Boys gunning for sixth in row
By: Rudy Brandl
Hillsborough High’s indoor track and field teams are having another big year, but no season will be complete without a title in the Skyland Conference Championships.
The Raiders will compete for the conference indoor crown tomorrow night at Rauch Fieldhouse on the campus of Lehigh University. The first event is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.
HHS has achieved a proud tradition in the Skyland since joining the indoor circuit in the 1998-99 campaign. The boys have captured all five conference indoor team titles, while the girls have won two of the last three.
"I know Franklin wants to knock us off real bad," Raider head coach Rich Refi said. "We’ve got five in a row and we’d like to make it six."
Franklin should provide the biggest threat to Hillsborough’s supremacy in both competitions. The Franklin girls are the last team other than HHS to win the team indoor title. Hunterdon Central won consecutive titles in the late 1990s, followed by Hillsborough and Franklin before the Raider girls reclaimed the title last winter.
Hillsborough will count on depth and balance to defend its championships. The Raiders aren’t strong in the sprints but they have plenty of talent in the hurdles, distance events and field events. Franklin has the sprinters and hurdlers and Central boasts a few top-notch distance runners.
Franklin is likely to take the early lead, with the hurdles and 55 dash opening the event card. The program follows with the 3,200 and 800, followed by the 400 and 1,600. As usual, the 4×400 relay finishes the meet. The shot put and high jump will be contested simultaneously in an area adjacent to the track. Athletes are permitted to compete in four events. Teams may use three athletes per event.
Several athletes bound for the Meet of Champions will grace the track and field. Hillsborough stars Erin Crawford and Lauren Kloss will battle Franklin’s Jenna Harris and Coryn Gomez. It’s likely that Crawford and Harris will engage in a head-to-head duel in the 400. Kloss will try to beat Franklin’s dynamic duo in the hurdles.
"I think we can win it again," Crawford said. "We have so many people who can help us. I think we’ll be dominant because we can place in everything."
Crawford and Kloss will lead the way, but the HHS girls will need points from junior Ashley Uniszkiewicz in the distance events and junior Jenizah Melendez in the shot put. Other potential contributors for the girls include high jumpers Nicole Humphrey and Marissa Van Cleef, distance runners Jess Tsai, Eileen Cafferty and Kelda Nelson and sprinter Yaneisha Warrick.
The girls lost a close one at the Group 4 relays," Refi said. "This is our last chance to win a title. There’s only one more we can win."
The Hillsborough senior boys are determined to leave high school with a spotless record in conference competition. The only way to accomplish that is with another championship tomorrow.
"You can ask anybody on this team the conference is the biggest meet," said HHS senior Nick Vaccaro, one of the favorites in the distance races. "We’re five-time defending champs but we’re not taking anything for granted. It’s going to be exciting."
Vaccaro and fellow seniors Mike Klueber, Hector Tirado and Tony Flores lead a contingent of proud upperclassmen who don’t want to see the streak end. Last year, senior Matt Lunemann had a breakout night at the Skyland meet to keep the Raiders on top. Lunemann won the 1,600 to lead a 22-point assault that gave the Raiders the momentum to win the title.
The Raiders expect Franklin and Central to provide major opposition again this year. Franklin’s Porter brothers, Jeff and Joe, combined for 15 points in the hurdles and sprints at Sunday’s State Group 3 Championships. Central’s dynamic distance crew, led by Chris Pannone and Jon Fox, will square off with the Raider standouts.
"It’s going to be a three-team meet," Vaccaro said. "I think we have the edge. We’ve been working hard."
Joe Brennan, Erik Szabocsik and freshman Brian Dennis provide depth in the distance events, where the Raiders will look to pile up points. Tirado is the favorite in the shot put, while Flores figures to score in the hurdles. Other scoring threats for the boys include Franklin Andreyko in the hurdles and sprints, Bryan Fox and Jim Morley in the high jump and Matt Bruce in the shot put.
"This is a big meet for the boys," Refi said. "We have a lot of tradition on the line."

