Yakobchuk, Teresak fine careers end in Egg Harbor
by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
EGG HARBOR It was a tough weekend all around for the Manville High track and field team at the Group 1 Championships in Egg Harbor.
Senior stars Lucy Yakobchuk and Melissa Teresak, who qualified for the state meet in multiple events, didn’t match their spectacular performances of the previous weekend in the Central Jersey Group 1 Championships. Then, a heavy storm came Saturday and forced the postponement of several events, including the 4×400 relay, where MHS had boys and girls waiting to compete.
The Mustangs, who spent Friday night in nearby Galloway Township, decided not to return for Sunday’s continuation of the meet. Several athletes had work conflicts Sunday, so the Mustangs missed their chance to run against the state’s best Group 1 relay teams.
”It’s a little disappointing,” Manville head coach Michelle Mongillo said. “The meet was running well and seemed to be going quickly. I think they could’ve gotten it in if we stayed out there a little while longer.”
Eight of the 10 Manville athletes who made the trip didn’t even get the opportunity to compete. All eight relay runners were making their first trip to the State Group 1 Championships. They got their feet wet in a different way than they were expecting.
”For us to make it there and not get to run, I was kind of upset,” said MHS junior Matt Zangara, the anchor on the boys’ 4×400 relay team. “It ruined the weekend.”
Zangara and senior Jason Pfoutz, junior Billy Demeter and sophomore Scott Alpizar were getting pumped up for their heat. They were hoping to run their best time for the season and felt the competition would push them to go faster.
”We ran, we stretched and we were doing baton handoffs,” Zangara said. “We thought we had a really good shot at our personal best. Then the weather turned on us.”
The girls’ 4×400 team of freshman Anh Le, freshman Tara Covert, sophomore Amy Evanylo and freshman Sabrina Brozyna also spent a few days in South Jersey without getting a chance to race. All four underclassmen will be eligible to return next year.
Yakobchuk and Teresak, the senior 1-2 punch that propelled the MHS girls’ team to a solid season, got their jumps and sprints in before the inclement weather hit Egg Harbor. Unfortunately, neither standout left the scholastic track and field scene with their typical performance.
Both girls were shooting for personal records, hoping that would be enough to give them a shot at qualifying for the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. Yakobchuk was seeded sixth in the triple jump after her monster 33-6¼ leap in the Central Jersey Group 1 Championships.
Things didn’t go well in Friday’s State Group 1 triple jump, where Yakobchuk placed 21st with a mark of 30 feet, 7 inches. Yakobchuk didn’t come close to her 15-2 seed in Saturday’s long jump, finishing 20th at 13-7½.
”You have a great season and one bad day kills you,” Yakobchuk said. “I let the little things get to me. I didn’t like the pit and that affected my attitude.”
Yakobchuk’s highlight came in the 200 meters, where she ran a personal-best time of 28.03 seconds to finish 15th.
”I was going for sub-28,” she said. “I’ve run with the girls in my heat and I just had to push it to stay out there with them.”
Teresak competed in two events Friday the 100 meters and triple jump. She was hoping to break the 13-second mark but finished 23rd in the 100 (13.84). Still annoyed by her finish in the 100 trial, Teresak placed just in front of her teammate in the triple jump in 20th (30-9½).
”It just wasn’t good,” Teresak said. “My steps seemed to be off. I tried to fix them but the board was throwing me off. Each phase just wasn’t coming together.”
Although she didn’t come close to placing in either event, Teresak took pride in reaching the State Group 1 event in consecutive seasons.
”I’m definitely very proud of that,” Teresak said. “I had no idea when I joined track that I’d make it to states. I do this for myself and to have fun. It’s exciting that I made it here.”
Teresak became the first MHS female athlete since Amy Cutler to qualify for the Group 1 Championships in back-to-back years. Cutler made it all the way to the Meet of Champions in the long jump. Teresak didn’t make the M of C but improved this year by qualifying for the Group 1 meet in multiple events.
”I made it in the 100 and triple jump, so I guess that says something,” Teresak said. “The Meet of Champions is a very hard place to get.”