Could be a hot winter for Monroe boys track

By: Sean Richards
   The Monroe Township High School boys winter track team had a solid season last year in which a talented group of juniors showed there was the potential to do even better in the near future.
   Starting at the Holiday Relays at Fairleigh Dickinson University today (Friday), the future is now.
   "The team is working hard and looks ready to go," said coach Virginia Gonzalez. "Hopefully we will continue to improve. We look to be very competitive."
   Monroe returns a strong nucleus from last year’s team, starting with senior distance runner Zack Theinert.
   Theinert really came on last year to set the school record in the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:37:94 in the NJSIAA Group III Individual Championships. Theinert showed his versatility by also setting the school standard in the 800 meters when he ran a 2:05 and was part of a 4x400m team that set a school record in a time of 3:37.4.
   As good luck would have it, the entire cast is back from that record-setting relay team as seniors Adan Farrah, Mike Barszcz and Billy Phillips have also returned and are looking strong.
   Farah specializes in the sprints and also high jumps. Ditto for Barszcz. Phillips is a very good sprinter who should turn in some excellent times this year.
   Two other returning seniors the Vikings can count on are Andrew Cocuzza and Adam Modzelewski. A talented shot putter, Cocuzza had a throw of 39-7 last year in the Ed Grant Last Chance Meet and will be among the better shot putters in the county. Modzelewski, meanwhile, is a proven distance runner and valuable on the relay teams as well.
   Among the other returning distance runners are juniors Kyle Zablocki, Zach Tady, Jason Tady and Ryan Brown. Sprinter Victor Amato will provide depth in the sprints. Junior Joe Ferro is a sprinter who also competes in the high hurdles.
   "We have some reliable people back," said Gonzalez. "Hopefully, some of the newcomers will help as well."
   Among the new members of the varsity are sophomore sprinters Matt Park and Arun Ganapathy. Other sophomores include Godfre Blackman in the shot put and Kevin Leatherwood and Ben Wendel in the distance races. Jason Chung is a promising freshman sprinter.
   In addition to the season-opening Holiday Relays, Monroe will compete in the always-competitive Spike Shoe Festival at the New York Armory on Wednesday. How well the Vikings do as a team remains to be seen, but there are sure to be at least some outstanding individual highlights.
   (The preview on the Falcon girls team will appear next week, as attempts to contact coach Jim Cox were unsuccessful).