Decade of track and field brilliance for HHS girls

O’Connor continued dominance in shot put

By: Rudy Brandl
   
   The Hillsborough High girls’ track and field team was near perfect this spring. In fact, the Raiders have been that way for the past 10 years.
   Veteran head coach Rich Refi has called this a "decade of brilliance" and the term certainly applies. This program has produced more championships than any scholastic sports team in the area in the last decade. The spring of 2007 simply continued the tradition and added more hardware to the trophy case.
   Hillsborough’s 10-year resume includes 65 consecutive dual meet victories, plus nine Skyland Conference Relays, nine Somerset County Relays, six Skyland Conference, nine Somerset County and three Central Jersey Group 4 team titles. This year, the HHS girls took championship victory laps after all competitions until the CJ 4 meet, where they finished just 13 points behind South Brunswick.
   "It was an outstanding team," Refi said. "The sectional was brutal and we were not really that far off. We were right there."
   Some of the state’s most talented athletes led the HHS girls. Senior thrower Taryn O’Connor, senior hurdler/jumper Melissa Arango, senior hurdler/sprinter Ebony Jones and sophomore all-purpose star Ebony Young fueled this juggernaut.
   O’Connor dominated the shot put and discus, breaking her own school records in both events this season. O’Connor gained her fifth Meet of Champions medal earlier this month when she finished second in the shot put.
   Arango, Jones and Young also qualified for the Meet of Champions. Arango starred in the 100 hurdles and triple jump, where she helped the HHS girls win all the county and conference meets. Jones sprinted and contributed in the 400 hurdles, where she finished ninth in the state. Young had a big year in the 400 hurdles but also starred in the 400 dash and triple jump. She’s the athlete to watch in this program for the next two years.
   A combination of depth and star power made the HHS girls a formidable team in relay and individual formats. O’Connor produced 20 points in the county and conference meets. Arango and Young were always among the leaders in the triple jump. Young and Jones regularly placed in the 400 hurdles and led the 4×400 relay team to a fast finish.
   All these young ladies pushed each other in a healthy form of competition.
   "I always thought we had a tight group," Refi said. "There was no drama this year. They all really rooted for each other. Even the throwers took an interest in what the runners were doing. We knew we’d have some close meets and they were all looking out for each other. Ebony (Jones) and Ebony (Young) or Melissa and Ebony (Young) never cared who won, as long as we got the points we needed."
   That HHS girls showed that spirit and some real toughness to pull out the relay team titles in April. They needed a victory in the triple jump to win the Skyland Relays title and Arango and Young responded. They needed to beat Ridge to win the Somerset County Relays crown and the team of Jones, Carlin Dunne, Anna Spaniol and Young got the job done.
   "We showed a lot of character this year, especially at the beginning of the season," Jones said. "If the girls continue to show heart, there’s no reason they shouldn’t keep winning."
   "It was exciting to be a part of this team," Arango added. "It felt good to win. Every meet made us more united. We were able to pull through and win the close meets."
   Ridge pushed the HHS girls in the relay meets and again at the Somerset County Championships in May. The Raiders managed to continue their perfect season with two more titles on their home track, thanks to more heroics from their stars.
   O’Connor, one of the most prolific track and field athletes in school history, added more milestones to her resume. She won the Central Jersey Group 4 shot put crown, had a tough weekend at the State Group 4 meet but came back poised to win the outdoor title after taking the indoor championship in the winter.
   It was another exciting battle with Brick Township rival DeAnne Hahn, but O’Connor settled for the silver medal this time. She fired her best throw of the outdoor season (46-0½) but finished the school year with the state’s best overall mark (47-6½) from the indoor campaign. O’Connor earned All-America status by finishing sixth at last weekend’s outdoor nationals with a throw of 45-6½.
   The Raiders will miss MVPs O’Connor, Arango and Jones and senior Ali Leifer, who won the Fred Mountjoy Award at the team banquet. Seniors Kelsey Kutch and Ali Hydzik also contributed in their final scholastic campaign.
   However, there’s plenty of talent returning to keep this machine rolling into the future. Young, who finished eighth in the 400 hurdles (1:02.37) at the nationals, will be one of the state’s most exciting multi-event athletes in the next two years.
   Other HHS underclassmen who contributed to this year’s success include junior thrower Angela Davia, junior sprinter Stephanie Ogrodnik, junior middle distance runner Spaniol, junior pole vaulters Jaclyn Marangella and Beth Davin, sophomore thrower Brittany Bennett, sophomore middle distance runners Dunne and Ali Moran, freshman distance standout Ashley Smolinka and freshman pole vaulter Kelly Weber.