Faleski helps MHS maintain winning ways

Cougar track shows early promise

By: Bob Nuse
   When Brittani Faleski was a freshman with the Montgomery High girls’ track team, she had the opportunity to learn from some talented older athletes.
   Now that Faleski is a senior, she’s been trying to do the same thing for the current batch of younger Cougars.
   "My freshman year, we had a lot of good hurdlers," Faleski said. "Then Sharon (Tompa) and Hillary (Copeland) came in the next year and they were good. So we’ve been pretty strong in that event for a few years. And in the high jump, when I came in, Jenn Carson was here and I learned a lot from her. When Hillary came in, I tried to do the same things for her that Jenn did for me when I was younger.
   "We’re always trying to help each other. You can’t worry that if you help someone get better they might beat you some day. The reason we’ve been good is that we always look at everything as a team."
   And this year, the Cougars look like they’ll be just as successful as they have been in the past. With wins over Voorhees and Hackettstown on Tuesday, Montgomery is off to a 2-0 start this season. It’s similar to the seasons the Cougars have enjoyed for a while now.
   "We haven’t lost a meet in two years," Faleski said. "Once you get on a roll like we’ve been on, you don’t want to be the team that loses. The kids take a lot of pride in that and they’re working hard to make sure we can do it again this year."
   That means seniors helping juniors and right on down the line. It also means making a commitment to the team, which is something Jim Goodfriend never has to worry about with Faleski.
   "She works real hard in practice and she’s loyal," the veteran Montgomery coach said. "She never misses a meet and she’s a real very coachable kid. She had to go down to High Point to register for college this weekend and she went after the meet on Saturday and was back for the meet on Tuesday against Voorhees."
   Faleski did get back for the meet and finished third in her hurdles race behind teammates Tompa and Copeland, and also placed in the high jump in a 75-65 win over Voorhees.
   "I went to High Point to register and I came right back because I didn’t want to miss the meet," Faleski said. "I never want to miss a meet, so I left after the meet Saturday and then made sure to be back.
   "Normally, in the beginning of the season, I’m not always running my best times. This year I have really been focused on the hurdles and I have started off doing pretty well. Against Voorhees, I was in the second heat and I knew that to place I needed to bump someone from the first heat. I was able to run well and get third."
   Tompa won both hurdle events for the Cougars, who also picked up wins against Voorhees from Kandi Givner (100 meters), Eleonora Spinazzi (3200), Casey Hartnett (triple jump and long jump), Kelly Meier (pole vault) and Melissa Lupous (discus).
   "We have three real good hurdles and Brittani is one of them," Goodfriend said. "And coming out of the winter she’s our No. 1 high jumper. She has been with us for four years and she is a good kid who will do anything you ask her to do on the track. We’re real solid in the hurdles with Brittani, Hillary Copeland and Sharon Tompa.
   "We’ve got a deep team that has good people in every event. That made a big difference against Voorhees."
   And that win gave the Cougars their first indication that this could be yet another season without a loss.
   "We’re pretty excited about this year, especially with the hurdles and the high jump," Faleski said. "We know we can do real well in those events. We’ve done well at the relays in those events in the past and hopefully we can do the same this year.
   "Voorhees is one of the top teams and we were able to beat them. And we have Ridge next week. So if we can win that, we’d be in a good position to win the conference again."
   The Cougars have the Skyland Relays this weekend, with the meet against Ridge on Tuesday. The Somerset County Relays follow the next weekend.
   "Sometimes, I like those relay meets better than the individual meets," said Faleski, who joined Amy Lum, Jenna Laporta and Copeland to win the shuttle hurdles and help the Cougars to the team crown at the season-opening relay meet at Indian Hills. "I like being a part of a relay team. I think that’s better than just running as an indivdual."
   Also at Indian Hills, Lum, Casey Hartnett and Caroline Boger won the long jump relay.