BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — The Metuchen High School boys winter track team put forth a strong showing at the NJSIAA Group I Relay Championships at Jadwin Gym on the campus of Princeton University this weekend.
The team finished in a tie for second place with Bordentown at 28 points behind top finisher Shore Regional’s 32 points. Whippany Park and Roselle Catholic tied for third with 27 points.
“Having five schools finish that close to the top usually doesn’t happen,” Metuchen head coach Marty Holleran said. “Usually one or two teams dominate the field, but this year it was a really good meet. Our kids left everything at the meet.”
The 4×200 relay team of Marcus Farris, Dan Ziznewski, Justin Smoot and Greg Lewis led the Bulldogs with a first place finish in 1:37.33.
“I was real pleased with their time and how they ran the race,” Holleran said. “They turned in a good time for that facility, and without wearing spikes.”
The shuttle hurdle relay team of Stephon Cooper, Shawn Murtagh, Kyle Edmonds and Colin Adamo took second at 32.8 behind the team from Seneca High School.
“The hurdle team has been running very well,” Holleran said. “They continue to do what they’ve been doing all season.”
Jeff Ostermueller teamed up with Farris, Smoot and Ziznewski to finish fifth in the sprint medley at a time of 3:49.7.
In the 4×400, Farris, Lewis, Ostermueller and Ziznewski finished just behind the winning team from Bordentown to capture second place in 3:38.6. Bordentown took top honors with a time of 3:37.27.
“The 4×400 was one of the most competitive races at the meet,” Holleran said. “Many of our guys only had a 30-minute rest between races and they did a great job to take second. I thought Ziznewski ran an outstanding anchor to catch the kid that was in second.”
Also turning in a respectable performance was the 4×800 team that fell just short of medalling. The team comprised of senior Mike Merson and sophomores Victor Thomas, Jon Azzara and Doug Bonner finished in 9:14.
“The team did a good job, especially the young kids,” Holleran said. “It was the first time competing in a big meet for some of them.”
Shot putters Andy Draina and Khrum Shah both cleared 39 feet, which shows tremendous potential for the approaching spring season.
“Their performance was definitely a good sign of things to come,” Holleran said. “For Khrum, it was a solid job in just his first track meet.”
In the girls competition, Metuchen finished a respectable eighth place with nine points on the day. Bishop Eustace finished took the Group I title with 62 points.
Metuchen’s 4×400 relay team of Chelsea Fisher, Cara O’Neill, Misha Shah and Shannon Ruegger led the team with a second place finish in 4:20.61.
“The team has been running well,” Holleran said. “It was a solid time for that particular track.”
Fisher and fellow sophomore Susan Golbe teamed up with seniors Shah and O’Neill to finish sixth in the 4X200 in 1:55.3. It was their best-recorded time of the season.
The all-underclassmen team of Hannah Clenent, Soha Shah, Deirdre Lippay and Fiona Weeks took seventh in the 4×800 with a time of 11:19.
“The 4×800 team came up just short of placing,” Holleran said. “It was a good day overall, though.”
Both the boys and girls teams will compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference Relays this week. The field events were scheduled for Tuesday while the running events are set to take place at 6 p.m. Thursday at Farleigh Dickinson University. The GMC Individual Championships are scheduled for Jan. 27 at FDU.