Long days help Laporta to Meet of Champions

WW-PS’ Miller, MHS girls’ relay also advance

By: Justin Feil
   Steve Laporta understands what it means to put in a long day of work.
   Three days a week, the Montgomery High senior arrives at school shortly after 6 a.m. to lift weights. It’s something he started doing in cross country season as a junior. After school, he goes to track practice where he works out with the sprinters. And frequently, he’s one of the last members of the Cougar track team to leave because the hurdlers stay late to work on technique.
   Laporta’s dedication paid off Sunday when he took fourth place in the state Group II high hurdles to qualify for the Meet of Champions.
   "It was a pretty good day for me," said Laporta, whose time of 8.16 secured all four of the MHS boys’ points. "I think that last year I was in the 30s. Just from practicing and working with good coaches, I got better.
   "This is my first time making the Meet of Champions. I knew I had a shot, but I didn’t think I’d be fourth. I was pretty surprised. It’s definitely a good surprise."
   Laporta was also teamed up with Brad Pottorf, Bryan Weber and Brad Forbes for the Cougar 4×400 team that broke the school record with a time of 3:41.39. But Laporta was the lone MHS boy to advance to the Meet of Champions when the 4×400 finished 12th, and he earned all four points for the 22nd-place Cougars. Only the top six advance automatically to the Meet of Champions.
   For the Montgomery girls, the 4×400 team of Catherine Singley, Laura Singley, Jenn Carson and Tara Gorka also reached the Meet of Champions by placing fourth. They also broke the school record with a time of 4:16.44 to pick up all four of the 21st-place Cougars’ points.
   "The girls’ relay did a really nice time," said MHS head coach Jen Riddell. "They broke their record again. They’ve broken it a couple times. They really pulled it together. And Catherine, as a senior, was happy."
   Lisa Miller of West Windsor-Plainsboro High South was the only other Packet-area competitor to advance to the Meet of Champions. The Pirate sophomore was third in the Group III mile in 5:18.67 after taking sixth in the two-mile with an 11:40.48 to pick up all seven points for WW-PS, which finished 10th.
   "She never ran both in a meet before," said WW-PS head coach Todd Smith. "She ended up running her third fastest mile and that was after she did her best two-mile time. Michelle Barbarasch also went 5:30 in the mile which is a PR this season.
   "The two-mile is a good race for Lisa to be in. I knew she could do it. Her main concern was the two-mile, but after she took sixth, she was happy and she just went out and got third in the mile."
   And while Miller’s MOC qualification was not much of a surprise considering that she had reached that stage in cross country this fall, Laporta’s advancement came only after recent strides had set his sights higher.
   "I didn’t think I had a shot at states coming into the season," he said. "My goal was just to see if I could make it under 8 (seconds). States didn’t become a goal until a couple weeks ago. I was placing at all the individual meets and my times went down."
   Laporta was seeded by his season-best 7.78 finish. It’s a time that he has attributes to his extra work in the early morning.
   "That’s where I get my speed," he said. "Our coach has us lift after practice sometimes as well."
   "He’s very dedicated," Riddell said. "That’s how I think he’s made those big strides happen. He’s a captain and he really sets the pace for the team."
   It’s no surprise that the MHS co-captain sets that example for teammates. And other Cougars can see where it’s gotten Laporta, who was 36th in the same event last season.
   "It’s a long day," he said. "But after working hard, making it to the Meet of Champions is definitely what I wanted. I’m looking forward to it."
   Laporta has two weeks to prepare. In the meantime, he’ll be gearing up for the Skyland Conference Championships to be held Friday. For the rest of the area competitors, the Mercer County Championships will be held at Widener University in Pennsylvania on Sunday.
   "Our better chance to really do well is next week in counties," said PHS boys’ head coach John Woodside. "What we’re going to look for is guys to step up and go for higher places. We want to challenge Ewing and Notre Dame. Nobody is touching Trenton. Top three is what I’m looking for."
   At the Group III meet Sunday, Princeton’s Matt Susan was seventh in the 55-meter dash in 6.78 seconds, the 4×400 team came in ninth in 3:37.85 and Mike Huse finished second in his heat, 14th overall, in the two mile with a time of 10:21.9.
   "Today was a good set-up," Woodside said of the state meet. "It was much harder and much deeper than we’ll see. If you look at how we did against CVC schools, we did well. It could be very interesting next week. We need to take charge and realize we can do something next week."
   For the PHS girls, the counties will be a chance at redemption after a difficult day at the Group III meet Sunday. The Little Tigers’ 4×400 relay of Alison Crowley, Kia Anderson, Meaghan Lynch and Laura Golubieski took ninth. Crowley was 14th in the 55 hurdles.
   "We had some inadequate warm-ups," said PHS girls’ head coach Andre Bridgett. "We had a loss of focus. Counties will be a chance to do better."
   Vance Williams’ 18th-place showing in the high hurdles was the top performance for the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North boys in the Group II on Sunday.
   "I think if he had made the finals, we would have had a chance," WW-PN head coach Brian Gould said. "On the girls’ side, Caroline Kirkup ran a two-second P.R. in the 400 and immediately she set herself another goal.
   "The nice thing was how none of the kids seemed like they were satisfied. All of them are looking to set new PRs for next year. That’s the kind of kids we have there. That’s why I like being there. We had a lot of underclassmen run well. I’m definitely looking too next weekend to be a big weekend. We’re looking to have a big weekend. We’re looking to set a lot new PRs. They’re not done yet."
   Todd Smith is looking for much the same from the WW-PS teams, both of which will be done with the winter season with the exception of Miller after the county meet.
   "It’ll be on a smaller stage," Smith said. "The boys should be a little more competitive. We’re looking for a little redemption. And our girls should be competitive."