South senior third; North boys’ relay second
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Brian Leung met former Paramus Catholic great Kevin Byrne before the two-mile run at the Nike Indoor Track and Field Nationals in Landover, Md.
Then Leung broke Byrne’s 29-year-old state record by finishing third in 8:59.66 Sunday. That mark eclipsed Byrne’s hand-timed mark of 8:59.7 that he set in 1979.
”He was the first guy right there to congratulate me,” said the West Windsor-Plainsboro South senior. “It was great.”
Luke Puskedra of Ogden, Utah, won in 8:49.58 and Colby Lowe of Texas was second in 8:50.79. Leung’s record run was one of the highlights for area competitors who earned All-America honors.
”He’s continued to make a national name for himself,” said Pirates distance coach Kurt Wayton. “We were on the elevator and kids from other parts of the country know who he is. He’s had a good level of confidence this year, and he didn’t lose that this weekend.”
Leung could have, if it were not for an inspired final 600 meters. Leung sat in eighth place with three laps to go.
”I didn’t think I had any reserve,” Leung said. “I went to the arms and started pumping. Then I started reeling guys in. That last 800 was ugly. I was trying to pull guys back. In the last 200, I knew I had third place.”
West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s quartet of Jim Rosa, John LiPuma, Joe Rosa and Tyler Corkdale finished second in the 4xmile in 18:07.05, one of just two teams to break 18:10 Saturday. The Rosa twins are freshmen and Corkdale is a junior.
”It was very exciting,” said LiPuma, the lone senior on the relay. “Last year, we went down there and we saw the winning time was over 18. We thought we could break 18. We thought we had a chance. It really didn’t kick in that we could win it until we saw Jim go out. He set the tone. I know I got amped up.”
It was quite a step up from the year before when the Knights finished in 19:50.41 due to running an extra lap. This year, they were even in the lead at times during each of the first three legs.
”All four legs took a shot at the front,” said North head coach Brian Gould . “At one point, Jim led, Joe led, and LiPuma was shoulder to shoulder with the leader. Those three guys were able to get a good shot. They were out to place as high as they could and whatever the time was going to be, it was going to be.”
LiPuma and Corkdale came back with Steve Au-Yeung and Ryan Sleeper to finish eighth in the 4×800 relay Sunday. Sleeper anchored in 1:59-flat.
”This year, most of had been there,” LiPuma said. “I felt a lot less nervous. I felt like I’ve done this. Coach emphasized this right from when we decided what we’d run, it’s not a vacation. It’s serious business. This was our goal all season. This was what we tried to peak for. It was a different mindset this year.”
Katie Kellner finished fifth in the girls’ 5,000 meters. The West Windsor-Plainsboro South junior was making her first appearance at the indoor nationals. She stuck right behind the eventual race winner in the early going before settling in for a solid showing.
”It was so much fun,” said Kellner who finished in 18:01.73. “I had the time of my life. It was different. I really had a good time.
”I definitely hope I can go back there next year,” she added. “Maybe if I get a little faster, I’ll run the two-mile. I wasn’t able to make it in the faster heat so my coach thought it would be more fun to run the 5,000.”
The strong race sets up Kellner for a big spring. She is looking forward to seeing what she can do on the outdoor track.
”I’m really happy, especially with my Meet of Champions time, which was 10:54,” Kellner said. “Going into the spring season with a 10:54, I’m really excited about trying to improve that and going sub-10:50.”
Also on the girls’ side at nationals, WW-P North’s distance medley relay of Kelly Callahan, Ryan Williams, Chelsea Walters and Trish Reilly was ninth in 12:48.24.
”They finished second in their heat. They ran to try to win their race,” Gould said. “It was a good feel for the girls’ distance medley relay. There are no seniors there. It’s valuable experience to be in something that big and running down there in that environment. If we go back, it won’t be new.”
WW-P North’s Barnett Wu was 14th in the boys’ shot put at 54-feet-2.
”He had three quality throws,” Gould said. “His consistency now is at a much higher level than it was before. He went in seeded around 24th and beat a lot of guys seeded ahead of him.”
WW-P South’s Sammy Howell was 14th in the girls’ high jump at 5-foot-3½. Princeton High School’s Megan Wiseman was 18th in the girls’ long jump at 16-11½. The nationals proved to be some of the toughest competition of the season.
For Leung, finding himself in eighth place so late in the race was a new feeling this year. But his experience from reaching the top of cross country racing helped him react to the difficult competition.
”I was definitely a lot looser this time around,” Leung said. “I wasn’t nervous at all. The only thing nervous about was my leg. Once the gun went off, it didn’t hurt. I was pretty psyched.
”I didn’t really think about the race beforehand. I didn’t think about time. I wanted to come in there and wanted to have a shot at the front. It was extremely tough after the pace those guys set.”
Leung hopes to have another crack at the country’s top scholastic distance runners in the outdoor track season. First on his agenda, however, is a little rest for a shin injury that had cropped up in the last two weeks. The shin was no bother on race day, as he finished his senior indoor season well.
”He ran tough,” Wayton said. “He fell back to seventh or eighth and rallied back and ran a couple really hard last couple laps. He’s the No. 1 Jersey kid. (Brandon) Jarrett is so talented and Doug (Smith) is so talented. It’s pretty impressive. You look at the records. That record has been around since 1979. Then one day, you’re kid gets it.”
Said Leung of his final indoor race: “I’m pretty happy with it. I still have some work to do. I lost by 10 seconds, so I’m not going to forget that. I still have to work. Come spring time, I hope to be able to stick with guys for a reasonable distance.”
For all the athletes that competed at the indoor nationals, the goal is the same. They want to come back and do even better in the spring season, even if winter had a record-setting All-America ending.