By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
A trio, not a duo as might have been expected, of high jumpers will represent the Northern Burlington County High School boys track and field team as the Group II state meet Saturday.
Seniors Melvin Moore and Preston Towns finished second and third in the boys high jump at the Central Jersey Group II meet with 6-feet-2 and 5-feet-10 jumps respectively, and they will be joined by track and field newcomer, Anthony Cargill, a junior who cleared 5-feet-10. The high jumpers picked up 13½ of the Greyhounds’ 16½ total team points at the sectional.
”A minor surprise was the high jump,” said NBC coach Steve Alustiza. “I knew Preston and Melvin would do well. Our surprise was Andrew Cargill. That was his first competition ever. It’s a nice way to make your entry into high school track.”
Cargill didn’t even open the year on the track and field team. He was playing basketball originally, but needed a change.
”We picked him up from basketball,” Alustiza said. “He came over to winter track to get in shape for spring track. After the Christmas break, he started working on high jump. We weren’t able to get him in any January meets, but we told him to be patient and keep working, and the chances were we could get him in sectionals.”
Just getting him some competition was one thing. Thinking that he might be able to advance to the state group meet was another.
”We weren’t expecting that,” Alustiza said. “It’s a good confidence boost for him.”
The top six individual finishers in each event at the sectionals advance to the state group meet. Joining the high jumpers are a pair of standouts from the breakout cross country campaign last fall. Wyatt Million and Harrison Scott picked up Northern’s other three points at sectionals by placing fifth and sixth respectively at the CJ II meet.
”The goal for the two distance guys is to get under 10 (minutes),” Alustiza said. “It’s an awesome race to watch, if you think watching 16 laps on the track is awesome. Even our assistant John Barbadoro, who doesn’t like to watch distance running, he was even pumped how our guys finished the race.
”It came down to our guys and Kevin Wright from Cinnaminson duking it out for one spot. Harrison threw a surge in and Wyatt went with him. It buried Kevin Wright and we got 5-6.”
Million and Scott were key components of the cross country team. They have kept up their fitness in the winter season and are looking to build off their sectional showing.
”I’m trying to keep them healthy,” Alustiza said. “I don’t want to push them too hard right now. I want to push them in the spring and get them ready for spring track. With distance kids, it’s how they do in cross country and how they do in the spring. Overall, I feel good about what happened last Tuesday.”
On the girls side, Morgan Byrne will represent the Greyhounds. The senior ran 9.32 seconds for fifth in the 55-meter hurdles.
”Morgan is Miss Consistent,” Alustiza said. “She’s a team leader. I knew that what she was expecting to do. She PR’d in the trials. She does hurdles and 4×4 in outdoor and wherever we need her. She loves the hurdles. That’s good for her to move on. The goal for her is to get under nine seconds, being a senior and working as hard as she has. She knows it’s really tough to place at groups and get to Meet of Champs. She’d like to get under nine seconds.”
Bordentown Regional High will be represented at the Group I state meet by Tai Musari, who was third in the South Jersey Group I boys 1,600 meters and fourth in the 800 meters. The Scotties have four girls going as the 4×400 relay of Kenny Musari, Emily Mezsaros, Madison Peppler and Larissa Pywowariw took sixth place in the sectional.
Alustiza is hopeful that the Greyhounds can get some athletes on to the Meet of Champions, and with three entrants in the high jump, they have the most opportunity. Moore and Towns are seniors in their final attempt at it.
”In indoor and outdoor, I don’t think they’ve made it to Meet of Champs,” Alustiza said. “The performance list has Melvin listed second in the state Group II. Preston, who didn’t jump well, is 10th. High jump really depends. There are a couple guys in that area. Isaac Williams of Willingboro is a 6-6 jumper, but he didn’t get over 6-feet. He won two other events, the 55 dash and 55 hurdles. He could have a bad day jumping and good day hurdling. If they have a chance of going for a title for Group II, Isaac may be on. He could be the top jumper.
”Or Melvin could be better. In his second attempt at 6-4, his heels just clipped it on the way day. That tells me he’s ready for 6-4. Preston could bounce back. I’m hoping one of our guys could put a series together and get to the Meet of Champs. If not, I’m hoping they can jump as well as they can and get ready for outdoor.”
The high jump has become a good event for the Greyhounds. NBC has been well represented in it through the year, though their last MOC entrant was distance runner Mike Bowden three years ago.
”High jump, over the years, we had some good kids on both sides, going back off and on,” Alustiza said. “I’ve kind of embraced the high jump. I think it’s a great event. Living in Burlington County is fortunate for us. Mike Pascuzzo — the jumps and pole vault coach out of Lenape, he came out of Maryland, he lives and breathes high jump all the time and he was a US team member. I’ve picked his brains. He’s cool about that. He has no qualms about helping out.
”We’ve had some good girls and guys. I think it’s fortunate. Having Melvin and Preston the past couple of years has helped a lot. We’re going to hope to continue it and see how it goes.”
With Cargill, they also have a future in the high jump. He didn’t act like a rookie high jumper at sectionals.
”Opening height was 5-4,” Alustiza said. “He didn’t show any butterflies. He jumped well enough to move on to groups and jump this weekend.
”My only complaint with Andrew is he’s a junior,” he said. “I wish he came out earlier. Hopefully he can pick up where the other guys left off.”
The Greyhounds will look to extend their winter season at the group meet this weekend, while most of the team will start gearing up for the spring season after closing the indoor season at sectionals.
”It was good,” Alustiza said. “Even the kids that didn’t qualify, we still had some good times and some decent performances out of them. We’re gearing down winter track and getting them ready for spring, that’s where we’re at. This weekend is a four-day weekend. What we’re going to do is practice right up until Thursday. We’ll finish formal winter track this Thursday. Anyone that’s fortunate enough to qualify this weekend, we’ll work with them individually. I’ll be coaching distance kids in the spring time. I’ll shut some down and then others for two weeks, they’ll basically do what I call maintenance runs. Instead of running every day, might be every other day. Instead of long runs, they’ll do maintenance. John’s group, they’ll be lifting on their own until 3:30. They got into a real good routine and don’t want to break that. They’re getting away a bit and decompressing.
”It’s good to shut it down a bit and gear up for the stuff coming spring-wise. It’s been a relatively mild winter. That’s helped tremendously. We’ll take some rest and take some time and come back March 2.”

