By Rudy Brandl, The Packet Group
Lawrence High seniors Pat Thiele and Sean Pearson finally did it.
The track and field team’s top two pole vaulters set a new school record in Saturday’s Mercer County Relays, combining for 24 feet to finish second in the 15-school field. Thiele led the way by clearing 12 feet, 6 inches for a new personal record. Pearson contributed the other 11-6, which is six inches shy of his lifetime best.
Thiele and Pearson came closer than any Cardinals to winning a county relay title. It took a meet-record performance of 24-1 by Hightstown to beat Lawrence by one inch.
”They wanted it (the school record) since they were sophomores,” LHS boys’ head coach Jonathan Chichilitti said. “It was nice to see them finally get it.”
Lawrence set another school record in the discus relay, where Ethan Posey (126-0) and Lee Wing Zhou (125-8) were as balanced as any duo could be. Both boys reached new personal standards to post a combined mark of 251-8, which was good for fourth place.
The top three relays in each event received medals. The Cardinals earned medals in three events, including the sprint medley and intermediate hurdles relays that placed third.
Eric Wallace and Dion Ross started the sprint medley with 200-meter splits of 24.3 and 22.6. Ross set a new personal record on his leg of the relay, Wallace ran his fastest 200 split (23.7) in the 4×200. T.J. Kelly followed with his best 400 (51.0) and Marcin Truszkowski anchored with his fastest 800 (2:06.8). The Cardinals hit the wire in 3:44.6 for third place.
The intermediate hurdles trio of E.J. Watson (61.4), Eliot Nagele (64.1) and Wallace (64.3) also finished third in 3:09.8. That was their fastest time of the season.
Lawrence also ran very well in the 4×200 with four solid legs – Watson (23.9), Kelly (22.6), Wallace (23.7) and Ross (22.2) blazed to fourth place in 1:32.4.
Watson led off the 4×400 with a team-best 52.8. Ross, who ran two fast 200 splits and anchored the 4×100 team, ended his busy day with a 52.9 anchor split to help the Cards place fifth in the 4×400 in a time of 3:35.4.
Other LHS relays placing in the top six included the distance medley team (4th, 11:25.5) of Scott Figatner, Kelly, Tommy O’Rourke and Truszkowski, the high jump relay unit (5th, 10-3) of J.D. Bryant and Robert Jean-Pierre and the shot put duo (6th, 78-11) of Posey and E.C. Carrington.
The Cardinals performed well but Chichilitti wasn’t satisfied, especially since the weather and conditions finally were favorable. The team had meets vs. Robbinsville and Trenton postponed within the past week and has competed on some other nasty days this spring. Saturday’s weather was perfect.
”I was pleased with some things but I would have liked to do better,” Chichilitti said. “I was expecting better.”
Chichilitti was not happy with the handoffs in the 4×100, something he planned to address in this week’s practice sessions leading up to the prestigious Penn Relays. The Cards most likely will go with the team of Michael Hobby, Keith Sherman, Ross and Kelly but that could change for Friday’s race. Lawrence will enter a 4×400 team of Watson, Sherman, Ross and Kelly in Saturday’s session at Penn.
The Lawrence girls did not capture any medals at the Mercer County Relays. They came closest in the triple jump relay, where senior Jen Korngut and junior Imani Hobby finished fourth with a combined distance of 60-0¾. Korngut went over 30 feet to lead the way.
LHS girls’ head coach Tim Collins wasn’t expecting miracles from his 4×100 team in its first race of the year. Senior Justine Kelley, junior Adriana Gabriel, sophomore Stacey Adamcik and freshman Liz Hernandez hit the wire in 52.6 seconds for eighth place.
”That’s not a bad time for their first 4×1 of the season,” Collins said. “They’re getting ready for the Penn Relays on Thursday.”
Collins plans to send the same foursome to the track at Penn for the 4×100. Senior Liz Darbee will take Hernandez’s place and join the other three girls on the 4×400.
Lawrence had one more girls’ relay crack the top 10 last weekend. Tenay Howard, Beletiah Wheager, Rebecca Scardeletti and Hernandez finished ninth in 1:56. Wheager cut three seconds off her 200 split and was named the school’s top female athlete in the meet.

