By: Sean Richards
It was a historic and memorable season for the Monroe Township High School winter track team in a wide variety of ways.
When looking back at the year, the place you have to start is with the amazing accomplishments of junior Nicole Ragucci.
An exceptional talent who gets more formidable each year, Ragucci made history by becoming the school’s first indoor winter track state champion when she won the pole vault with a leap of 10-0.
At the NJSIAA Group III state meet, Ragucci also finished second in the 400.This came on the heels of a first in the 400 and a second in the 800 at the Greater Middlesex Conference Championships that led the Falcons to a fifth-place finish as a team.
As for the boys, a strong set of seniors allowed them to set five new school records and capture the White Division Championship at the GMCs.
"I am proud of them for winning the title," said boys coach Virginia Gonzalez. "Their hard work and dedication really paid off."
The girls didn’t win any championships, but keep in mind expectations were not that high with a very young group learning its way in support of Ragucci.
"We knew coming in it was going to be a rebuilding year, and it was," said girls coach Jim Cox. "The good note is that we only have three seniors and a great freshman class that we can build on.
"Last winter only one freshman earned a varsity letter. This year six did. Next year with the core we have coming back and with another year under our belts we should be very competitive from the get go."
Senior girls included hurdlers Sara Beth Moke and Sarah Payne as well as captain Kelly Campbell, who could be found in a wide variety of events. Moke tied the school record in the 55 hurdlers.
"Sara Beth Moke worked very hard to be the best hurdler she could be," said Cox. "Sarah Payne also was a hard worker and a good leader who will be missed next year.
"Kelly Campbell was a jack of all trades for us. She was a runner, hurdler and jumper, and had a solid senior year."
Also having a good season for the girls was Damaris Segarra, an excellent long distance runner who took a fourth at the GMCs in the 1,600.
The boys will be hit harder by graduation with 11 seniors listed on this year’s team.
In that group are Adan Farrah and Billy Phillips, who tied the school record by running a 6.5 in the 55 meters and placing in the top six at the GMCs.
Two other key seniors were Adam Modzelewski and Mike Barszcz. Along with senior Victor Amato, Phillips, Barszcz and Modzelewski set a school record in the 4×200 with a time of 1:36.5
Farrah, Barszcz, Phillips and Modzelewski were also on the 4×400 team that turned in a Falcon record of 3:30.9. That group took a second at the GMCs in the 4×400 as well.
The other records came in the shuttle hurdles (32.70) and sprint medley(3:45.1).
On the shuttle hurdle squad were Arun Ganapathy, Joe Ferro, Modzelewski and Barszcz. Setting the record in the sprint medley were Phillips, Jason Chung, Farrah and Zach Theinert.
Another key senior member of the team, Theinert took a third at the GMCs in the 800 meters as Monroe finished fourth to win the White Division crown. Other seniors included Matt Allinder, Andrew Cocuzza, Tushar Joshi, Devin Kaufman, John Schieda and Brian Somers.

