Senior’s solid year continues at Group III state relays
By: Justin Feil
Nikki Sciotto had a pretty good idea that the Montgomery High girls’ 4×800 relay would be strong this season.
The Cougars returned Tara Gorka, Melissa Martin and Sciotto from last year’s Penn Relays qualifying team, and added soccer standout Kristi Cordier and Princeton High transfer Eleanora Spinazzi to the mix this year. Of course, that leaves MHS with a good problem five capable runners for four spots.
"I always feel like I have to prove myself," Sciotto said. "I think it makes me push myself more. Last year, it was almost like it was guaranteed. This year, it makes me try a lot harder."
With Gorka, a Meet of Champions qualifier, still working out an Achilles injury, that left four for Sunday’s state Group III relays at Princeton University’s Jadwin Gym on Sunday. Martin, Sciotto, Spinazzi and Cordier proved they’re one fast combination as they blazed to a 10:03 timing for third place.
"Tara is obviously pretty good at the 800," Sciotto said. "Without having Tara, I thought we had a great race. I think we surprised ourselves a little bit. We were all confident we were going to medal. It was awesome to actually do it."
They weren’t the lone Cougars to celebrate a medal. Kandi Givner, Jenn Carson, Paige Godfrey and Casey Hartnett were fourth in the girls’ 4×200 and Chris Treble and Kevin Schroeck were sixth in the boys’ high jump. MHS nearly had two others, while no other Packet-area school had a medallist.
"We just missed in the (girls’) 4×400," said Montgomery coach Mike Harnett. "They were 4:26 and 4:24 was the last medallist. Kandi Givner split 62.9 anchoring the 4×400. She had a good day. She blasted off the lead leg in the 4×200. She was in lane six, which is tough because you can’t see the other runners. She just ran oblivious to the others. She pushed it and pushed it the whole way. The girls were able to run on the pole from the first exchange on. That’s something I’m big on when trying to score at a state meet. Nobody was going to catch Franklin (in the 4×200). We’re physically not ready to run under 1:50. There were three teams under 1:50 and we were the best of the rest.
"Kevin did great. He was reluctant to do (high jump) all season. He came to me and said, ‘This isn’t working.’ He’s been a great team player though. He’s been a solid hurdler. He’s filled in on the sprint medley. He’s run intermediates. He barely got over 5-3 the other day in practice. His job was to make opening height. He made 5-2 on the first try, 5-4 on the first try and 5-6 on first try. And Chris got back to jump 6-feet to that monkey is off his back. Our girls just missed a high jump medal. They were seventh."
Sciotto and her Cougar teammates entered Sunday’s meet confident that they could medal. A recent practice had given her a boost.
"We had a time trial and Coach Harnett pretty much predicted how we were going to run (Sunday)," Sciotto said. "That gave me so much confidence. We did a 600, so I knew I could run that fast. I just had to pace myself to have enough left for the last 200. That’s how I ran. I started feeling the burn at the end.
"I run the 5k, I love cross country. The 800 is kind of quick for me. I like the 800 though. It’s grown on me. I’d run that over anything in the winter."
It’s been quite a senior year for Sciotto, who enjoyed the MHS team’s best cross country season in school history this fall.
"We had an awesome season," Sciotto said. "We had Amanda Herrmann, Eleanora, Rachel Holt. Doing so well, I just wanted to keep doing well. I was feeling pretty good about running going into track season."
Medals will be tougher to come by next week when MHS returns along with Princeton High, West Windsor-Plainsboro North and WW-P South to Jadwin Gym for the individual Group III meet Sunday. But Sciotto is looking beyond the individual meet to the next time that the 4×800 will compete together and take aim at a sub-10:00 time.
"That’s always in the back of our heads," Sciotto said. "We always think about going to Penn Relays again. I definitely want to do that again. I love the big races. It’s so amazing to be able to qualify for them and compete in them. The girls talk about it. It pushes you."
Sciotto has already pushed herself to within two seconds of her personal best, a 2:29 that she set on a faster outdoor track at the Penn Relays last year. She thinks she can go faster and she thinks the 4×800 relay can improve as well.
"I definitely think the team can get faster," Sciotto said. "I think (Sunday) was an eye-opener. This is the first time we really competed in a 4×800 this year. We’re happy we ran the times we did today. We expect them to go down. We ran with (winner) Westfield and Roxbury. If we keep running with that competition, our times are bound to go down.
"I ran with the Westfield girl. I was right with her. I didn’t quite get her. Eleanora got her. The girl I was matched with was awesome. The pace was good for me. She helped me out. Usually we’re really intimated. I was always intimidated when you see the big ‘W.’ But we ran with them (Sunday). We held our own. I was proud of our whole relay team."
With the highest finish of any area team, there was plenty to be proud of for the Cougars. The 4×800 was just the biggest highlight.
"They ran step for step with Westfield," Harnett said. "They still look at them with a little awe, but any notion that they can’t run with them was dispelled today."
The Cougars knew they’d have a good 4×800 relay this season. After Sunday’s third-place finish, they learned one thing. They were right.