Team just missed .500 mark
By: Rudy Brandl
The Manville High boys faced their toughest track and field competition ever in the Skyland Conference this spring. Although the results weren’t always positive, the name of the game in this sport is improvement and the Mustangs achieved that for the most part.
Track and field is about running your fastest times and jumping and throwing your longest distances. Athletes have no control over how their opponents perform. Coaches always stress the importance of personal goals and peaking at the right time.
"They kept bettering their times and distances in a lot of the meet," MHS head coach Michelle Mongillo said. "They did rise to the challenge. They didn’t think about the other teams. They just went out and did what they were supposed to do."
The Mustangs competed against some of the state’s most prolific athletes in the Skyland Conference. In several meets, MHS senior standout Mike Knitowski battled Franklin’s Hanif Kendrick, who went on to win the long jump title at the Meet of Champions. Manville’s sprinters watched Somerville star Mason Robinson win everything this year, including a state championship in the 100-meter run.
Knitowski led the MHS boys with another outstanding season. He placed third in the Somerset County Championships, one of many big meets in which Kendrick captured gold. After battling the best athletes from larger schools in the conference and county field, Knitowski went to work against the Group 1 athletes.
For the second straight year, he reached the State Group 1 Championships in multiple events, although he didn’t qualify in the long jump, which he always considered his best event. Knitowski shook off a tough first day of competition at the sectionals and roared back to place in the high jump and triple jump.
Considered a long shot to reach the M of C, Knitowski came within one jump of making his first trip to the state’s most prestigious meet in the high jump. He matched his career-best leap of six feet but finished seventh because one too many misses at previous heights left him out of the top six
"I’m happy I jumped six feet," Knitowski said. "At least I can say I was seventh. That’s pretty close."
Knitowski enjoyed a marvelous four-year career and will graduate with the school record in the triple jump (40-7). He led the team in scoring the last two years, doing most of his damage in the three jumping events. He hit a personal record (20-11¾) in the county long jump and went out tying his best in the high jump (6-0). Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to get him to the Meet of Champions.
"I’m going to miss that whole group of seniors," Mongillo said. "Mike was the forerunner. He was an important part of the team. I’m proud of him."
The MHS boys also suffered a near-miss in their quest for a winning dual meet season. They started out well with a victory over Bound Brook and remained over .500 for most of the spring. A subpar effort in the tri-meet vs. Bernards and North Plainfield on the Monday after prom weekend left the Mustangs at 3-4 in regular season action.
"It was disappointing because the seniors gave the team a pep talk that they wanted to be over .500," Mongillo said. "We were in a different conference and it was tougher this year. Those are tough teams."
The Mustangs defeated Bound Brook, Roselle Park and Middlesex but lost to David Brearley and got hammered by Hackettstown before the season-ending losses. They went 3-1 against their old friends from the Mountain Valley Conference.
Knitowski, who was awarded team MVP, leads a graduating class of six that will be missed next season. Most Improved winner Lukasz Bogdanowicz cut seconds off his times in the two hurdling events. Coaches Award winner Leo Rodriguez showed great versatility by contributing in the sprints and shot put. Middle distance runners Jack Calvo and Ron Skirkanish and jumper Matt Golen will also be lost to graduation.
Eleven underclassmen earned varsity letters this spring juniors Drew Evanylo, Glenn Hall, Matt Kita, Chris Kocur and Jason Pfoutz, sophomores Billy Demeter, Danny Pierrot and Matt Zangara and freshmen Doug Bradley, Andrew Franko and Eddie Yakobchuk. They will shape the team’s future.

