not guaranteed acceptance in either. The size of the field of schools qualifying for the meet will ultimately determine the cut-off time in each event.
   For that reason, Hopewell Valley will look to continue improving its times in upcoming events. That will start with the Lavino Relays meet in Lawrenceville at 1 p.m. Saturday.
   "It’s still very early with our racing," Oldfield said. "We’ll be on the track a lot in the next week or so. Hopefully, we’ll get faster and faster."
   Junior Allison Sheridan provided another highlight at the PSAL Invitational by placing fourth in the shot put with a mark of 31-1 ½. Sheridan placed 24th in the shot put at the 2002 Group II state individual championships with a distance of 27-10 ½.
   Willever finished fourth in the 3,000-meter run at the PSAL Invitational with a time of 11:13.38, while Pall took fifth in the 1,000-meter run at 3:11.69. The Lady Bulldogs’ 4×200-meter relay team of Pall, Mapp, senior Kristen Avagliano and sophomore Emily Palombo placed ninth in 1:57.
   "All of them (the Lady Bulldogs) impressed me," Oldfield said. "There was a lot of good competition there."
   The Hopewell Valley boys winter track team, which does not possess the depth of the girls team, had its top performance at the PSAL Invitational in the 55-meter hurdles. Seniors Matt Griswold (8.42) and Nick Wright (8.77) placed seventh and eighth in the event, respectively.
   Andrew Freeman (4:51) and Mike Batanian (5:07) posted solid times in their respective heats during the 4×400-meter relay, while seniors Nick Tramdeck (41 feet) and Matt Templon (39 feet) had strong throws in the shot put.
   "The (the Bulldogs) are progressing nicely," Oldfield said. "The lack of depth hurts them. On the track, they have only two seniors with experience.
   "They’re really young, and they’re working hard. The future looks bright for them."
   The future is now, though, for the Lady Bulldogs, who figure to be strong candidates to repeat as Group II state champions in both the relay and individual meets this winter.
   "We just look at the dual meets as getting ready for the states," Oldfield said. "We have a lot of questions that need answering. It’s a lot of training, but it’s also a lot of answers."