BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer
JACKSON — Alton Johnson and the Jackson High School girls indoor track team are really looking forward to this weekend’s NJSIAA Group IV championship meet at Princeton.
With all the success the Lady Jaguars’ program has experienced in recent memory, Jackson has never captured a Group IV crown. And Johnson and his talented squad are anxious to add the title to their impressive résumé.
“This is kind of a special meet for us,” Johnson said. “We’ve never won this event before, so we are especially focused on putting forth our best effort. I feel we have a very good chance to challenge for the overall crown. It won’t be easy, but we have a lot of talented kids on this team.
“As it has all season long, depth will be the issue for us. If we can pull out a number of second-, third- and fourth-place finishes, it will help us achieve this goal.”
Jackson met little resistance in capturing the Ocean County Relay title last weekend in Jersey City. The Lady Jags compiled a total of 66 points en route to beating Toms River North by a gaudy 24 points.
“The girls performed very well,” Johnson said. “We wanted to get into this meet and take care of business without getting injured. We looked pretty sharp in spots.”
Of course, taking the crown was a little bit easier as a number of Ocean County schools failed to partake in the event. Both Toms River East and Toms River South along with Monsignor Donovan did not compete in the competition.
“It took a little of the fun out of the competition since those schools weren’t there,” Johnson said. “We like to compete against those teams. They have a lot of talented athletes and always give us a run for our money.”
Jackson opened the event by winning the shuttle hurdles relay. The squad of Bryanna Johnson, Sophia lliadis, Angel Colandrea and Kelly Fortune posted a time of 33.9 to win the race easily.
“We got off well in that race and finished really strong,” Johnson said. “We have a lot of depth when it comes to hurdling. We pride ourselves on being a strong hurdling team.”
Rebecca Graziano and Shaakira West combined for a toss of 64 feet 5 inches to win the shot put event.
Jackson also captured both the 4×800 and the 4×200 events. Erin Kennedy, Jenn Clausen, Vallerie Sidhoum and Fortune teamed up to win the 800 in a time of 10:07.2. The quartet of Jordan Bunch, Nicole Castronuova, Johnson and Lauren Blake won the 200 in 1:51.4 to beat a team from Lakewood High School.
Later in the day, Bunch, Castronuova, Ashley Mlotkiewicz and Blake combined to win the 4×400 in a time of 4:21.6.
Castronuova and Fortune combined for a leap of 9 feet 3 inches to finish as runner-up in the high jump. Christine lliadis, Sue Curci, Ebere Okparae and Ashley Avilleira teamed to place sixth in the sprint medley relay with a time of 4:57.1.
“The kids are ready for this weekend,” Johnson said. “We’re healthy for the most part. If we remain focused and run the kinds of races we are capable of doing, we’re going to put ourselves in a position to challenge for the title.”
Blake heading to UPenn
Each time Blake ran with her high school teammates in the Penn Relays, she would cherish the experience of visiting the University of Pennsylvania’s striking Franklin Field.
Now that she has accepted the Ivy League university’s offer to participate in the school’s athletic program, she’ll get to call her “dream field” home.
“It is this huge and amazing field that is just so great to run in,” said the Jackson Memorial High School senior. “It’s been such a dream of mine and I’m so excited to know that it’s going to be a reality.”
Blake, who was accepted “early decision” by the school, just accepted a grant from the school and signed her letter of intent to attend. Her coach and her principal said she was recruited to participate in their athletic program as much for her academic strengths as for her athletic ability.
“This is the Ivy League, this is the big time,” said high school principal Linda Jewell. “They don’t invite students for this program unless they are extremely strong academically and can compete in both the academic and athletic arenas. This choice creates a wonderful opportunity for Lauren and her education there will open doors of opportunity for her that she can’t even imagine right now.”
Coach Alton Johnson said the fact that Blake was recruited so heavily and asked to join so early in the selection process is a testament to her abilities both on and off the field.
“This is an amazing opportunity for Lauren, and a good opportunity for the school because they are getting a great competitor,” Johnson said. “It’s the perfect conference for her to compete in and you just can’t beat the academic opportunity — it’s a great combination.”
Blake’s parents said they couldn’t be more pleased with her choice or more proud of their daughter’s accomplishments.
“There were so many coaches and schools that she was considering, but when this came up we were just so thrilled,” said Diane Blake, who is an elementary school teacher in Jackson. “We felt it was the best place for her to get the most valuable academic and athletic experience. She’s worked hard for this and she deserves the best.”
Bill Blake, who owns Harmony Printing in Jackson, said he and his wife are looking forward to being able to continue their tradition of watching Lauren compete.
“We’ve been to every one of her meets throughout high school and cheered for her for so many years that we couldn’t have
imagined not seeing her run through her college years,” Bill Blake said. “Now, we’ll get to be there for her as she moves through the next phase of her life.”
The Blake family said the recruitment process, school visits and choices were starting to get hectic and a bit confusing as Lauren considered her options. But when the University of Pennsylvania stepped up with an invitation and grant offer, the choice became clear.
“It’s just so great to be able to realize this dream,” Lauren said. “I couldn’t be happier.”