Marcsisin, Uniszkiewicz score big points
By: Rudy Brandl
Hillsborough High distance runners Allison Marcsisin and Ashley Uniszkiewicz knew what they had to do and by the time they were finished, the Raider girls had clinched their first Central Jersey Group 4 team track and field title since 1999.
The HHS girls were clinging to a five-point lead entering Saturday’s second day of sectional action but blew the meet wide-open and dethroned three-time defending champion Trenton rather easily. Hillsborough wound up with 94 points, comfortably in front of Trenton (73) and local rival Hunterdon Central (58).
"The girls have been doing that all year," Raider head coach Rich Refi said. "Every time it looks like trouble, they step it up. Whether or not it’s the best team I’ve ever coached is debatable, but it’s definitely the gutsiest team I’ve ever seen."
Marcsisin and Uniszkiewicz led the way with a huge 1-2 finish in Saturday’s 3,200-meter run. The "Dynamic Distance Duo" had placed second and third for 14 points in Friday’s 1,600 but moved up a notch to compile 18 more points to clinch the team title.
"We knew the distance points would really count today," said Marcsisin, a freshman who’s starting to make a big name for herself on the state circuit. "We were only up by five points coming into today so Ashley and I knew we had to do it."
Marcsisin and Uniszkiewicz followed Refi’s instructions and ran the race together, out in front, making sure they’d cross in the first two places. Marcsisin eventually pulled into the lead and won in a time of 11:12.5, while Uniszkiewicz was right there for second in 11:14.0.
"That was basically our plan," Uniszkiewicz said. "Coach Refi knows we can push each other and work together like we do in workouts. It seemed to work pretty well."
The Marcsisin-Uniszkiewicz combo did some major damage on the first day of action in some red-hot competition. Both HHS distance stars established new personal-bests by more than three seconds to close in on Kristen Meyer’s school record in the 1,600. Marcsisin sizzled to second place in 5:06.5 and Uniszkiewicz placed third in 5:10.0. Hunterdon Central star Casey Nelson won the fast-paced race in 5:00.5.
"I tried staying with her because I knew what she could run and if I stayed with her I could get points for our team," Marcsisin said. "She’s so much fun to run against. She really pushes you."
Uniszkiewicz watched her teammate challenge Nelson and tried to keep pace. As it turned out, she needed to run a personal-best just to score in this competitive race. Uniszkiewicz wasn’t content to grab a point or two, so she stormed past a few runners on the final lap to finish third.
"Coach Refi was yelling, ‘points, points’ so I just passed a few girls at the 300 mark," Uniszkiewicz said. "I don’t even know where I got the energy to pass them. I just gave it everything I had."
While Uniszkiewicz and Marcsisin combined for 32 points, several other HHS girls contributed to the team championship. The point breakdown was somewhat surprising but it reflected the depth and character of this team.
Senior superstar Erin Crawford didn’t have her usual dominant showing, but she still scored 20 points and moved on in three events. Crawford won the triple jump (36-7) but finished third in the 400 hurdles (1:04.3) and fourth in the 100 hurdles (14.8). She was disappointed in her own performance but enjoyed watching her teammates pull out the victory.
"I was really, really upset after the first day when everything went so bad except for the triple jump," Crawford said. "I didn’t have a great day but this was a complete team effort. I can’t believe how much everyone did. They totally pulled it out for us."
The triple jump turned out to be a big event for the Raiders, with three girls scoring a total of 20 points. Junior Jenizah Melendez finished third (34-8½) and senior Caitlin Kosec took fourth (34-4½).
Hillsborough had its biggest point burst in the pole vault, led by sectional champion Eileen Cafferty, who established a new school record with a 9-7 effort. Teammate Nicole Humphrey had set the old mark at the county meet but Cafferty soared an inch higher to beat the rest of the field by over a foot. Teammates Robin Friedman (2nd, 8-6) and Humphrey (4th, 8-6) also earned medals.
Cafferty spent part of the season injured and also had to overcome the theft of her pole at the county meet. She found a new pole, consulted with coach Dave Minetti and focused on her mission.
"Today was kind of a breakout day," Cafferty said. "This is great, but records always have to be broken. We’re all doing really well and we’re all really strong. All three of us made it (to the State Group 1 Championships)."
Melendez accumulated 15 points, also taking third in the javelin (107-2), fifth in the long jump (16-11) and sixth in the shot put (34-5). Other scorers for the HHS girls included senior Lauren Kloss in the 400 hurdles (5th, 1:06.0) and Courtney Siegel in the javelin (6th, 96-10).
"I thought it would be a little closer," Refi said. "When I went home last night and looked at the events, I thought it would be really close. We just stepped it up today."

