Girls sweep throwing events
By: Nick Vaccaro
About 26 teams braved the weather this past weekend as the Hillsborough track and field teams hosted the Raider Relays. Forty schools were slated to compete in the meet, but the horrible conditions were responsible for the shortage.
The scene at the meet looked empty. There may have been 15 tents scattered between the bleachers and the area behind the bleachers. The commons area of the high school also provided shelter for most of the teams.
The weather was horrendous for the first two hours of the meet, but got better after that. The meet was going to happen regardless of the weather conditions since HHS girls’ head coach and meet director Rich Refi had announced that the meet would happen rain or shine.
The meet had to be canceled last year due to lightning, so HHS certainly didn’t want to lose its own meet for the second straight year. Everyone who participated in the event was happy with the way things were run and many told the Hillsborough coaches that they ran a good meet.
This year’s event ran more efficiently due to the addition of a second throwing area. The practice football field that provides room for both shot put and discus now accommodates javelin throwers, while the other throwing area adjacent to the baseball field now has room for both shot and discus. Now there are separate areas for the boys and girls, enabling the throwing events to get finished earlier and run more smoothly.
The meet is a non-scoring one with no team title. It simply functions as a go-between for many teams since there are not many meets on this particular weekend.
"We use it as a test run for bigger meets," Raider boys’ head coach Seth Canata said.
The Hillsborough boys walked away with four first-place finishes in their home meet. The 4×800 team of Fredy Irizarry, Mike Bitten, Jason Walton and Brian Dennis hit the wire in a time of 8:16.5. Dan Reiss, Dan Millemann, Brandon Lane and Tyler Szwarc won the shuttle hurdles in a time of 64.8. The other first-place finishes came from long jumpers Miles Petrock and Jason Smartt who combined for a distance of 37-9.5, and pole vaulters Steve Theroux and Reiss who teamed for a height of 24-0.
On the girls’ side, the Raiders garnered five first-place finishes, three of which came in the throwing events. Taryn O’Connor and Angela Davia threw a combined mark of 68-11.5 in the shot put, while O’Connor joined Colleen Maloney in the discus, throwing 210-11. Maloney then paired up with Davia to have the best combined javelin mark, which was 201-6.
The two other first-place finishes came on the track. Ebony Jones, Erin Suozzo, Anna Spaniol and Ebony Young ran 4:18.6 in the 4×400 and sprint medley team of Stephanie Ogrodnik, Lauren Watts, Jones and Allison Marcsisin crossed the line in 4:18.5.
The Raiders enjoy being able to have their own meet.
"It was exciting because a lot of our state competition was there," Maloney said. "It was good to see Jackson there to see what they can do."
Jackson is one of Hillsborough’s top contenders for the state sectional title.
"We really did well against them (Jackson)," Jones added. "I think that’s good for us."
Sprinter Warner Jones also feels that having a home meet can be beneficial.
"I like the home meets," Warner Jones said. "You get used to running on your own track."
The Raiders have the Penn Relays beginning Thursday and continuing on through Saturday. All of the girls’ events take place Thursday, where HHS will be competing in the 4×100 and 4×400, while Maloney and O’Connor will individually tackle the javelin and shot put events, respectively.
"I’m excited," Maloney said. "I’m nervous, but I’m very excited. Penn is a big deal."
The HHS boys will be sending a 4×100 team on Friday and a 4×400 team on Saturday. Jones, Rob Marley, Rob Nguyen and Anthony Visicaro will compose the 4×100 team, while Jones and Marley will return on Saturday to join Alex Szela and Mike Bitten in the 4×400.
Looking ahead, both teams have the Skyland Conference meet on Thursday, May 4 and the Somerset County meet the week after that on Thursday, May 11.
"I’m looking forward to seeing what those guys can do," Canata said.

