Boys improve, but still second to P’burg
By: Nick Vaccaro
The Hillsborough High girls’ track and field team successfully defended its Skyland Conference team title last Thursday at Hillsborough. The HHS girls dominated the competition scoring 112.66 points, beating rivals Franklin (78), Ridge (69), and Hunterdon Central (57) by landslide margins.
"It was pretty much businesslike," Raider girls’ head coach Rich Refi said.
Refi’s runners, throwers, and jumpers were led by standouts Lauren Watts and Colleen Maloney. Watts, after not having been a member of last year’s winning team, had the pleasure of contributing 22 points to her team’s championship effort.
Watts placed third in both the 100-meter hurdles (15.31) and long jump (17-3.5) and took first in the triple jump, setting a new meet record with a mark of 37-1. The old record (36-9.25) was held by former Hillsborough hurdle and jump star Erin Crawford.
"I don’t know Erin Crawford personally but I’ve heard Coach Refi talk about her talent numerous times," Watts said. "When he told me that I broke her record, I knew it was a big accomplishment."
Refi commented on how Watts’ new meet record was the highlight of the meet.
"That was the best performance," Refi said.
"I was definitely glad I could get those extra points for our team," Watts added. "For the past week I had been especially working on triple jump and long jump with Coach (Tierra) Hicks, so I was really excited to see that the extra effort really helped."
Maloney was not too shabby either, contributing 20 points to her team’s winning effort by winning both the javelin (111-10) and discus (120-3). Maloney has been nothing short of dominant throughout the entire outdoor season.
More than half of Hillsborough’s total team points were scored in the three throwing events composed of only four athletes. Along with Maloney, Taryn O’Connor took first in the shot put (41-0.5) and third in the discus (107-6). The other two hurlers were Ingrid Berrio, who finished second in the shot put (37-9) and Angela Davia, who placed third in both the shot put (35-7) and javelin (108-11).
If Refi’s squad hadn’t competed in any other events, the 58 points that were scored by these four athletes in the three throwing events alone would have been good enough for the team to place third.
The HHS girls tacked on several other points in various events. Allison Marcsisin took third in the 1,600 (5:15.42) and fourth in the 800 (2:22.72) completing a successful day for her. Ebony Jones also took a third and a fourth in the 400-meter hurdles (65.28) and 400 (60.65), respectively. Ebony Young joined Jones in the 400-meter hurdles, taking home fourth place (68.82).
Jumpers Melanie Gingras and Allison Hydzik also contributed as both tied for sixth in the high jump (4-10), while Gingras placed fifth in the long jump (33-6.5) as well. The 4×400 squad was also good enough for second, finishing in a time of 4:04.78.
The HHS girls hope to continue their area dominance at 4 p.m. today (Thursday) at the Somerset County Championships, which are also being held in Hillsborough.
The Hillsborough boys didn’t fare as well as the girls, but they closed the gap from last year fairly well. Phillipsburg defended its team title, scoring 112 points, comfortably in front of Hillsborough (82), Franklin (58) and Hunterdon Central (48).
"I think even if we had our best day, it would have been tough," HHS boys’ head coach Seth Canata said.
Hillsborough was put in an early hole, trailing by 40 points after the first seven or eight events, but as Canata eloquently put it, they fought back. Canata’s crew came back to within nine points after a 16-0 score differential in the pole vault between them and Phillipsburg.
"Hillsborough doesn’t quit," Canata said.
The 16 points scored in the pole vault didn’t come as a surprise to Canata. His vaulters have been remarkably consistent throughout the entire season and last Thursday was no different. Steve Theroux led the vaulters with a second place finish, hitting 13-0. His teammates, Mark Ksiezopolski (12-6) and Dan Reiss (12-0), placed third and fifth, respectively. This dominance has been complimented by self-determination and hard work throughout the entire season.
"I think we coach ourselves a lot," Theroux said. "We all push each other in practice. We set the bar high."
Theroux also expressed his thanks to volunteer pole vault coach Mike Minetti, who comes to practice as often as he can. Theroux has been working on a new and longer pole and he hopes that once he becomes comfortable, he’ll be able to tackle coach Minetti’s long-standing school record of 14-1.
Points were scored all along the track and the field by the Raiders as usual. Distance veteran Brian Dennis placed second in the 1,600 (4:22.71) and fourth in the 800 (1:59.46) capping a successful double for him. Teammate Fredy Irizarry took sixth place in the 1600, running a 4:27.84 out of the slow heat to displace all but five competitors in the fast heat. Freshman standout Jason Walton edged Dennis in the 800, taking third in a time of 1:59.05.
Sprinter Warner Jones took fourth in the 400 (50.57), fifth in the 200 (23.4) and led off the second place 4×400 team, which also consisted of Rob Marley, Alex Szela and Mike Bitten. In the 110-meter hurdles, Tyler Szwarc grabbed the second place spot, running a time of 14.79, missing first by three-hundredths of a second. Long and triple jump specialist Miles Petrock took fifth in the long jump (20-6) and third in the triple jump (42-9.25). High jumper Brandon Lane tied for fourth in high jump with a mark of 5-10.
Throwers Mike Kelderman, Andy Julian and Bryan Humphrey also tacked on a few points for the Raiders. Kelderman took sixth in both the shot put (45-3) and discus (133-6). Julian had a big day in the discus, taking second with a throw of 137-7, while Humphrey took fourth in the shot put (47-10).
"We’ve been having some real good performances," Canata said.
The HHS boys lost this meet last year to Phillipsburg by a much larger margin. This year, the Raiders were able to add about 20 points to last year’s total accumulation.
Hillsborough’s boys hope to regain their composure and take back the Somerset County championship today on their home track.