By: Carolyn M. Hartko
It was the kind of week the Monroe High School track teams needed an appointment book for.
The Falcons had a busy schedule, punctuated by some highlights along the way.
Saturday, both squads were at the Huskie Relays in Matawan. On Monday, the boys traveled to Sayreville for a dual meet, and the girls hosted Mother Seton. Wednesday, both Falcon teams welcomed Carteret and Cardinal McCarrick for a double/dual meet.
Monday’s meet was a tough one for the boys, as they lost to the Bombers 68-63. But 60 percent of the Falcons (0-2) posted personal best times or distances as they tackled a strong White Division team.
"This is our first time in the White Division, and I was pleased with our performance," boys’ head coach Tom Tramaglini said. "(Sayreville) has a lot of very good athletes. But we performed over our heads a little bit today. I really am seeing a team that is a very hearty kind of team. They work very hard, and it’s showing on the track."
Each team had its strengths. Sayreville dominated the sprints, but Monroe had the edge in the distance races. Junior co-captain Chris Sardone tripled, taking the 800 meters (2:12.6), the 1600 (5:06.8) and running a leg of the winning 4×400 relay. Rob McGowan, Jaryd Schick and Diego Delgado were the other members of the 4×400 squad.
"Jaryd Schick had a really good day," Tramaglini said. "He scored 14 points. And Diego scored seven points."
Schick’s other first place finish was in the long jump (18-1). Senior co-captain Tom Kowaleski scored Monroe’s only first in the throwing events, winning the shot put with a toss of 45-11.
"Overall, we’re getting a lot better," Tramaglini said. "I knew it would happen, and we’re starting to really feel that we’re doing well."
While the boys were pushed to the limits on Monday, the girls had a 94-19 cakewalk over Mother Seton.
"It was just very difficult for us to run against a team like that," Lady Falcon head coach Lew Stonaker said. "They’re in our division now, so we’ve got no choice. I didn’t even run some of my kids, but there was nothing I could do about that score."
There were only two races the Falcons (2-0) did not win: the 100 dash and the high hurdles. Junior Ashley Theinert won the 200 (28.3 seconds) and the 400 intermediate hurdles (1:12.8). Freshman Megan Allen picked up her first varsity points with a first place finish in the 800 (2:56.6). Another first time winner was junior Anika Potter who led a Falcon sweep in the 400 (1:10), followed by Najla Williams in second and Stephanie Makris in third. Freshman Sasha Potter added second place points in the 200. The other winners on the track were Liz Segarra (1600, 5:42.7) and Nova Roman (3200, 12:25.6).
In the field events, the high jump and pole vault were not contested, but Meg Farrell won the long jump (14-1). Asya Perry took the shot put (28-6) and Allison Baumlin aced the discus (86-5). Lindsay Jones won the javelin with a throw of 88-2.
"There were some nice performances," Stonaker said. "It was a chance to mix it up, get some young kids involved, and get them scoring points. I let the young kids get their shot today."
Both teams were disappointed with the Huskie Relays on Saturday. A combination of bad weather for the first part of the day, and a lack of efficiency caused by too many teams for the facilities to handle left a bad taste behind.
"They just got too big for themselves," Stonaker said. "It’s nice to make money, but not at the expense of other people. It was the longest track meet I’ve ever lived through. And then our bus broke down, just to make the day complete."
The best finish for the Falcons came in the girls 3×400 intermediate hurdles. Ashley Maguire, Theinert and Christina Vasquez came in third. Segarra, Debbie Stelmaszczyk, Farrell and Roman finished sixth in the distance medley.
In the boys’ competition, Monroe came in fifth in the discus (Tim Payne and Jeff Jaworowski) and sixth in the jav (Jim Allinder and Matt Horsch).
The results of Wednesday’s meet were not available at press time.
This coming weekend, the boys and most of the girls’ team will be at the Holmdel Relays on Saturday. Stonaker is taking some of his top relay squads to a more competitive meet, the Fr. Judge Relays in Philadelphia.

