HHS track and field teams sweep county relays

Raiders enjoy revenge over rivals

By: Nick Vaccaro
   
   Redemption was sweet for both Hillsborough High track and field teams as they captured titles at Saturday’s Somerset County Relay Championships in Franklin.
   The HHS boys knocked off the hometown team by a single point as they outscored Franklin (101-100) and avenged a loss to Somerville (75.5) from the previous week’s Skyland Conference Relays. The HHS girls got back the trophy they lost to Montgomery in last year’s upset second-place finish by dominating the competition this time with 109 points.
   The Raider boys were on the opposite end of a one-point loss last week at the conference relays, making this victory that much sweeter.
   "We came out on top by a point," HHS boys’ head coach Seth Canata said. "I’d much rather be in that position."
   Franklin was upset like any team that loses by such a slim margin. Just ask any of the members of Boro’s squad from a week ago.
   "We had a couple of hiccups in the sprint medley and 4×200, but we were able to work everything out," Canata said.
   The sprint medley relay brought about some controversy. Hillsborough was in last by about 50 meters going into the 800-meter leg. Brian Dennis was able to make an amazing comeback, running a 1:58 split to get his team into a tie for third place with Bound Brook.
   Since the two teams tied, five points were awarded to both Hillsborough and Bound Brook. If the Raiders would have taken fourth, they would have only had four points from that event, creating a tie between them and Franklin, but it didn’t work out that way.
   "I had to out lean the kid at the end," Dennis said. "Somehow I tied for third."
   Dennis’s effort could have been the difference in the meet, but it inevitably came down to the 4×400 and triple jump relays. There are many places where point swings made an impact on the standings.
   Hillsborough finished second to Franklin in the 4×400, and won the triple jump with Franklin not scoring any points in that event. Hillsborough had plenty of help from several other areas, scoring in every event except one. The Raiders had four first places and four second places, while Franklin had eight first-place finishes. This statistic alone shows the depth of Canata’s squad.
   "We did what we did best and just scored everywhere," Canata said.
   Brandon Lane and Miles Petrock were the two triple jumpers that sealed the deal for the Raiders as they jumped 39-8.5 and 40-11, respectively. Petrock’s mark was the best of the day.
   High jumpers Lane (6-0) and Anthony Visicaro (5-6) took first in that event, while the 4×800 squad of Fredy Irizarry, Jason Walton, Alex Brown and Mike Bitten also placed first in a time of 8:14.8. The other first place finish earned by the Raiders was by the shuttle hurdle team of Dan Reiss, Dan Millemann, Lane and Tyler Szwarc, who hit the wire in 1:05.5.
   The Raiders picked up second place finishes in the distance medley (11:08.9), 3×400 intermediate hurdles (2:58.8), long jump (37-8.25) and 4×400 (3:30). They also placed third in the shot put (126-9.25), discus (344-10) and pole vault (24-6).
   Canata’s crew had several amazing performances in their winning effort. Pole vaulter Steve Theroux set a personal-best by clearing 13-6, a foot higher than his previous best. Warner Jones and Visicaro each competed in four events, while Lane was part of three winning relay squads. Canata sent him home with the trophy.
   This young crop of runners, jumpers, and throwers plan to keep working hard, as they try to qualify for the Penn Relays and other prestigious post-season meets.
   "These guys are pretty selfless and do whatever you ask them to do," Canata said. "I hope they get their rewards at the end of the season."
   The Hillsborough girls set the tone early and dominated the county relays. Hillsborough (109) outscored rivals Montgomery (82), Ridge (65) and Franklin (53).
   The event shaped up to be almost like a dual meet between Hillsborough and Montgomery, but the Raiders got it done early, dominating the first five events, which all but closed the door on Montgomery.
   "The girls were very businesslike," HHS girls’ head coach Rich Refi said. "We gave them a job, and they got the job done."
   As usual, the Raider girls were dominant in the weights winning all three throwing events. Colleen Maloney, Taryn O’Connor and Ali John set a new school and meet record in the discus with a combined mark of 312-4. Maloney joined Angela Davia and Ellyn Griggs in the javelin, hitting a combined distance of 256-4. O’Connor, Berrio, and Davia rounded out the stellar weight team performance in the shot put, setting a new meet record of 110-0.25.
   This level of dominance doesn’t come without some level of cohesiveness. This clique of amazing athletes sticks together and always seems to be keeping each other on task.
   "I think we all push each other," said O’Connor, the school record-holder in the shot put. "We have a nice relationship with each other."
   Other first place finishes came in the sprint medley and triple jump relays. Dana Rokoszak, Stephanie Ogrodnik, Ebony Young and Allison Marcsisin hit the wire in the sprint medley in 4:24.8, while Lauren Watts and Melanie Gingras combined for a distance of 65-10 in the triple jump.
   The HHS girls tacked on points in every event except the long jump. They took second place finishes in the 4×100 (50.7), 4×400 (4:12.9), 4×800 (9:42.7), shuttle hurdles (67.5) and 3×400 intermediate hurdles (3:31.9). Their 4×200 (1:51.4) and pole vault (16-0) relays took third place finishes.
   It is still early, but the HHS girls appear to be on their way to a very exciting spring season.