ROBBINSVILLE: Ravens send 10 to MOC track

Leszcynski finishes fifth in Group I 1,600

By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
   Mike Walker has always believed in Lisa Leszcynski, and the Robbinsville High School junior is starting to believe in herself now too.
   Leszcynski finished fifth in the Group I girls 1,600 to advance to her first Meet of Champions for track and field.
   ”This is the first time I’ve ever placed for states,” said Leszcynski, who ran a personal record of 5:26.08. “I’ve never done the mile before this year.
   ”I wasn’t sure about it. It’s my first couple times running the mile. My coach decided to put me in at sectionals.”
   Leszcynski surprised herself when she ran 5:33.62 for third place at the sectional meet. She had also run her regular 800 meters event, finishing sixth in 2:31.81. But it was no surprise to Walker, Robbinsville’s girls coach, who has been trying to convince Leszcynski how good she is in cross country and track.
   ”She’s always been that girl that wasn’t the top runner, but was always critical of her performances even though she ran well,” Walker said. “She was a part of that group that won the (cross country) state title as freshmen. She was behind three girls from her team. She’s third or fourth best in her class. She’s always been good, but because of where she was in her class, she didn’t always think so.”
   Now, she’s one of 10 athletes from Robbinsville advancing to the MOC that will be held Saturday at Toms River’s Bennett Center.
   For the girls, Meagan Lesniak finished fourth in the 3,200 in a personal record of 11:46.63. Noel Jancewicz was second in the high jump at 5-foot-4, losing only by total jumps taken. The girls 4×400 of 4×4. Jancewicz, Courtney Levering, Tara Franzoni and Amanda Douglass placed sixth in 4:15.51.
   ”The girls were really into it and supporting each other,” Walker said. “We have such a young team. Lisa has never made it out of a sectional meet. Even for her, she’s never been that far.
   ”Noel, we take it for granted how good she is. Even with her, it’s new and exciting. It’s only her third track season. To see them jumping around and see them excited about medaling and moving on, it was a good meet. The kids were getting their personal bests. Meagan, that was her best indoor or outdoor.”
   On the boys side, Craig Hunter tied for second in high jump at 6-feet and finished third in pole vault after clearing 13-feet. Julian Jiggetts was fourth in the 400 in 51.80. The boys advanced two in the 3,200 with Brian O’Toole fourth in 10:00.44 and Roberto Guiducci sixth in 10:05.64, personal bests for both as they head into the MOC.
   ”Julian has a good chance to run a good time,” said Robbinsville boys coach Jonathan Hutchinson. “Brian is primed to break 10. He’s ready for next week. Roberto Guiducci got in there for sixth. It’s his first chance at the Meet of Champs. He’s showing he belonged there.
   ”It’s a great exclamation point for all the hard work they’ve been doing. They’ve been training like animals though some tough conditions. Our track has been covered in ice the last couple weeks. To see them succeeding, it’s a real testament to how hard they’ve worked. It’ll catapult them into the spring and see if they can achieve those same levels. It’s exciting.”
   Leszcynski is excited to see how she can do against the state’s best in the mile. She has lowered her time each time she has run the event, from over 5:38 at Lawrenceville at the end of January, to 5:33 in sectionals to 5:26 last week at groups, though she’s still learning how to master the event.
   ”I didn’t have much to compare it to,” Leszcynski said. “It’s a new thing. It’s really new.
   ”I didn’t really have a strategy. I started off based off everyone else. Halfway through, I went off and kicked to see what I could do and left it all on the track.”
   The result was a new best, and a new jolt of confidence in what’s fast becoming her best event.
   ”I had no idea,” she said. “After my coach put me in the mile for the one meet we did, it was really surprising.
   ”I liked the 800 a lot more until I saw what I could do in the mile. It’s kind of cool having another thing to rely on.”
   Leszcynski may have found her niche on a Ravens team that continues to make its presence felt at the state level.
   ”Everybody is really good on our team,” Leszcynski said. “We’re all good at different things. We all have our parts. We all place at different things. It’s cool to see how it turns out for other people.”
   Even though Leszcynski is new to the MOC at the track and field level, she’s been there three times with the Ravens cross country team.
   ”It definitely prepares you for what’s to come,” she said. “You have to be around that type of atmosphere to get used to it. I think cross country helped me, being around it all those years.”
   She is looking forward to her first trip to the track and field MOC, even if it is in an event she never would have expected, but it starting to believe in now.
   ”That meet last week, I saw that potential,” Walker said. “She’s going to be a stud if she decides to run in college. She is going to keep getting better every year. It’s exciting to see her smile and enjoy the fact.
   ”Last spring, toward the end, she started to run some pretty quick times. It was mostly in the 800. She’s bumped up to the 1,600 this year, more out of need with not having (Megan) Flynn. This season was only her second 1,600 that she’s run in her high school career. She ran at sectionals and she ran a 1,600 earlier this winter. Sectionals was her second of her season and third of her career. She was a little surprised.”