Melillo, Wonesh, Rinaldi, Jones, Cook top at BCSL

By: Sean Moylan
   In case anyone outside of Northern Burlington forgot, Al Wonesh reminded people of what a great athlete he is with a victory in the 400 meter hurdles at the BCSL Divisional Meet held at Northern Burlington County Regional High School on Saturday.
   Wonesh ran the race in just 56 seconds. He also placed fifth in the 110 meter hurdles. And along with Matt Melillo, Chris Tomari and Saidu Mustapha, Wonesh was part of NBC’s third-place 4×400 relay team.
   Melillo won the 3200 with an excellent 10:07.15 time. NBC’s David Reed took 6th in the same race with a time of 11:10.42.
   Dan Bowden was the runner up in the mile with a solid 4:41.29 time. And Bowden’s 2:02.54 time in the 800 was good enough for fifth place.
   Steve Makuka pole vaulted 11-6 to capture third place in the event. Mustapha placed third in the 400 with a time of 51.49 seconds.
   Tim Tedesco’s NBC crew scored 51 points to place fifth in the strong Liberty Division.
   While the NBC girls didn’t have any individual winners, they gave solid performances in several events.
   Kim Greer, a team leader, finished the 100 meter hurdles race in 16.2 seconds to capture second place. She also placed sixth in the triple jump (29-6).
   Ariel Woodard-Stephens, Greer’s teammate, was even better in the triple jump with a third-place mark of 32-9 ½. Woodard-Stephens also placed fourth in the long jump (15-11 ½).
   Teri Prado threw the javelin 88-10 inches to take third place. Laura DeBenedetto ran a 5:52.32 time to grab fourth place in the mile.
   NBC’s 4×400 relay team of Kelly Walsh, Alaina Potts, Megan Molnar and Casey Bush placed fifth overall. Walsh took sixth in the 800 (2:39.17) as well. NBC’s Amanda Rose ran an 18.89 time in the 100 meter hurdles to place sixth.
   Former NBC superstar Latasha Leake’s 5-6 record in the high jump remains safe for another year. No one in the Liberty went any higher than 4-10.
   Steve Alustiza’s Greyhounds placed fifth in the Liberty with 33 points. But considering the team’s youth, it was a strong performance.
   Both NBC track and field squads are scheduled to compete in this Saturday’s Burlington County Open.
   FLORENCE



   The Florence Township Memorial High School boys’ varsity track and field team displayed its extraordinary depth and talent with its third-place finish (121 points) at Saturday’s Freedom Divisional Meet at Northern Burlington.
   Abree Jones doubled in the long jump (20-9) and the high jump (5-6). Shaquan Virgil also leaped 5-6 to place second in the high jump.
   Dave Havens placed third (18-7) and Kevin Reeder (18-6 ¾) took fourth in the long jump. Havens also had a fifth-place finish in the shot put event (40-11 1/2) and Reeder placed second in the 110 high hurdles (16.46 seconds).
   Speedy Zach Rinaldi won the 100 (11.57 seconds) and took second in the 200 (24.07 seconds).
   But Florence athletes did well in several areas.
   Dwayne Pittinger placed third in the 110 high hurdles (16.97 seconds) and fifth in 400 hurdles (1:02.9). He also teamed up with Justin Stone, Francis Ugowe and Matt Belcher to place fourth in the 4×400 relay (4:03.73).
   Jared Schuster (second in the 200 with a 24.2 second time), Stone (third in the 800 with a 2:11.44 time), Andrew Cipriano (third in the discus with a 121-3), Christopher Salaga (third in the javelin at 131-6), Kyle Shafer (fourth in the javelin at 124-9, Joe Fitzpatrick (third in the shot at 41-1), Jim Karwacki (fifth in the 3200 with a 11:49.34 time) and Reece Woolston (sixth in the 1600 with a 5:24.51 time) also placed for the Flashes.
   Anna Cook was the big star for the Florence girls with a win in the high jump (4-8) and second-place finishes in the long jump (14-7) and the 100 hurdles (18.95 seconds). She also took fourth in the 4000 hurdles (1:14.8).
   Katelyn Eells also had a strong day with a third-place finish in the discus (69-5) and a fifth in the javelin (82-10).
   Other scorers for Florence were Justine Wycoff (a second-place 25-4 ¾ in the shot), Kristin Wright (a third-place 24-1 in the shot), Christine Doub (a fourth-place 68-10 in the discus), Tiffany Salaga (a fourth-place 6:39.49 time in the mile) and Cheryl Jiras (a 1:11.25 sixth-place time in the 400).
   The Florence girls placed fourth in the Freedom with 61 points.
   This past Tuesday the Florence boys’ team beat Pemberton, 74-56, while the Flashes’ girls lost a meet at Pemberton.
   Both Florence track teams are scheduled to compete in the BCSL Open on Saturday.
   BRHS

   Muscle, memory and fast legs had "Ever Ready" Freddie Mendenhall giving his superstar teammate Rob Novak a run for his money in the 800 meter race at Saturday’s Hartford Invitational.
   Always a fine, dependable runner, Mendenhall, a senior at Bordentown Regional High School, took his running to the next level when he broke the two-minutes barrier in the 800 a couple of weeks ago. Since then, the sky has been the limit for the Scotties’ standout who ran an amazing 1:56.73 fifth-place time against some of the North East’s best half milers in Saturday’s competition.
   "When you run under two minutes, your body gets used to it and it remembers how to do it," remarked Mendenhall, one of the most likable members of the Scotties.
   The first time Mendenhall cracked two minutes, he could just sense a difference and knew he had done something special. Now he’s aiming at 1:54 as a time to eclipse.
   "It’s (1:54) very possible. If I can run a 1:54, I can guarantee myself a post at Nationals with Rob (Novak)," said Mendenhall
   Novak, who has several qualifying times (for the Nationals) to his credit, was nosed out by Saint Benedict’s Bryan Scotland at the wire on the 800 on Saturday.
   Even so, Novak’s 1:51.72 second-place time in the 800 was extraordinary by any standards—except Novak’s.
   "I think I need to run faster," said Novak, whose ultimate goal is to run 1:48 and break the New Jersey state record.
   "I wasn’t tired breathing-wise, but my legs were tired. My legs couldn’t go much faster."
   Mendenhall knew if he just ran with his teammate he’d be there at the end.
   "I was right there behind Rob (Novak) the first lap (a 56 second 400 meter split). There was no wind and it was nice and warm and beautiful," noted Mendenhall, who was amazed by his time.
   Beryl Erickson, Novak’s mom, who helped out and accompanied Bordentown head coach Charlie Miller and the boys on the trip, was pulling for Mendenhall with all of her heart.
   "I’m tired of hearing about Rob, Rob, Rob all the time. I always wanted Freddie (Mendenhall) to do well. Freddie’s my boy!" said a playful Erickson, who has taken on Bordentown’s 4×400 relay team of Mendenhall, Marvelous Marvin Carter, Mike "The Meter Man" Steffen and of course, her own son, Novak as a kind of extended family. And Erickson’s "family" of Mendenhall, Carter, Steffen and Novak got the job done in the 4×400 relay on Saturday as they ran a stellar 3:24.52 time to capture second. Steffen placed 12th in the 400 with a 51.29 second time while Carter captured 18th place in that race with a 52.99 second time. Novak, who had a 50-second split in the 4×400 relay, was very proud of his teammates in that race and commented, "They all did well."
   Unfortunately, you have to give something to get something. So when the Scotties’ best four track athletes were off making history in Connecticut, the rest of the team garnered just six points in the Divisional Meet at Northern Burlington on Saturday.
   Nonetheless, there were a couple of big bright spots. Sidney Tucker placed fifth in the shot put event while Steve Melton took fourth in the discus (117 feet 6 inches).
   On the girls’ side, Tina Della Fave placed 4th in the 400 meter hurdles while Stephanie Hazlett placed 6th in the 400 and Amanda Benyon took 6th in the javelin.
   In the end, though, "Ever Ready" Freddie and Novak were the big stars this past weekend.
   "You know we’re starting to call Freddie "Never Ready" Freddie because he’s always late," joked Erickson.
   But then Erickson explained why he’s late and one got a better picture of the kind of decent person Mendenhall is. He works hard delivering papers everyday to help his mom with expenses. He also works hard on his schoolwork. Mendenhall would be an excellent candidate for a track and field scholarship. His schedule is so tight that sometimes he’s a couple of minutes late. Yet when he steps on the track, he’s "Ever Ready" and he’s always ready to give his teammates and Bordentown’s fans his all. Just a great young man.
   Yesterday (Wednesday) Bordentown was scheduled to compete against Maple Shade. The Burlington County Open is Saturday at Maple Shade. And on Monday Bordentown is scheduled to compete in the Eastern Relays.