Senior joins Korkuch in setting Cardinal triple jump record at Mercer Relays.
By: Tim Falls
For the longest time, Lawrence High School senior Nicole McMullen didn’t realize the impression she made on the Cardinals’ track program.
When she finally did, McMullen figured she would try to add a little more to her legacy.
All told, the senior Cardinal’s name is associated with 18 school records with the track program.
"I really didn’t notice it until one day when I was looking at the record board," said McMullen. "A lot of them are freshman records or from winter track or relays."
The success has earned McMullen a lot of recognition. The senior recently signed a National Letter of Intent to attend St. Joseph’s University and compete on its track squad.
McMullen aimed for four school records at the Mercer County Relays at Steinert last Saturday. The meet had been originally scheduled for April 22 but was postponed because of the rain.
McMullen and Beth Korkuch placed fourth in the triple jump with a combined leap of 65 feet and half an inch for a school record. The jump blew away the previous record of 59-5.75.
McMullen and her teammates came close to school records in the long jump, sprint medley and distance medley as well, but missed those marks.
"I thought Nicole could do it," said Lawrence track coach Dave O’Neal. "All those records are in jeopardy."
While McMullen and her teammates didn’t take those records at the Mercer Relays on Saturday, they have a few more chances later in the season. McMullen is also shooting for the individual long jump record at the Mercer County Championships this Saturday at Steinert. The senior also has hopes of taking the county crown in the long jump or the 200-meter dash.
"As good as Nicole is, and she’s very good, Mercer County is very competitive," said O’Neal. "Last year, Nicole made it to the (NJSIAA) Meet of Champions in the 400 and she was one of four girls from Mercer County in that final. As good as she is, there’s no guarantee she’ll be a county champion. That’s one thing that may not be on her resume."
O’Neal said he felt that level of competition has forced McMullen to become a better athlete.
"One of the reason’s she’s been so successful is that she’s been surrounded by very good competition," said O’Neal.
To try and match her competition this season, McMullen chose to run winter track instead of playing basketball her senior year.
"She knew she needed to do more," said O’Neal. "She knew (the other Mercer County finalists in the Meet of Champions 400) all ran winter track. Without a doubt, she’s improved because of that conditioning and fitness. She noticed it right away. She’s already hit personal bests and she’s jumping farther than she’s jumped before."
Of course O’Neal knew the transition would be tough for McMullen and understood when it took time for her to adjust.
"She did very well," said O’Neal, "but by no means was it easy for her. She felt a lot of frustration. That adversity has made her a tougher athlete."
McMullen said the winter track season was aggravating, but she was glad to get it over with and was happy to have done it now that she can see the payoff in her results. McMullen said she was also glad to go through the winter season even with all the adjustments because it prepared her for when she’ll have to run in the winter season with St. Joseph’s track team.
"It was frustrating," said McMullen. "I thought I should have done better. I knew I should have been running faster. It definitely helped though."
McMullen, Andy Sandoval, Korkuch and Sarah Pearson took sixth in the sprint medley relay in 4 minutes, 25.6 seconds. McMullen, Lauren Gutierrez, Molly Goodell and Pearson finished fifth in the distance medley in 13:54.4.
McMullen and Korkuch took third in the long jump with a combined leap of 31-7.5 and just missed the Cardinal’s long jump relay record of 31-10.5 set in 1985.
While Korkuch helped McMullen accomplish one of her goals in getting the triple jump school record, Korkuch also came closer to her objectives.
Korkuch wants to compete in every single track event and by joining McMullen in the triple jump, Korkuch now only has the 1,600 left to complete her list.
"Beth is a good all-around athlete," said O’Neal. "Everything she’s competed in, she’s scored in."
O’Neal plans on giving Korkuch a chance at the 1,600 later this season and allowing the senior the rare bragging rights of having competed in every event on and off the track.
"Beth may not be the top athlete in any event," said O’Neal, "but she’s a great athlete. On most teams she would be their No. 1 shot putter, but we’ve got great shot putters in Janelle (Fuller) and Perisa (Azhir). Beth’s good enough to score in any event."
Fuller and Azhir won the shot put for Lawrence with a combined throw of 70-5.75.
Korkuch and Chrissy Finan placed fourth in the javelin with a combined throw of 208-1.
O’Neal said he’s lucky to have an athlete like Korkuch, who he can put in almost any event and expect to get some points.
"From the 100 to the 800, whether there are hurdles in front of her or not, Beth is a threat to score," said O’Neal. "She’s a threat to score in the jumps and throws as well."
Fuller and Geralisa Bryson took third in the discus with a combined score of 183-9.
Pat Beighley and Kevin McCummings claimed a Lawrence boys track record with a third-place finish in the triple jump in 82-2.5. Beighley also broke his individual record in the event with his half of the jump, 41-10.
Kyle Mitchell and Kevin McCummings tied their school record with a third-place finish in the high jump after clearing 11-8.
Ben Quaye, Bayshawn Wells, Rob Wilborn and Kenny Sherman took the school record in the 4×100 in 44.7 seconds with a sixth-place finish.
Wells, Pat McDowell, Andrew Santora and Sherman placed fifth in the 4×200 in 1:33, while Sherman, McDowell, Santora and Wells finished third in the 4×400 in 3:29.2. Mike Scott, Zach Robert, Zach McNair and Brendan O’Brien finished sixth in the distance medley in 11:42, while freshmen Sean Pearson and Pat Theil took sixth in the pole vault and Mitchell and Phil Tamulis finished sixth in the long jump.

