North’s Dziekonska, Montgomery’s Davidian are group track champs
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
As 18th birthdays go, Ian McIsaac’s was pretty memorable.
The Princeton High School senior qualified for the Meet of Champions for the first time when he ran 4:23.78 Saturday, two seconds better than he had last week at sectionals, for fifth place in the Group III boys 1,600. It is his favorite birthday present.
”Absolutely,” McIsaac said. “I’ve never been given a qualifying spot for the Meet of Champions.”
To get there, he had to run another indoor school record, which doubled his excitement after the group race.
”To me, I feel like the time is more meaningful because I can compare that to what I’ve done before,” McIsaac said. “But obviously I’m thrilled to be going to the Meet of Champions and thrilled for such a great opportunity to run well and get in an absolutely fantastic race. It’s tough to tell which one I’m more thrilled about.”
McIsaac joins a pair of Group IV champions and a strong contingency of Packet-area athletes who qualified for the Meet of Champions. The top six finishers from each event automatically advance to the MOC along with an event’s next best six finishers from all-groups. The MOC is Saturday at the John Bennett Indoor Sports Complex.
”I have no worries about getting a real competitive race in there,” McIsaac said. “I’m really just looking forward to going out and giving it everything I have in the mile.”
West Windsor-Plainsboro High North’s Pati Dziekonska won the Group IV girls 55-meter hurdles in 8.17 seconds, four-hundredths of a second better than North Hunterdon’s Morgan Harvey. Dziekonska got out of the blocks last, but made up the time over the hurdles to pull out her first indoor track title.
”It feels really good,” Dziekonska said. “I was a little disappointed with my time after sectionals. It felt good to know I’m the best in the group. I’m looking forward to the Meet of Champs and hoping to improve my time and get under 8, which was my season goal.”
Madeline Davidian cleared 10-feet-6 to win the Group IV girls pole vault. The Cougars junior had fewer misses than Hillsborough’s Marlena Sabatino, who also cleared 10-6.
In the Group III boys meet, West Windsor-Plainsboro High South’s George Hamilton, Donyell Reid, Jacob Arbeiter and Eddison Gulama ran 3:29.14 for second in the 4×400 relay. Jake Riff ran 4:22.94 for second and Dan Riff ran 4:23.09 for third in the boys 1,600 meters. Gulama ran 1:56.27 for fourth in the Group III boys 800 meters. Dan Riff was fifth in the 3,200 in 9:41.84, while Karn Setya ran seven seconds better than last week to take sixth place in 9:42.08.
West Windsor-Plainsboro High North’s Antony Zeng was seventh in the Group IV boys shot put with a throw of 52-6¼ and Jerrick Zhang was eight at 51-2¾, but both received wild card entries to the MOC.
In the Group III girls meet, WW-P South’s Paige Brown was a double-qualifier. The Pirates senior was second in the high jump when she cleared 5-feet-4, and finished fifth in the 55-meter hurdles in 8.60 seconds. Susanne Kardaras tied for sixth in the pole vault at 9-feet. Deirdre Casey ran 5:12.19 for eighth in 1,600, but she advances as a wild card entry.
In the Group IV girls, WW-P North’s Simone Counts was fifth in the 1,600 meters in 5:11.84. Rebecca Jin tied for sixth in the pole vault at 9-6. Montgomery’s Tracy Prentice joins Davidian in also advancing to the MOC in the pole vault after tying for sixth. Hannah Taylor tied for seventh in the high jump at 4-10.
McIsaac is looking forward to his first trip to the indoor MOC. It took until his final year to get there.
”It didn’t really hit me until halfway through my cooldown,” McIsaac said. “It’s definitely a good feeling. It was a little bit of surprise. About halfway through my cooldown I went back to Coach (Jim) Smirk and said, I realized I made it to the Meet of Champions. He told me to finish my cooldown.”
McIsaac had also qualified for groups in the 800 meters, but did not have adequate time to recover after his mile effort, which came in the most exciting race of Saturday. The top five finishers were all within a second of each other.
”It was incredibly tight packed,” McIsaac said. “Group III is so strong. We have really strong competitors. Any of the six could have won, and there’s not a big gap afterwards. Anyone could have won it. I didn’t quite get the win, but I still ran great. I was thrilled by it.”
McIsaac has a pair of PHS schoolmates that also qualified for the MOC. Tim Brennan threw 49-feet-11¼ for third in the boys shot put.
”For him, it’s not about place, especially indoors,” said PHS boys coach Ben Samara. “It’s about what he throws. He’s so used to improving every single meet, I know it’s a letdown for him. But he’s allowed to have an off day. He’s going to be just fine.”
Fellow shot-putter Michelle Bazile also qualified for her first indoor MOC. A discus qualifier last spring, the sophomore earned third in the Group III girls shot put with a throw of 38-feet-7, four inches further than her sectional best earlier in the week. It is her first year of indoor track and field.
”We’d like to see her gain a little more confidence,” said Smirk, the PHS girls head coach. “She rushed a little today. She should gain a little confidence because she’s going to another big meet because she’s done the work. That’s something she can build on. She’s not just a school record holder, she’s a really good shot putter in the state, across all groups.”
Smirk also works with the distance runners, and he has been impressed by the development of McIsaac. The son of a pair of standout runners who set scholastic marks of their own in mid-distance, McIsaac is following in their record-setting footsteps. He has recovered from a quad contusion that cost him several weeks of training in the fall to get off to his best start to a track season yet.
”This is absolutely my best indoor season,” McIsaac said. “I think it’s shaping up to be a great year. I’m kind of excited for outdoor season to get started so I can go see how fast I can run.”
The Little Tigers still haven’t done more than base training. The speed will come, and McIsaac has already shown the benefits to his winter training.
”More than anything, he had confidence coming out of that Tuesday (sectional) meet,” Smirk said. “He set a school record in the mile and he still qualified in the 800 on very short rest. Maybe he proved he’s a little stronger to himself. He ran 2:02 on dead legs essentially.
”He’s a really mature kid who understands what he’s trying to accomplish,” he added. “You put that into a training program and you get good results.”