By: Neil Hay
Don Hess has been coaching at Hightstown for many years. He has more than 300 varsity coaching wins in basketball, and over 100 in soccer. Tuesday he achieved another milestone when he added his 100th track win.
Hess’ tracksters also made it two consecutive CVC Valley Division titles. Tuesday’s 110 1/3 – 29 2/3 total over Nottingham was win number one hundred, and gave the Rams a perfect 3-0 mark in the Valley. Overall, the Rams are 4-4, including an 82-58 loss to Trenton in the other half of the double-dual meet at home.
Amanda Marshall recorded two wins. She took the shot with a throw of 39 3-1/4, then added the discus at 118-10. Marshall was also second in the javelin (101-4).
Tara Miluszewski was first in the javelin at 108-4, and second in the discus at 99-3. Jessica Haughton led a Hightstown sweep of the high jump when she cleared 5-2, Kayla Reddington and Morgan Woroniecki tied for second at 4-10. And Woroniecki set a new school record when she won the pole vault at 8-3.
Haughton’s 69.8 was second best overall in the 400 hurdles. Haughton also took third in the 100 high hurdles (16.6). Yaa Genfi was second in the 100 (12.9) and 200 (26.3), Megan Wiseman placed second in the long jump (16-6 1/4) and third in the triple jump (34-1 1/4), and Rachel Simpson’s 31-5 ½ claimed third place in the shot.
Also, Karina Martinez ran a 5:49 for third in the 1600, Kristin Bircsak’s 2:33.8 was second in the 800, and Anne-Lise Cossart (7-6) and Kristin Pecsi (6-6) completed a sweep in the pole vault.
Said Hess, "It was a great meet for us. I was really pleased. I didn’t expect this year’s team to do so well. The girls had a remarkable season against a tough schedule."
Hess believes the team can make a statement at the county meet tomorrow. The strength of the girls lies in the field events. Said Hess, "The county meet should be great. We have a lot of talented individuals. The field team is one of the best in the conference. I expect a lot of firsts."
Hess has been with the track program since 1985. Winning 100 meets is the product of hard work and talented athletes.
"We’ve had a lot of good teams and a lot of good athletes. Track is a great sport to coach. The girls have responded well over the years."
The girls were at Wayne Hills High School Saturday to compete in the County Seat Invitational Meet. Hightstown was one of 30 teams in the "A" varsity division, comprised of schools in Group III and IV. Hess’ girls won the division, with four first places.
Marshall continued her outstanding season by earning three medals. She won the discus with a new school record of 130-1, bettering the 129-10 she set last year. Marshall also won the shot at 38 7-1/2, and was fourth in the javelin at 100-7.
Haughton had the best high jump, 5-2, and added a second in the 400 hurdles (71.1) and a fourth in the 100 hurdles (16.9). Wiseman accounted for the other first place when she won the triple jump at 33 2-1/2. She also placed third in the freshmen-sophomore 100 (13.2).
Miluszewski placed in two events, netting a second in the javelin (114-9) and fourth in the discus (96-9). Bircsak added a fifth place when she ran the 400 in 62.5.
In the freshmen-sophomore competition, the Rams placed one-three-four in the 100 with Genfi (12.8), Wiseman and Cori Davis (13.2), respectively.

