By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Patrick Warren started to get a sense last year that he could be one of the better long jumpers in the state.
For DeAndre Thomas, the feeling that he was one of the better triple jumpers came just last week.
Both of the Montgomery High seniors are among the top performers in the state in their respective events, which they showed last Saturday while competing in the Skyland Conference Relays at Ridge High School.
“It is something that we both take a lot of pride in,” said Warren, who won the high jump and was second in the long jump at the Skyland Relays. “We just want to go out there and show everybody in the county and the conference that the two of us when we are on a relay, whether it is high jump, long jump or triple jump, that we can go out there and compete with anybody in the state. That is just the mentality that we have. We want to go out there and just perform at the highest level that we possibly can.”
While Warren was impressive in his two events, Thomas was equally as impressive in his. He won the triple jump with an effort of 44-feet, 5¼-inches, which helped him to start to feel more like an elite competitor in his event.
“On Saturday when I jumped my 44-5, I would say at that moment I felt myself being one of the better people in our section,” said Thomas, who was also seventh in the long jump. “At that point there were two people ranked higher than me going into the season and now I have beaten each one individually. So that gave me a lot of confidence going into the championship season.”
Warren established himself as an elite jumper last year at the state Group IV meet, where he finish second in the long jump, less than five inches away from the winning effort.
“Last year at groups in Egg Harbor, I was jumping against the kid who wound up winning states, Eric Bethea (Of Piscataway), and he was a great athlete,” Warren said. “I felt like even though it was my first year jumping, me being able to keep up and compete with him in a one-on-one kind of thing, that’s when I felt like this is something I could really be good at.”
Both Warren and Thomas compete in the sprints and 400 meters when needed. But each has their own specialty. While Warren is strong in the high jump, his best event has become the long jump. Thomas, meanwhile, has developed into a top triple jumper.
“Last year was my first year long jumping and I just fell in love with the event,” said Warren, who will attend Rutgers University and compete on the track and field team next year. “I want to go out there every meet that I possibly can where I can long jump and just show everybody that last year wasn’t luck. I am working as hard as anybody in the state right now and feel like I can compete with the best. That is really the mindset we have this season. We want to perform with the best in the state and show that we belong.”
Thomas started to make strides in the triple jump last year, but this has been the breakthrough year for him in the event.
“Last year was my first major year,” Thomas said. “Freshman year I was just getting used to track and sophomore year I was out with a concussion most of the year. Last year I was just starting to get used to the event, but this year I am starting to put form into the event and I have seen an improvement. Patrick and I are helping each other with our form in each of the jumps.
“When I first started I thought it was going to be a pretty hard event to do. But after I started doing it a couple times it was an event that I really liked.”
When the two compete in relay meets they are tough to beat. Both were excited about competing in the Somerset County Relays, which were scheduled for Thursday.
“I am feeling really good about our performances so far in the meets,” Warren said. “DeAndre is doing amazing in triple jump so far. He hasn’t lost yet in a relay or a tri-meet. I am doing pretty solid in long jump.
“I think the strong winter season we had helped us having success as a team and individually with a lot of different people. DeAndre didn’t have as much of a winter season because he was dealing with some injuries. But he is making up for a lot of lost time now.”
The two were part of a strong effort for the Cougars at the Skyland Relays. The sprint medley team of Warren, Michael Simonson, Mike Munoz and Raouf Laadem was second. The shuttle hurdle relay team of Will Keller, Christian Williams, Danny Young and Zachary Tamuzza was second. The 4×400 relay team of Munoz, Cashman, Malachi Clemons and Laadem was third, as was the 4×1600 relay team of Avinash Boppana, Andrew Bernard, Dillan Spector and Ajay Sarathy. Nate Schembor was third in the shot put and fourth in the discus
On the girls side, the 4×100 shuttle hurdle relay of Queen Divine, Gillian Gallagher, Abrianna Barrett and Annie Li was first. The 4×200 relay of Jennifer Hook, Emma Raccaro, Sophia Sharpless and Camille Negron was second. The 4×100 relay team of Divine, Negron, Sarah Knight and Sharpless finished third. The 4×400 relay of Knight, Negron, Raccaro and Sharpless was also third, as was the 4×1600 relay of Gianna Tedeschi, Sarah Boyer, Julianne Hillsamer and Julia Hans. Hannah Taylor was second in the high jump and second in the long jump. Devine was second in the triple jump.
Both teams are hoping their depth leads to success down the road this season.
“We have a lot of depth in all of the events,” Thomas said. “Our coach was saying we have so much depth that no matter who we take to the meets we feel confident we can score points in the meet.”
Warren and Thomas both know they can score in their events and hope to build on the success they have already had this season.
“So far we have done pretty well,” said Thomas, who is currently deciding between a post-graduate year at SPIRE Institute in Ohio or a Division 2 school for next year. “I feel like right now we can compete with anyone in the state because we are doing so well. But neither one of us is entirely healthy so the fact we are doing what we’re doing now and still competing with everyone is showing us how well we can do when we are healthy.
“Hopefully I can just keep having successful meets and be county, conference and section champion.”
Warren just hopes to keep building on the success he has enjoyed. And regardless, he loves to compete in the jumping events and the head to head competition.
“That’s probably my favorite part about competing in the jumps,” Warren said. “Seeing how everybody else performs. It pushes me to at least match or hopefully push past them. It’s really fun.”
And he will continue to build on that success next year at Rutgers.
“I am looking forward to being able to compete in the Big Ten next year,” Warren said. “They have a jumper, Corey Crawford, who was an All-American and was top 10 at NCAA championships. Hopefully I can have that kind of success going forward.”
