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MANVILLE: Demeter jumps propel boys

Balanced attack beats Roselle Park

by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
   Eight different Manville High boys won events and many others established new personal records to propel the team to a 92-39 rout over Roselle Park in last Thursday’s home track and field meet.
   First-year head coach Pat Gorbatuk was impressed by what his team accomplished in the first dual meet of the season. Gorbatuk, whose MHS girls also prevailed to complete a sweep by the home team, duplicated what he did as the school’s head wrestling coach by winning his first meet.
   ”I can’t believe the kids are blowing away their times already,” Gorbatuk said. “We’re not even pushing them hard yet.”
   Senior Billy Demeter was the team’s lone individual double winner, taking first place in the long jump (19-2) and triple jump (39-5). Seven of his teammates posted first places, including senior Matt Zangara and junior Scott Alpizar, who also contributed to the winning 4×400 relay unit.
   Demeter didn’t have a great day in the high jump but was pleased with his performances in the long jump and triple jump. He missed most of the pre-season with tonsillitis and a double ear infection so he’s a bit behind schedule. Last week’s performance shows Demeter is on his way back.
   ”I’m way behind the rest of the team, but I started off well,” he said. “I started off a few inches behind where I was at the end of last year in the long jump and triple jump. I always like to push myself further. I’m not satisfied with remaining the same.”
   Demeter had to come from behind to win the triple jump. He hit in the 37-foot range in his first two attempts but added another two feet to win the event on his final leap.
   ”Something struck me and the adrenaline kicked in because I wasn’t in first,” Demeter said.
   Demeter came very close to his personal records in the long jump (19-9) and triple jump (39-11). He’s hoping to break 20 feet soon in the long jump and has his eye on Mike Knitowski’s school record (40-7) in the triple jump.
   ”I’m not full back yet, I’m about 90 percent,” Demeter said. “I feel like I have a lot more to give.”
   Alpizar opened the meet with a personal record time (1:07.4) to win the 400 hurdles. The junior has also been leading the 4×400 relay with sub-60 times.
   Zangara followed with an exciting win in the 100 meters (12.0), finishing just in front of a Roselle Park sprinter. He made a late kick in the 400 but couldn’t quite catch his Roselle Park opponent and settled for second in 57.2. Zangara also took second in the 200 (25.3).
   Brandon Togneri won his first varsity race, prevailing in the 800 in a time of 2:24.1. Togneri also placed third in the 1,600 (5:36.5).
   David Olmsted hit a personal best 19.2 to take first place in the 110 high hurdles. Olmsted also ran his best time (1:12.7) for second place in the 400 hurdles and chipped in a pair of third places in the 100 (12.6) and javelin (124-7).
   Mike Hopkins won the javelin (138-5) and Eddie Yakobchuk hit the final stretch hard to win an exciting 1,600 race in 5:23.3.
   The Mustangs were most dominant in the jumps, sweeping all three by 9-0 scores. Demeter led the way in the long and triple, but senior Danny Pierrot hit a new personal record (5-8) to capture the high jump. Yakobchuk (personal-record 5-6) and Hopkins (5-6) completed the sweep in the high jump, while Pierrot and Hopkins placed second and third, respectively, in the other two jumps. Pierrot hit a personal best 19-1½ in the long jump and 37-7 in the triple jump, while Hopkins went 17-8 and 37-3 for third place in those events.
   Sophomore Devin Burke had a solid day, running his first sub-60 quarter with a 58.6 in the 400 for third place. He took third in the 200 (26.2) and also joined Alpizar, Peter Hando and Zangara on the winning 4×400 relay (4:02.6).
   ”He’s a physical specimen who wants to compete,” Gorbatuk said. “You can’t teach that. He was on fire today.”
   Other MHS boys contributing points to the victory included Alpizar in the 110 high hurdles (2nd, 19.6), Doug Bradley in the 800 (2nd, 2:27.7), Russell Grimm in the 800 (3rd, 2:31.0), brothers Eddie Yakobchuk (2nd, 12:12.9) and Ernest Yakobchuk (3rd, personal best 12:39.5) in the 3,200 meters, Karol Blicharz in the discus (2nd, 90-4) and Keegan Forke in the discus (3rd, 85-1).
   Manville was scheduled to compete in a dual meet at Bound Brook this week.