Andreyko leads way on track, in field
By: Rudy Brandl
The Manville High track and field team has already surpassed last year’s dual meet win total with half of the season remaining.
After splitting a home tri-meet with Jonathan Dayton and Oratory Prep earlier in the week, the Mustangs improved to 3-2 with Thursday’s 73-58 victory at Roselle Park. A season-high five different MHS athletes captured gold in the win, while many others contributed second and third places.
"I thought we were going to be at least .500 this year," MHS first-year head coach Michelle Mongillo said. "I had a feeling we could be above that with the group we have."
Mike Andreyko continued his solid season with four first places in the win at Park. Andreyko prevailed in the 400 hurdles (65.0), 110 highs (19.6), 3,200 meters (11:43) and javelin (131-10). Those 20 points gave the Mustangs a pretty good start, but certainly weren’t the only ones needed for victory.
Four other MHS athletes won events, led by multiple winner Leo Rodriguez. The Manville sophomore took first place in the 100 (12.6) and 200 (25.5) for his first sprint double of the season. Other winners were Rich Ozieblo in the 800 (2:46), Armand Fodorean in the discus (112-5) and Mike Knitowski in the long jump (17-10½).
Manville wasn’t shut out in any event at Roselle Park and was only blanked in the 800 in the tri-meet. That’s a major improvement over the season opening loss at Bound Brook where the team’s depth was a question mark. The emergence of several younger athletes has given the Mustangs more scoring punch under the big names.
"I told them we can’t just have first places," Mongillo said. "We need some backup."
Two freshmen have been stepping up to provide much needed depth. The versatile Chris Kocur has been chipping in for the past few weeks. Last week, distance runner Adam Wolcott made his mark.
Wolcott, a three-sport athlete who also ran cross country and wrestled for the Mustangs, placed in two distance races at Roselle Park. Wolcott finished second in the 3,200 (12:45) and third in the 1,600 (5:35).
"Adam’s coming along in the distance events," Mongillo said. "He’s been fluctuating around 13 (minutes) but came back down last week. He’s a nice compliment to Mike (Andreyko)."
Knitowski, Fodorean and Rodriguez added second and third places to their event victories. Knitowski finished second in the 400 (59.9) and high jump (5-4). Fodorean took second in the shot put (35-9) and Rodriguez placed second in the long jump (15-7½) and triple jump (33-4).
Other point scorers in the Roselle Park meet included Roland Yakobchuk in the 800 (2nd, 2:48), Chet Higgins in the discus (2nd, 107-10), Matt Nile in the 400 hurdles (3rd, 72.2), Jason Pfoutz in the 400 (3rd, 62.0) and Kocur in the 110 high hurdles (21.3).
The Mustangs split a very competitive tri-meet earlier in the week, defeating Dayton by a 68½-62½ score but falling short against Oratory by a 73-58 margin.
Manville’s superiority in the weights decided the victory over Dayton. Fodorean and Andreyko led the way to a 22-5 edge in points in the throws, which helped offset Dayton’s dominance in the sprints and middle distance events.
Fodorean won the shot (38-3½) and discus (109-7) and Andreyko took first in the javelin (129-3). Fodorean finished second in the javelin (105-11), while Higgins was second in the discus (98-1). Mark Manderski chipped in a third place in the shot (33-1½).
"They’ve given us a lot of points in the field events," Mongillo said. "We usually count on them."
Andreyko won four events again vs. Dayton, starting his quadruple with first places in the 400 hurdles (61.2), 110 highs (17.8) and 3,200 (12:16). Knitowski was a double winner in the jumps, taking first in the long jump (18-8) and high jump (5-8). Ozieblo won the 1,600 (5:40) and Rodriguez took first in the 200 (25.1).
The list of winners vs. Oratory wasn’t as long. Andreyko’s 400 hurdles and 3,200 times and javelin distance were second-best against the Rams, while he still took first in the 110 highs. Fodorean and Knitowski were double winners against Oratory, while Rodriguez added a victory in the triple jump (33-0½).
Manville was scheduled for another busy week of regular season competition this week. After traveling to New Providence for a tri-meet with David Brearley, the Mustangs return home for a dual meet vs. Dunellen today.

