Robbinsville boys & girls should hit the track running

By: Sean Moylan
   Usually, varsity track and field teams will use the winter track and field season to prepare for the spring. This year, Robbinsville’s Megan Flynn, Amy Greubel, Brian Alston and Rob Jiggetts used the indoor season to develop into stars.
   Flynn, a freshman, is one of Central Jersey Group 1’s better young distance runners while Greubel is a superior high jumper who is trained in multiple events. Jiggetts and Alston are excellent sprinters on the boys’ side.
   While Robbinsville did not have an official varsity team until this year, it already had established star distance runners in Gina Norato and Jon Harmon, who both had strong track seasons last year. Norato is coming off a record-setting cross country season and a solid winter season. Meanwhile Harmon is coming back from an injury which kept him from breaking records this winter. And Erin Hankins is a tremendous hurdler and sprinter. Moreover, Mike Walker (Robbinsville boys’ track and field coach) and Rick Smith (Robbinsville’s girls head coach) are such good and competitive head coaches that they expect both of their teams to have some immediate success.
   "This year on the girls’ side we have a couple of key injuries which may keep us from winning a Sectional Championship," said Walker, who works together with Smith. "But we’re going to try to get a couple of kids to qualify for Nationals."
   Flynn could compete in special freshmen mile or a freshmen 5K race this season. Jiggetts ran so much faster this winter than he did last spring that Walker has yet to set goals for his junior standout.
   The Robbinsville boys’ and girls’ varsity track and field teams have a lot of depth this season. In fact, expect Christian Alexander, Angie Avellaneda, Shannon Boyne, Timothy Brazelton, Alyssa Browning, Jennifer Bryan, Jack Burum, Bora Buyuktimkin, Nora Carnevale, Marissa Clark, Daniel Delaney, Alexandra Demetriades, Justin Denisco, Danielle Douglass, Kyle Dragert, Christina Fat, Richard Flocco, Flynn, Nicholas Foti, Alex Giaquinto, Anthony Gother, Greubel, Hankins, Harmon, Erin Hayes, Nicole Hornberger, Erin Hubscher, Benjamin Huynh, Jiggetts, Nicholas Lachman, Michael Landolfi, Ryan Lee, Phoebe Lin, Stephen Lincoln, Justin Lotito, Holly Lovering, Megan Lunny, Michael Mahoney, Christina Mandreucci, Grayson Matera, Gabriella Matuzsan, Zachary Matuzsan, Andrew Matyas, Andrew McLaughlin, Kyle McMullen, Taylor Mitchell, Tyler Muir, Norato, Karoline Panes, Mark Panes, John Paulino, Eppiphany Polk, Nicole Sandusky, Ashley Schindewolf, Michael Schindewolf, Rebecca Schultz, Ali Soroush, Silpa Srinivasula, Laura Swift, Patrick Wells, Bryan White, Jaquelyn Wladich and Faisal Zia to all make contributions, in some way or another, this season.
   Robbinsville, as a school, has really embraced track and field. In fact, it is going to host Mercer County relays on April 21st. First varsity year or not, by year’s end, look for the Ravens to advance athletes into Group I state championship meet on both sides.