HHS adds five track and field All-Americans

O’Connor, Reiss, Millemann, Lane, Szwarc gain medals

By: Rudy Brandl
   Taryn O’Connor found herself in the toughest competition of her life at Sunday’s Foot Locker Indoor National Track and Field Championships in Landover, Md.
   The Hillsborough High senior shot put star and NJSIAA champion has faced many top throwers during her fabulous scholastic career but never so many in the same meet. There were more than just one or two throwers to beat for the gold. Several girls in the field were capable of winning a national title.
   O’Connor entered the weekend with the nation’s third-longest throw of the season. She was still ranked first in New Jersey and won a gold medal at the Meet of Champions Feb. 24. Sunday morning, she got a chance to compete against the top two throwers in America along with bunch of other standouts.
   While O’Connor didn’t have her best outing, she still managed to claim a national medal and earn All-America status for finishing sixth in the 35-girl field. O’Connor, whose personal, school and county record mark of 47 feet, 6 inches is now ranked fourth in the country, finished sixth in Sunday’s national meet with a throw of 45-7¼.
   "I didn’t throw well," O’Connor said. "It wasn’t totally overwhelming. I like being challenged. I guess I wasn’t ready for it."
   Kamorean Hayes of Charlotte, N.C., won the national title by nearly four feet with a monster throw of 52-6½. O’Connor’s main rival all year in New Jersey, DeAnne Hahn of Brick, beat her by less than two inches (45-9) for fifth place.
   "It’s not so much losing to one person as much as the fact that I didn’t throw well," O’Connor said. "I had bad form. It was just a long weekend."
   O’Connor became Hillsborough’s third individual national medalist. She joins Franklin Andreyko (indoor long jump) and Erin Crawford (outdoor 400 hurdles) on the short list of Raiders who have earned national medals. HHS now owns 57 national medals, with 54 coming courtesy of relay teams.
   One of those relay teams added one final prize to their special season Saturday. The boys’ shuttle hurdles team of Dan Reiss (7.7 split), Dan Millemann (8.0), Brandon Lane (8.3) and Tyler Szwarc (7.5) earned All-America honors with a fourth-place finish in a time of 31.69 seconds.
   "It’s definitely the best way I could’ve asked to end the season," said Swzarc, a senior who gained his first national medal. "We’ve been having a lot of success with the relay and we had great expectations. It’s good to finish this way at the nationals. We’re definitely thrilled."
   The time didn’t match the foursome’s school record (30.3) set at the Lavino Relays in January, but the national race presents a greater challenge.
   "They ran a good race," HHS head coach Rich Refi said. "It wasn’t a school record, but they have five hurdles there and that makes a big difference."
   While the extra hurdle may slow the times, Szwarc feels that additional barrier works to his team’s advantage.
   "The extra hurdle gives us an edge over the other teams," Szwarc said. "Our hurdlers are really strong. We have really good form. We’re not the quickest team, so that extra hurdle helps us."
   O’Connor also tried the hammer throw in Saturday’s session and finished 24th with a throw of 32-0¾. Ebony Young competed in the triple jump (27th, 35-4).
   Hillsborough’s shuttle hurdles teams also competed in a national meet Friday night in New York. The boys’ shuttle hurdles team of Reiss, Millemann, Lane and Szwarc missed a national medal by .25, finishing eighth in 30.80. The girls’ shuttle hurdles unit of Melissa Arango, Erica Reiss, Young and Ali Leifer placed 11th in 37.18.
   The Raiders logged plenty of miles and faced a bunch of great competition in their final weekend of indoor action. They also added five more All-America athletes to their expanding list.