Track athletes perform at Raider Relays

RAIDER ROUNDUP

By: Rudy Brandl
   Hillsborough High’s track and field athletes put on another good show, this time at their home facility, in Saturday’s Raider Relays. Three HHS relay groups from each gender captured titles in the annual event, which does not award a team title.
   The HHS boys set two school records at the meet. The 3×400 intermediate hurdles relay team of Tyler Szwarc (56.9 split), Dan Millemann (57.2) and Brian Frangione (59.9) rolled to a two-second victory over South Brunswick in 2:54.3. All-Americans Dan Reiss (15.8), Millemann (15.5), Brandon Lane (15.8) and Szwarc (14.3) defeated rival Franklin in the shuttle hurdles (1:01.8). Lane (44-0) and Dave Eilbacher (39-11) teamed to edge Franklin by less than an inch in the triple jump (83-11).
   Hillsborough’s other school record came in the high jump relay, where Eilbacher led the way with an impressive 6-2 leap. Lane added a 5-10 for the record distance of 12 feet that was good for third place.
   The Raiders finished second in the sprint medley and 4×800 relays. The team of Alex Szela (24.0), Rob Nguyen (23.9), Warner Jones (50.5) and Rob Marley (2:01.1) hit the wire in 3:38.5 in the sprint medley. Szela (2:06.1), Jones (2:00.1), Alex Brown (2:00.7) and Marley (2:10.9) completed the 4×800 in 8:17.9.
   Mark Ksiezopolski (12-6) and Reiss (11-6) combined for third place in the pole vault. The 4×400 team of Szela (52.6), Frangione (55.0), Millemann (52.9) and Brown (53.0) finished third in 3:33.7.
   The HHS girls also won three events. Ten different athletes contributed to these gold medal performances.
   Carlin Dunne (2:29.4), Nicole Rocha (2:28.6), Anna Spaniol (2:30.3) and Ashley Smolinka (2:21.8) won the 4×800 in 9:50.1, better than five seconds faster than Pope John XXIII. The shuttle hurdles team of Melissa Arango (15.6), Ebony Young (15.9), Ali Leifer (17.1) and Ebony Jones (15.4) beat South Brunswick by two seconds. Shot putters Taryn O’Connor (40-9½) and Angela Davia (34-1) won by more than 4 feet.
   Hillsborough finished second in the triple jump (69-7), high jump (9-6) and discus (182-6). Again, all the athletes were different.
   Arango (34-3½) and Young (35-3½) teamed in the triple jump. Ali Hydzik (4-10) and Kelly Weber (4-8) combined in the high jump. O’Connor (107-0) and Davia (75-6) joined forces in the discus.
   The HHS girls finished second in the 800 and 1,600 sprint medley and the javelin. The 1,600 sprint medley included Jones (59.6), Arango (27.8), Young (25.7) and Smolinka (2:19.8), while the shorter race featured Leifer, Arango, Young and Jones. Davia (100-2) and Kelsey Kutch (93-10) combined in the javelin.
Track teams stay
unbeaten in duals
   
Both HHS track and field teams remained perfect in the regular season with sweeps over Hunterdon Central and Bridgewater-Raritan last week. Hillsborough’s boys and girls each improved to 5-0.
   Brandon Lane and Rocco Mazzagatti were the only overall double winners when the boys beat Central (72-48) and B-R (123-17). Lane prevailed in the high jump (6-2) and triple jump (42-11¼), while Mazzagatti took first in the shot put (46-5½) and discus (126-5).
   Other HHS winners included Dan Reiss in the long jump (19-4), Dan Millemann in the 400 hurdles (57.9), Warner Jones in the 400 dash (51.6), Tyler Szwarc in the 110 high hurdles (14.7), Mark Ksiezopolski in the pole vault (12-6) and the 4×400 relay team (3:41.5) of Alex Brown, Brian Frangione, Rob Marley and Millemann.
   The Hillsborough girls scored more than 200 total points in their sweep of B-R (110-30) and Central (91-49). Six different Raiders won events, led by freshman Ashley Smolinka, who posted a distance double.
   Smolinka took first in the 1,600 (5:35) and 3,200 (11:50). Other winners were Ali Leifer in the 100 (12.9), Melissa Arango in the 100 hurdles (15.1), Kelly Weber in the high jump (4-10), Ebony Young in the triple jump (34-3¼) and Angela Davia in the shot put (32-0½).
Marino nets 100th in
girls’ lacrosse rout
   
HHS senior home Katie Marino became the third player in school history to hit the century mark for career lacrosse goals in last week’s 12-5 home victory over Montgomery.
   Marino, who will play at Rutgers next year, finished with five goals and one assist in the victory. Her third goal of the game was No. 100 for her career. She joins sisters Krystina DeLuca and Ali DeLuca on the school’s elite list.
   Kelsey Palmer and Sam Schwalje netted two goals apiece, while Lindsey Watts and Katie DeLuca added one apiece. Dorian Gilmartin-Dzitko chipped in with a goal and an assist.
   Marino had another big night denting the cage in last Thursday night’s 17-4 victory over Immaculata. Marino led the Raiders with five goals and two assists.
   Junior Sara DiClemente (4), Watts (3), Palmer (2), Ashley Redelico (2) and Tina Marino added goals for the winners. Lauren Griggs made five saves for Hillsborough, which bolted to a 10-4 lead at the half and blanked Immaculata in the final 25 minutes.
Volleyballers drop
big local match
   
Hillsborough vs. Bridgewater-Raritan has become a huge rivalry in most sports. Add boys’ volleyball to that list.
   The Raiders and Panthers battled in a big match last Thursday at B-R. Both teams have been ranked in the top 20 this season, so this was for local bragging rights and a higher seed in the Somerset County Tournament.
   Bridgewater prevailed in two tight sets, winning the match with scores of 25-20 and 25-23 to improve to 5-1. The Raiders fell to 6-3 despite 17 assists from Jared Himelfarb, five kills and a block from Sean Kelly and three kills, one block and one ace from Mike Argueta.
   Hillsborough swept West Windsor Plainsboro North in another good match from last week. After cruising to a 25-14 win in the first set, the Raiders had to work hard for a 28-26 victory in the clincher.
   Kelly had six kills to lead the way, while Kyle Downey and Joe Caratozzolo each made four kills.
Netmen prepare for
tough county tourney
   
The HHS boys’ tennis team certainly will get plenty of chances to avenge recent defeats at this weekend’s Somerset County Tournament. The Raiders (5-3) have already lost matches to county rivals Montgomery, Bridgewater-Raritan and Ridge.
   This year’s county tourney should be a wide-open affair, with five teams including host Pingry entertaining team title hopes. Each position will have its favorites, but team depth will dictate the overall team picture.
   After dropping their third match of the year vs. Ridge last week, the Raiders roared back with a 5-0 whipping of Bernards on a beautiful Friday afternoon in Hillsborough. All five matches were decided in straight sets.
   Steven Wu rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 win at first singles. Chris Plaskon remained unbeaten at second singles with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph. Stefan Apostolos capped the singles sweep with a 6-1, 6-1 victory in the third slot.
   Ross Friedman and Tim Le surrendered only one game in each set in their first doubles win. Neil Shah and Sam Klein completed the shutout with a 6-1, 6-3 victory.
   The Raiders posted a similar shutout win without losing a set in a match vs. North Hunterdon last week. Plaskon was the team’s only winner in the 4-1 loss at Ridge.