Winter track
By: Jim Green
Junior shot putters Cierra Phillips and Devin Picott again took center-stage for the Lawrence High School winter track team Sunday at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group III Individual Championships at Princeton University.
Picott and Phillips, who recorded the fifth- and seventh-best distances in the shot put relay at the Group III Relay Championships on Jan. 18, simply swapped places at the individual championships. Phillips came in fifth (35-8 ½ feet), and Picott took seventh (34-5 ½), as the Cardinal girls tied for 15th in the team competition with four points.
Both Phillips and Picott recovered from slow starts to make a run at qualifying for the Meet of Champions.
"The first two throws they (Phillips and Picott) did in the preliminaries weren’t up to par," Lawrence girls winter track coach Gary Dura said. "They came back with their third throws. They both threw well."
Because the top-six finishers in each event make it to the Meet of Champions, which will be held Feb. 16 at Princeton University, Phillips was the only Cardinal to qualify in the shot put competition.
"I would say she (Phillips) was (pleased)," Dura said. "That’s quite an accomplishment to make it to the Meet of Champions.
"We’re proud of her. She’s coming through for us."
Picott narrowly missed joining Phillips at the Meet of Champions, as her final throw was only two inches behind that of sixth-place finisher Kendra Miles of Hamilton (34-7 ½).
Dura said Picott handled the disappointing result well.
"I was proud of the way she (Picott) conducted herself," Dura said. "She didn’t get upset. She showed a lot of maturity. She has a good attitude."
Phillips’ final throw was more than two feet longer than the distance she posted in the final of the shot put relay at the group relay championships. And Dura believes she is capable of even longer throws at both the Meet of Champions and the Mercer County Tournament.
The county tournament will take place at noon Sunday at Widener University in Chester, Pa.
"She (Phillips) had a little bit of improvement," Dura said. "She’s really looking to get 36 feet. Hopefully, at the counties, she’ll get a really good throw that will carry her to the Meet of Champions."
While Dura believes Phillips should be somewhere in the top-half of the standings at the Meet of Champions, he believes qualifying for the meet is most important.
"It’ll be interesting to see where she (Phillips) stands at the Meet of Champions," Dura said. "If you can improve on what (distance) got you there, that’s just icing on the cake."
The Cardinals’ third shot putter, junior Lauren Givens, will finally get a chance to share the spotlight with Phillips and Picott at the county meet. Because only two athletes from each school can compete in an event, Givens has been shut out of the two group championship meets.
"There’s a strong possibility we’ll get three medals out of the event (shot put)," Dura said. "Lauren (Givens) is a great competitor. She’s itching to throw."
Although the Cardinals did not score any points in the track events, Dura was pleased with the efforts of Jackie Pirre in the 400-meter dash (1:06.5) and Nia Hare-Bey (8.2 seconds) and Paige Sims (8.1) in the 55 dash.
As long as his team continues to improve, Dura will be pleased with the outcome of the county meet.
"I’m looking for our shot putters to do well and to have everyone else run their season-best," he said. "And we’ll use that as fuel for the spring."

