By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
If the Somerset County Championships are any indication, it’s going to be a special season for the Hillsborough High School girls track and field team.
Marlena Sabatino won the pole vault at 11-feet-1, the Raiders won the 4×400 relay in 4:15.03 and the Raiders won their first indoor county crown Friday since they repeated in 2005. The Raiders’ first title in eight years also ended Franklin’s three-year reign.
”It actually means a lot,” said Daija King, a junior on the 4×400 relay. “We finally beat Franklin. That was our big goal. Franklin has beaten us in a lot of things. Now that we’ve beaten them, it shows we can do anything we put our minds to.”
The Raiders showed unmatched depth. They scored in every event led by the two wins.
”I think we have a pretty good girls team this year,” Sabatino said. “We’ve all have been working pretty hard. We knew we had a chance.”
Their win in the mile relay showed a huge jump over a year ago. King, Olivia Mukendi, Lauren Smith and Casey Kelly finished sixth in 4:31.76 a year ago. This year, they were 15 seconds faster with Smith running in place of the injured Amanda Castellano. Hillsborough was four seconds better than anyone in the field.
”Our 4×4 has always been good,” King said. “I felt like that it was kind of a landslide. We’ve been training for that 400. It all came down to it.”
King led off the 4×400 relay and put them in good position. She has gotten accustomed to leading off for the group.
”I feel like with my position, I lead my team with a good start,” she said. “I’m better at my start and getting out. With my team, I feel like it all fits together and the rest of the girls will help to get us in a good place and the anchor will help get us the win.”
The Raiders have a strong fleet of quarter-milers. Three of them placed in the top four in the open 400. Kelly was second, Kelsey Vieira, who didn’t even run as a part of the 4×400 was third, and King was fourth.
”For our sprinters, we focus for the 800,” King said. “Our coach says more distance stuff will help us in the 4. It all comes together.”
The Raiders picked up points across the board. Vieira was third in the 55 meters in 7.70 seconds, Mukendi was second in the 800 in 2:30.26, Courtney Skikus took sixth in the 1600 meters in 5:41.56, Molly Doyle was third in the 3200 in 11:47.58, Vieira was fifth in the 55 hurdles in 9.22 seconds, Emily Papciak tied for fourth in the high jump at 4-feet-6, Priscilla Senoo was fourth at 35-3 and Tre’monil McKay Murphy was fifth at 32-10¼ in the shot put and Sabatino won the pole vault.
”We’re just trying to do as well as we can,” said HHS head coach Rich Refi. “We have good depth.”
The Hillsborough boys team was fourth with 41 points to trail champion Franklin, runner-up Ridge and Montgomery. Zachary Williams won the 55 dash in 6.72 seconds, Nick McFarland won the 800 meters in 2:00.24, Mike Digricoli was second in the 3200 in 10:05.73, Bryce Engelhardt was sixth in the 55 hurdles in 9.00 seconds, Nicholas Baum was second in high jump at 5-feet-6, and Digricoli, Engelhardt, Matthew Nunn and McFarland ran 3:39.16 for fourth in the 4×400 relay.
On top of the depth of the HHS girls, they also have some very good talent highlighted by their event winners. Sabatino won her second straight indoor pole vault title.
”I felt pretty good,” said the Raiders senior. “I didn’t go for my full approach since it’s early in the season. But I was happy with how I jumped.”
Sabatino only used a three-step approach. With that cautious approach, she came in at 9-feet, but skipped 10-feet. She still had enough to clear 11-feet, better than she had in winning last year.
”I’ve really been working on technique,” said Sabatino, who along with the Raiders was scheduled to compete at the Armory in New York City on Monday.
The win for Sabatino and the Raiders was a confidence builder. They can head into the rest of the season knowing what they are capable of this year.
”I think it definitely made all the girls realize how much our work this season has been paying off,” Sabatino said. “We’ll continue to work.”
The Raiders cover the events well, and figure to improve as the season goes along. King has seen improvement each year in her running of the 400 meters. She has been a varsity contributor since her freshman year.
”I’m definitely getting faster each year,” King said. “I hope to increase even more, and go beyond my best. I think my fastest is 64 or 63 (seconds).”
Running fast is something into which King was born, and something that she hopes will continue into her college years.
”I think I started running ever since I was 8,” King said. “I did summer track team. From there, I’ve always been a really good runner. There’s a history in my family of track runners. It’s in my blood.”
Her sister Chantel competes for Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and a cousin runs for Columbia University.
”It’s everyone around me,” King said.
Getting faster comes with a lot of work, and even taking on some new challenges. King isn’t thrilled to thrown into it, but she is being asked to compete in the 800 meters more starting this season. The Raiders are hoping that the extra distance will make her even stronger in the 400, and make the relay team that much quicker.
”I think we can go pretty fast,” Refi said.
King is confident in her relay and the Raiders team as a whole. She sees plenty of potential in Hillsborough.
”Our team is pretty good,” King said. “My coach is saying that we’re probably going to be really good by spring.
”I think our strength is we have a lot of new people,” she added. “They came from all over, even one from Iowa. There are a lot of girls from a lot of different places. We all came together and it just worked.”
The Raiders had thought it could be a pretty special season. The county title is a good start.
”I kind of thought of my team and I knew how strong we got,” King said. “I knew we had a fighting chance. I was pretty confident.”
