Davis wins Group II discus event by 18 feet

Erica Davis will be joined by several NBC teammates in the Meet of Champions.

By: Sean Moylan
    With each and every meet, Erica Davis, arguably the greatest female athlete in the history of Northern Burlington High School, seems to outdo herself.
    This past Friday, the 6-foot-3 senior made a throw of 133 feet 4 inches to win the discus event by 18 feet at the Group II state championship at Egg Harbor High School.
    Then, on Saturday, Davis set a school record when she unleashed a 41-foot-7 ¾ mark to take a second place in the shot put event.
    Davis had the lead in the shot until the very last throw when she was topped by a girl from Raritan.
    "She’s throwing really well," said NBC Coach Steve Alustiza. "Right now (going into today’s Meet of Champions), she’s seeded fifth out of all the discus throwers and she’s seeded sixth in the shot put.
    Last Friday, NBC’s Tasha Leake jumped 5 feet 6 to capture second place in the high jump and advance to the Meet of Champions. Leake is considered to be one of the state’s finest jumpers.
    In the long jump, Leake placed 10th overall with a distance of 15 feet 2 inches. Unfortunately, only the top six advance.
    The competition was fierce in the javelin. Nevertheless, NBC’s Aleyna Schafer came in 12th place with her 109 foot 2 throw.
    Nikki Salenetri ran a 15th-place 2:27.43 time for Northern in the 800 while Sara Grossman placed 17th in the 3200 with a time of 12:16.64.
    NBC’s girls’ team finished the weekend with 26 points, which was sixth best in Group II.
    BOYS



    On the boys’ side, the Greyhounds scored 7 points thanks in large part to Danny Alustiza, who placed third in the high jump with a height of 6-4.

    "That’s good. He just missed clearing 6-6," noted Coach Alustiza, who helps out with the boys’ team.

    NBC’s 4X400 relay team (Eric Munoz, Willie Munoz, Darnell Smith and Troy Norton) broke the school record with an incredible 3:26.7 fifth-place finish.

    They are all scheduled to compete in the Meet of Champions, which will be held today because of yesterday’s rain.

    Willie Munoz placed seventh in the 400 with a 50.49 second-
place time.

    "Willie Munoz just missed placing by two one-hundreths of a second," added Coach Alustiza.

    "They all did a good job even the kids that didn’t qualify. We had a good weekend."

    Going into today’s Meet of Champions, Davis, Leake, Alustiza and the NBC boys’ relay team were all putting up some of the better numbers in the state.