By Justin Feil, Packet Media Group
Brandon Tubby and Jeremy Shipley are fast friends on and off the track.
The two will be racing together again as the only two Hillsborough High School boys to advance from the sectionals in the same event. Tubby, a senior, finished second in the 800 meters while Shipley, a junior, was fifth in the Central Jersey Group IV meet Saturday.
It’s the first trip for an individual event for Shipley.
“Honestly, I thought this was my least likely chance of all my three races,” said Shipley, who was also a part of the 4×800 and 4×400 that did not qualify. “I was shocked. It’s finally something I can say I achieved by myself. It’s good going with Tubby. It’s like he’s leading me.”
Tubby is finishing his Hillsborough career in style. He’s thrilled he will have Shipley’s company at the Group IV meet in Egg Harbor on Friday and Saturday.
“I’m really proud of him,” said Tubby, who ran 1:55.08. “This is the first time that a distance guy is moving along with me onto the next round. I’m happy I could share that experience with one of the juniors so they could carry the torch when I’m gone. It says a lot that he’s already coming up to fill the position I’d vacate when I leave.”
Tubby continues to raise standards for those who will follow him. He set a school and meet record when he won the boys’ 1600 meters on Friday in 4:10.65.
“I wasn’t too sure what my times were going to be,” Tubby said. “I knew I was not going to let myself lose the 1600. That was a very strict goal going in. It ended up feeling a lot easier than I thought it would feel.
“The race didn’t really pick up until 200 meters left. I’m used to running races where they get extremely chaotic at the 400. It stayed mellow until the 200. I knew I was in a comfortable spot. I knew there was no way I was going to lose. The time is just icing on the cake.”
Also advancing to groups for the Hillsborough boys are Zachary Williams, who placed second in the long jump with a 21 feet, 5 1/4 leap. Ryan Wheaton is the only other Hillsborough boy besides Tubby to qualify in two events. The sophomore took fifth in the shot put at 50 feet, 10 inches and placed sixth in the javelin with a throw of 158-9. The top six advance to groups, and Wheaton was only one spot away from also advancing in discus.
“I didn’t see many teams that had multiple kids from a team moving on in one event,” Shipley said. “Two people from Hillsborough, that’s a pretty big deal. It’s exciting I get to share that with Tubby.”
The Hillsborough girls were highlighted by:
Kelsey Vieira, who won the triple jump at 37-9 1/4 and placed second in the long jump at 17-10 1/4.
Camille Aitcheson, who took second in the triple jump for a 1-2 finish when she jumped 36-4.
Lauren Smith, who placed third in the 100 meters in 12.61 seconds and fourth in the400 meters in 57.76 seconds.
Paige Novak, who ran 2:16.32 for third in the 800 meters and took third in the 1600 as well in 5:09.65.
Stephanie Mauer, who was fifth in the 3200 in 11:38.89, and
Gifty Adombire, who placed fourth in the shot put at 37 feet.
They will be looking to extend their spring with a top-six finish at groups.
“The years before, I was kind of another person on the team,” Shipley said. “I looked up to other people; they were the big people. Since cross country, I had to step up and be one of the big contributors. It took a lot of hard work that other people outside the team don’t see.”
Tubby is more focused on the 1600, but he will be looking for an even better finish to the 800 meters at groups. He’d like to win both.
“I want to be humble, but I’ve definitely gotten more confident with how I race,” Tubby said. “People were saying as soon as I stepped on the track for the 1600, it was clear I was planning on owning the race. I had a good vibe coming off me. That’s something that comes with experience and training. For people to notice that, I think that’s a good sign as I go up against some good competition in the coming weeks.”
His presence in the 800 will boost Shipley. It was a plus as they raced together in the sectionals and were able to represent the Raiders well.
“It definitely helps,” Shipley said. “He was maybe a second ahead. You could see him pull away and you feed off that. You have to find it in your head to say, you have to go or it’s not happening. To see him do it, it motivates yourself.”
Tubby led the 800 race in the first lap, which went slower than he wanted, and the race became a sit-and-kick affair with 200 meters left. Shipley still ended up running a personal best of 1:57.53. After Tubby, the next five finishers were all within a second of each other.
“For the first lap, it was mostly staying with the pack and counting places where I was at,” Shipley said. “After the first turn of the second lap, I knew I had to go or I wasn’t getting in. Around the last curve, it was all out. You just go. It was pretty exciting. Even down the last stretch, I was still counting places to make sure I was in the top six.”
Shipley is hopeful that with another fast field, he will be pushed to another personal record and a spot in the Meet of Champions. Just getting one more meet is the first goal he’s striving for at groups.
“I’d like to make it to MOCs,” Shipley said. “I want to get a PR. Tubby would like to win it or get the school record. I have a whole other year for more goals.”
Tubby will go after another impressive 1600 time Friday, but he’s just as excited for his teammates and friend. He is looking to be an inspiration for his distance teammate.
“Jeremy’s seed time is good so he’ll be in the same heat as me, I think,” Tubby said. “He has a shot of making it out of the groups if he PRs. Going to Meet of Champs for him is such a huge jump. It’s hard to go back after you go there. It’s what the team needs — a leader to step up.”
Shipley has only to follow his Tubby’s example and run for the chance to extend his breakthrough season another week. Shipley has run personal records in each of the last two weeks, and is setting himself up to take over as a team leader for Tubby.
“Ever since cross country, he’s led the team and been a great runner to look up to,” Shipley said. “When they called out the names and I found I was moving on, I was excited. Brandon’s also one of my best friends. It’s great on the track and off it. It was great to do it in the same race and this experience is going to be fun.”
