Raider boys rebound to win county title

Berezansky, Szwarc lead balanced attack

By: Nick Vaccaro
   
   The Hillsborough High boys’ track and field team came up with the victory last Thursday at the Somerset County Championships on the home track at Hillsborough High School.
   The team clearly re-saddled their horses at this meet, shaking off the loss at the Skyland Conference meet the previous week. The Raiders muscled up 95 points besting the efforts of Somerville (79), Franklin (74) and Montgomery (73).
   "The meet was close up until the last two or three events, and by then I knew we had it pretty much locked up." HHS first-year head coach Seth Canata said.
   The shining stars came in clusters for the boys at this meet. They manned up and tackled every event head on and it was a true team effort.
   "We don’t have that ‘stud’ runner who can win the 100, 200, 400, or place in all the distance events, so we rely on everyone pitching in points," Canata said.
   The Raiders were led by a veteran and an up-and-comer in Chris Berezansky and Tyler Szwarc. Berezansky, the senior weight man, defended his county title in the shot put with a winning mark of 54 feet, 9 inches. Szwarc, a sophomore star of the future, compiled 18 points in the hurdles.
   "It feels pretty good, I knew I could do it," Berezansky said. "I knew it was possible to achieve."
   Berezansky is coming into the closing meets of his high school career. He shows no signs of backing off, as he is still determined and pressured to move on to as many meets as he can, including the national meet in North Carolina which requires a qualifying mark of 58-1.
   Szwarc, the young gun for the Raiders, had a fine meet taking first in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles and second in the 110-meter high hurdles with times of 57 flat and 14.98 seconds, respectively. Szwarc’s high hurdle performance was a new personal-record, making his day even a little more special.
   "I was nervous, last week I got beat by Palmer (Watchung Hills)," Szwarc said. "I came in with the mindset to get those guys."
   Szwarc’s first-place finish came as a bit of a shock to the young hurdler, but he wasn’t complaining.
   "It was nice, I don’t know if I was expecting first, but coming around the last turn I thought I had it," he said.
   Szwarc’s performances are huge confidence boosters, especially at this stage in the season when the do-or-die meets like sectionals are right around the corner.
   "I’m hoping to go (qualify) for both races," Szwarc said.
   In addition to these fine performances, the HHS boys’ team racked up points from all over the track and field. In the triple jump and pole vault alone, the Raiders scored 29 points.
   David Eilbacher led the charge in the triple jump, placing third with a mark of 42-7½. Lem Brown (4th, 42-4) and Miles Petrock (5th, 41-11½) followed suit, while Matt Bitten, Steven Theroux and Adam Mallet achieved great heights in the pole vault. Bitten led the trio placing second with a vault of 13 feet. Theroux took fourth (12-6) and Mallet placed fifth (12-0). These points were crucial in the team’s 16-point victory.
   Eilbacher and Bitten also tacked on some extra points in the long jump and 400-meter intermediate hurdles, respectively. Eilbacher was sixth (20-4½) in the long jump and Bitten’s 59 flat was also good for a sixth in the 400 hurdles.
   Eseosa Ewere also had a huge day for the Raiders as he placed in all three events in which he competed. He took second in the 100-meter dash (11.27), third in the long jump (20-11¾) and fourth in the 200-meter dash (23.52).
   Other contributors included sprinters Ryan Schofield and Warner Jones, sprinter and jumper Anthony Visicaro, and thrower Mo Lange. Schofield took fifth in the 100-meter dash (11.53), while Jones was fourth in the 400-meter dash (52.3). Visicaro tied for fourth in the high jump with a height of 5-10 and took sixth in the 200-meter dash (23.84). Lange competed in both the shot put and discus placing fifth (49-4½) and sixth (121-8), respectively.
   If this wasn’t enough, the 4×400 meter relay with a team of Jones, Mallet and the Bitten brothers Matt and Mike were able to scrape up eight points by taking second in the event.
   Of the 26 athletes that competed, 15 of them set personal-records, a feat that any team should be proud of, on top of winning the title.
   "Overall, the team battled all night long and it’s a true credit to a team effort and a well-balanced attack," Canata said.
   In Canata’s first season as the boys’ head coach, he already has three major titles under his belt including the county and conference relays and last week’s Somerset County Championships. With the same solid group of athletes he has coming back, this might be the beginning of a long streak of county titles.