Lawrence indoor track
By: Jim Green
When a track team sets two program records at a meet, you know that squad has brought its best effort that day.
The Lawrence High School girls team did just that Sunday at the Group III state relay championships at Princeton University’s Jadwin Gymnasium, setting team marks in both the 4×200 and 4×400 relays. That brought the number of indoor track school records already broken this season to four, as senior Emmanuel Lalota already set the boys shot put mark, and senior Paige Sims earlier broke the girls record in the 200-meter dash.
"I’m very pleased with everything in general," Lawrence coach Dave O’Neal said. "The whole season has been positive after positive. The team is coming together."
The 4×200 team of Sims, senior Jackie Pirre, junior Beth Korkuch and sophomore Danae Lendor set the school indoor mark at 1:56.13, placing 13th in the meet. The same four girls comprised the 4×400 team, which placed eighth with a Cardinal best time of 4:22.11.
The girls team had several other outstanding performances. Junior Janelle Fuller finished second overall in the shot put with a distance of 35-6, while junior Elise Perkins added a solid throw of 28-9. The 1,600 sprint medley team of sophomores Kelly Watson and Erica Buher, junior Stephanie Karpowicz and senior Christine Pan finished in 5:08.86.
The boys squad’s 4×400 team of seniors Hezekiah McRae and Brian Scott and sophomores Justin Fein and Andrew Santora had a solid 16th-place finish at 3:46.14, and the 55 shuttle hurdles team of Scott, Santora, sophomore Marc Guieb and McRae took 15th at 36.53. The 4×200 squad of Guieb, senior Brandon Wilkins, freshman Brian Mills and sophomore Peter Musial finished in 1:45.46, while the 1,600 sprint medley group of Mills, Musial, Guieb and senior Brendan Gregory came in at 4:35.93.
"The performances at the state meet were outstanding," O’Neal said. "It’s really attributed to the number of kids that ran spring track last year that made a commitment to run in the winter."
Those holdovers from last spring include Santora, Fine, Korkuch and Lendor. The team also has added some talented first-year runners, including Musial, who is making an immediate impact.
"We’ve got a lot of new faces out there," O’Neal said. "Pete Musial is in his first time out, and he has run some spectacular races. He’s already run the state minimum in the 55 dash and the open 200."
The Cardinal boys have benefited from a strong group of throwers, including Lalota and seniors Bill Wolverton and Vinny DiMeglio. Another holdover from the spring, DiMeglio is gearing up to finish his outdoor track career on a high note.
"He knew if he was going to have an outstanding senior spring season, he was going to have to commit to the winter season," O’Neal said.
The overall effect of the renewed enthusiasm O’Neal has created for the track program is a huge total roster. The Cardinals finished last indoor season with 38 total athletes. This season, the boys team alone consists of 32 athletes, while the girls squad has 25 members.
"We’ve almost doubled our total numbers from last year," O’Neal said.
Among those 25 girls, there are many strong performers. Fuller and Perkins have teamed to replace graduated Devin Picott and Cierra Phillips, who had been the team’s top weapons in recent years.
"If they (Fuller and Perkins) threw their best on Sunday, they could have won," said O’Neal of his shot put team, which combined to place fifth in the relay at 64-3. "To lose Devin Picott and Cierra Phillips and have two juniors step in like that is a huge positive."
The runners also are deep and talented, with Korkuch and Lendor competing in their first indoor season, and junior Nicole McMullen, who reached the Meet of Champions in the 100 last spring, switching over from basketball last week.
"That really improves the team all around," O’Neal said. "It’s just been a very positive season, every meet we go to."
With McMullen joining the fold, the Cardinals now have their entire 4×400 team that reached the Group III championships last spring. O’Neal, though, is not sure whether or not he will reunite that group during the winter season.
"We’re in the process of trying to set up our county meet what’s the best way to utilize all our athletes, because the team is so deep," O’Neal said. "We have a lot of athletes."
The Mercer County Championships will take place Feb. 9 at Widener University in Pennsylvania. Before the Cardinal girls, who finished third in the county last spring, can make a push for a county title, they will look to have a strong effort at the Group III individual championships, which take place at 9 a.m. Sunday at Jadwin. The Cardinals hope to have someone advance out of a group that includes Sims and Pirre in the 400, Lendor in the 400 hurdles, and Fuller and Perkins in the shot put. McMullen will not be competing in the state meet, as she joined the team too late in the season.
"Hopefully, out of that mix, we’ll have a couple of people move on," O’Neal said.
But the team’s main focus is being placed squarely on the county meet.
"The state meet is so difficult as far as team championships go, because there are so many teams," O’Neal said. "In the county, we feel the girls have a legitimate chance."