Red Bank Catholic High School put its full range of talent on display at the two-day Monmouth County Track and Field Championships.
Shore Regional High School’s Cameo Kirk (c) sprints toward the finish line of the 400-meter intermediate hurdles at the Monmouth County Championships on May 5 at Neptune High School. Kirk went on to finish second behind Red Bank Catholic High School’s Meghan Mc- Mullin (r). Right: Monmouth Regional High School’s A.J. Visconti gets ready to unleash a javelin. Rob DeFilippis’ Caseys took the lead on the first day of competition (May 5) and never looked back, wrapping up the championship Saturday at Neptune High School with 89 points. The win allowed the Caseys to avenge their loss to Freehold Township High School at the indoor county meet in the winter. The Pats were second with 70½ points.
What made the Caseys’ triumph so impressive is that they did it with depth. They only had one single winner at the meet.
PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff RBC got its expected points from its cross country stars, and they showed sprinting and hurdler strength on the track and picked up points in the field.
Meghan McMullen picked up RBC’s lone win in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles (1:03.87). She played a key role for the Caseys, taking third in the 100 hurdles (15.87), which were won by Ocean Township High School’s Katie Knight, and anchoring the 4×400 relay team to a second place (4:03.98). Lindsey Bellaran, Sophia Fils-Saime and Liana Marzano completed the quartet.
McMullin didn’t stop with her track points; she took fifth in the long jump (156- 3¼). Bellaran ran second in the 400 (58.89).
RBC’s distance stars were denied individual victory by Neptune’s Ajee Wilson, who won the 800 (2:11.52) and 1,600 (5:03.93), but that didn’t keep them from piling up the points, 35 of them, in these two races.
In the 1,600, Marzano (5:07.79), Molly McNamara (5:12.92) and Michelle Capozzi (5:16.87) ran second, third and fifth.
In the 800, McNamara (2:12.72), Bellaran (2:13.08) and Marzano (2:15.86) were second, third and fourth.
The Caseys received welcomed points in the jumps as Stern took second in the triple jump (34-5) and Brianne Reed was runnerup in the long jump (16-10¾).
RBC’s Kevin Byrne proved one again that he is the class of a very talented crop of middle-distance runners that reside in the county by wining the 1,600-800 double.
In the 1,600, run on May 5, Byrne waited until 300 meters remained in the race to make his move, sweeping by Christian Brothers Academy’s all-state harrier Mike Mazzaccaro.
Byrne said the race went the way he had anticipated, with the Colts’ Mazzaccaro pushing the pace from 700 yards out. Byrne followed, then struck on the backstretch, where the crosswind was favorable.
He open a 10-meter gap almost immediately, but in the homestretch, Mazzaccaro inched closer with every stride until at the line, only .02 separated them, with Byrne posting a 4:17.99 to Mazzaccaro’s 4:18.01.
“I’m glad I went when I did,” said Byrne.
It was at this race two years ago as a freshman that Byrne announced his arrival with a surprise win.
“Two years ago it was a shock,” he recalled, adding that this time around it was nice to get a pr (personal record).
Byrne came back on Saturday to win the 800, facing one of the state’s finest two-lappers, Middletown High School North’s Luke Zirngibil.
Byrne lowered his season’s best time to 1:54.32 while Zirngibil took second in 1:55.73.
Long Branch High School’s Miles Shuler-Foster won his anticipated duel in the 100-meter dash with Raritan High School’s Bennett Jackson.
Since winning the Group II state title at 100 meters last year and then, in his first indoor season, capturing the Meet of Champions crown in the 55-meter dash, the Green Wave speedster is a marked runner, and he prefers it that way.
“It’s what motivates me,” said Shuler- Foster. “Having the target on my back makes me work harder.”
Jackson made Shuler-Foster work: the Long Branch sprinter took the century final in 10.89 to Jackson’s 10.98.
“I had to get the W,” said Shuler-Foster. “I knew Bennett would go all out to compete. He pushed me. We had a great race.”
Shuler-Foster said he is still making the transition from running the 55-meter dash, where the start is everything, to the longer 100 meters, where maintaining your speed is most important.
“I’ve got to keep my head down longer,” said the county champion.
Jackson would get a bit of revenge himself, coming back to beat Shuler-Foster in the 200-meter dash (22.51-22.69).
Monmouth Regional’s Stephanie Skove won the girl’s pole vault in a dual with Howell’s Kellie Bresz. Both vaulters cleared 11-0, but, it was the Golden Falcon who got the win on fewer misses.
Skove also picked up a third place in the triple jump (343-1).
The county championships were a good meet for Ocean Township. In addition to the win by Knight in the girl’s 100 hurdles, Jessica Williams captured the shot put (37-5) and teammate Liana Grandinetti took the discus (106-10). For the Spartan boys, Jacob Rubinstein won the long jump (21-7 ½). The competition was very close in this event with five jumpers exceeding 21-feet.
Neptune will again be the venue this weekend for the Shore Conference Championships which will be held on Friday and Saturday. That will be the final warm-up before the state sectionals get underway May 21-22.