By: Neil Hay
They do not keep official scores and standings at the Mercer County Relays, so their 62-point total was "unofficially" Hightstown’s best showing in about 25 years, according to Coach Don Hess.
"It was tremendous," said Hess of his team’s performance Saturday at Steinert. "I’ve been involved in the program since 1979 and we never finished as high as second place. A lot of kids had good efforts. Everything came together."
In fact, the Rams produced 17 personal bests as Hightstown placed second overall (out of 17 schools), just nine points behind "unofficial" team leader Lawrence.
The Rams won three events. Jessica Haughton and Morgan Woroniecki combined to place first in the high jump with a 10 feet total. Amanda Marshall and Tara Miluszewski were best in the discus with a 218-6 collaboration. And in the javelin Kayla Miller and Miluszewski beat the field with their 213-7 effort.
The meet opened with the locals placing sixth in the 3X400 hurdles, with Haughton, Kayla Reddington and Woroniecki going 3:54.2. In the 4X100 Yaa Genfi, Cory Davis, Megan Wiseman and Alyssa Trulby went 53.3 for fourth place. And in the 4X100 hurdles Haughton, Reddington, Woroniecki and Rachel Branstrom took fourth in 1:17.2.
In the 4X200 relay Genfi, Monica Holness, Trulby and Alyson Gilchrist were clocked in 1:57.5, fifth best. The sprint medley team also took fifth, as Wiseman (200), Genfi (200), Chrissie Baumann (400) and Kristin Bircsak (800) finished in 4:41.5.
Davis and Jill Diadone gave Hightstown a third in the long jump with their 28-3 finish. Wiseman and Jessica Van Sant were third in the triple jump with a 59 6-1/2. And Marshall and Rachel Simpson took second place with a 70-2 in the shot.
After defeating host Hamilton 89 ½ – 50 ½ last Wednesday, Hightstown is now 2-0 in the Valley and has the inside track to repeat as division champions. Previously, the Rams defeated Princeton, 82 2/3-57 1/3. The locals can make it a clean sweep of their Valley foes if they defeat Nottingham on May 10.
There were many Hightstown highlights against the Hornets. Marshall set a career best 42-3 when she won the shot. Simpson added a third place in the event with her 30-3. Kayla Miller had a season best 108-8 to spark a sweep of the javelin, with the freshman Miluszewski (92-11, a personal best) and Marshall (89-7) taking second and third, respectively.
Marshall doubled when she won the discus (109-4), followed by Miluszewski’s 84-7 for second place. In the pole vault, Woroniecki’s 7-0 was second, with Kristin Pecsi’s 6-6 tied for third. In the 1600 Tori Schemelia was second (6:15) and Katie Licata third (6:21), while Bircsak’s 62.3 won the 400.
In the 100 high hurdles Haughton (17.3) and Woroniecki (18.1) ran two-three, as did Birscak (2:36) and Tanya Gordonov (2:58) in the 800. Haughton won the high jump with a personal best 5-4, just three inches off the school record. Woroniecki (second place) and Reddington (third) both high-jumped 4-10 with Woroniecki placing higher with fewer misses. In the 3200 Schemelia was second (13:46.1), ahead of Karina Martinez 13:43.1 (third). For both Reddington and Martinez, it was their first appearance of the season as they returned from a pre-season injury.
The Rams took one-two in the 200 with Genfi going 27.51, ahead of the freshman Wiseman’s 28.6. Davis took the long jump with a 15-3 personal best, while Van Sant (14-5) was third. Wiseman’s 33-6, a personal best, won the triple jump, while in the 400 intermediates Haughton’s 72.4 was second. And in the 100 Genfi (13.0) and Wiseman (13.3) ran one-two.
"We really came together as a team," said Hess of the Hamilton meet.
