MORRIS COUNTY REWIND
Sometimes I'm not really sure where to start out when I sit down to bang the keys on my laptop each week and take a look back at the highlights from the past week around the county.
But that isn't the case this week.
This week it's pretty simple.
The first thing to comes to mind is RANDOLPH!!!!
The second thing that comes to mind is RANDOLPH!!!
I know there were several remarkable performances turned at the Morris County Relays (I will get into all that later), but the broom work that Randolph displayed at Morris Knolls on Friday and Saturday was flat out ridiculous as the Rams swept the team titles for the third time in five years.
Full results of the Morris County Relays are here
Let's get to it.
RANDOLPH BOYS GO ON RECORD-BREAKING BONANZA
The Randolph boys got the Morris County Relays off to a blazing start by taking down the Morris County record in the 3-man team 400-meter intermediate hurdles on Friday, and kept the pedal to the metal all the way through Saturday as the Rams rolled to a 96-66 win over defending champion Mendham.
When the dust settled, Randolph had broken four school records, four meet records, 2 Morris County records, and recorded a season best time in every event on the track!!
Randolph scored in 14 of the 15 events it entered (it didn't score in the discus and it didn't enter the DMR).
``The guys put together an amazing meet Friday and Saturday,'' said Randolph coach Luke Suttile. `` Almost every team PRed, or someone or multiple people on the team did.''
In the team 400 hurdles on Friday, Randolph seniors Colin McAlmont (55.61), Stephen Nalbach (55.84), and Dan Leanza (56.98) all ran PR's as they combined to win in 2:48.43, which broke the county record of 2:48.97 set in 2012 by Morris Hills at the county relays.
Randolph
also smashed the county record in the team long jump on Saturday when
Anthony Zarro (PR of 23-0), Greg
Stickle (PR of 22-6), and Carlo Zarro (20-11) combined
to finish first with a total of 66-5 ½, which crushed the county
record of 63-9 1/4 set by Boonton in 2010. Anthony Zarro's 23-0 is
No. 3 in the state this season and Stickle is now No. 5 with his
22-6.
Here's a look at some of Randolph's other highlights.
4x100 – Second in 43.91 (a season PR - .2 off school record)
Shuttles -Second in 1:02.77- Stephen Nalbach (15.2 PR), Damiano (16.0 PR), Collin McAlmont (15.6), Dan Leanza (15.6 PR)
SMR – First in 3:35.44. James Lienhardt (22.5), Nick Ciccaglione (22.6), Nalbach (50.3), Greg Stickle (1:59.1 PR) - 1 second off school record
4x200 – First in 1:29.83. Lienhardt (22.4 PR) McAlmont (22.2 PR) Ciccaglione (22.5 PR), and Leanza (22.5 PR) - school record - .3 off county record
4x800 – Third in 8:15.39. Sam Rumack (2:02 PR), Jacob Adler (2:01 PR), Ethan Bedrock (2:03 PR), Seamus Higgins (2:05 PR)
4x400 – First in meet record 3:20.63, No. 4 in the state this season. Nalbach (50.1 PR) McAlmont (49.8 PR), Stickle (48.9 PR), Leanza (51.0)
HJ – First place. Anthony Zarro PR'd with a meet best jump of 6-4 ¼.
PV - Kenan Mitchell (freshman competition) PR of 10-0.
RAMS RALLY FOR GIRLS TITLE
The Randolph girls came from behind on Day 2 at the county relays on Saturday to dethrone defending champion Mendham, 75-70.
After winning the 4x1,600 on Friday in 20:50.22 as sophomore Nora May McSorley split 4:59.9, Randolph came back on Saturday to win the DMR in 12:19.93 and the 4x800 9:32.08, placed second in the TJ with a school record 95-6 ¼, second in the shuttles, second in the javelin and third in the discus.
McSorley's 4:59.9 makes her the seventh girl from Randolph to go sub 5 for 1,600 in the last eight years. That's a remarkable stat.
In the 4x1600, Randolph's splits were
Carole Harsch-5:16.8
Nora May McSorley-4:59.9
Margaret Thomson-5:26.7
Liz Wellman-5:06.6
In
the DMR, Randolph's splits were-
Carole
Harsch: 3:48.1
Marley
Brackelmanns-Puig: 1:02
Marianne
Loeken: 2:26.8
Liz
Wellman: 5:02.4
In the 4x800, Randolph's splits were-
Liz
Wellman: 2:22.3
Margaret Thomson: 2:27.4
Carole Harsch:
2:26.3
Nora May McSorley: 2:15.7
In the field
for Randolph, Aliyah
Huland El soared
a season best 37-0 ¼ in the TJ, the second best performance of the
meet and Nicole
Ough led
the discus team with a PR of 106-5.
BEST PERFORMANCE EVER
The Whippany girls came up with its best showing in school history at the county relays by racking up 60 points to win the Small School title and finish third overall.
The Wildcats won 4 events:
Shot put - Nickolette Dunbar (40-8 1/2), Kate Matrisciano (31-2), and Kayla Wrigley (25-8 1/4) combining for a school record 97-6.75.
Long Jump - Danielle Cozzarelli, Kristen Hall, & Gina Dello Russo 50-5 (wp school record)
High Jump - Cozzarelli, Hall, & Dello Russo – schoo1 record 14-8.
Discus - Dunbar, Matrisciano, and Tyffany Brisbane.
In other highlights for Whippany Park-
The shuttle hurdle team of Marissa Kowalskie, Tania Bilanych, Christine Potkul, & Cozzarelli placed 3rd and broke the school record with a time of 1:06.45. The 4x100 foursome of Bilanych, Emily Petro, Hall, & Dello Russo placed 4th and broke a school record with a time of 51.18.
TRIPLE CROWN
The Morristown boys pulled off a great distance triple at the county relay meet by winning the 4x800, DMR, and the 4xmile .
Mo-Town won the 4x1,600 in 18:10.26, the DMR in 10:24.86, and the 4x800 in a meet record 8:02.52.
Sean Lyons anchored the DMR with a 4:18, the 4x800 with a 1:57, and ran 4:23 in the 4x1600. Greg Arabagian went 3:07 in the DMR, 1:56 in the 4x800, and 4:24 in the 4x1,600.
Morristown is targeting the school DMR record of 10:19 and change at the East Coast Relays on May 19 at Randolph.
WEST MORRIS SHATTERS RECORDS
The West Morris girls smashed 3 school records and tied another at the Morris County Relays!
Team Pole Vault: Seventh place with a school record 25-0" Marlena Paz (11'-0"), Lindsey Zapata (7'-0"), Melissa Krueger (7'-0") - Previous school record (24'-0")
4x1600m – Second place in school record 21:00.02 - Sierra Castaneda (5:12), Meghan Lloyd (5:26), Brennan Sharkey (5:22), Kylene Cochrane (4:58) - Previous school record (21:11)
Sprint Medley - First place in a school record 4:08.03 (No. 3 in the state this season and just two tenths off the meet record) - Tanna Holzworth (27.1), Brittany Carratura (26.5), Katie Sabatino (59.9), and Kylene Cochrane (2:14.9) - Previous record (4:12.5)
Team triple jump: Seventh place in a school record 92'-11.25" (Ties our school record) - Morgan Lovenberg (31'-9.75"), Kelsey Cronin (31'-4.75"), Cat Cazes (29'-8.75")
AIRING IT OUT
The Morris Hills boys, third in the final team standings with 60 points, scored 26 out of a possible 30 points in the throws and also won the pole vault at the county relays as senior Conor McClain led the charge with a great triple.
McClain threw a meet best 180-8 on the winning javelin team, 49-0 on the runner-up shot put team, and 134-1 on the runner-up discus team. McClain's 49-0 in the shot was the fourth best throw of the meet and his 134-1 in the discus was third best.
In the vault, seniors Malik Dixon and Sean Hopkins each cleared 13-0, and junior Pablo Audelo made 10-0 to give Morris Hills a winning total of 36-0.
COLE AND EHMANN SPARKLE
FOR MENDHAM
Stephan Cole broke a school record in the triple jump (43-1.25) to help Mendham finish first in that event, and he also set a PR in the pole vault (12-0) to help his team finish sixth in that event.
All 3 members of the intermediate hurdles team set PR's: Malcolm Montilus (59.32), Peter Miu (1:00.64) and Danny Post (1:01.92) as Mendham placed 5th as a team.
Paul Ehmann closed with a 4:19 on the 1600 anchor leg to help Mendham palce 2nd in the DMR. He was preceded by Tyler Pressl (3:15), Miu (53.7), and Phil St. Jacques (2:02).
Matt Epstein set a season best in the discus with a 123-6 throw to help the throwers place 6th in the discus.
DODGERS STOMP ALL OVER THE RECORD BOOK ON WAY TO TITLE
Madison set three school records at the County Relays as the Dodgers captured the Small Schools team title for the first time since 1989.
The 4x800 team broke the school record that was set last year by placing ninth in 8:23.30 as Sawyer Tadano, Will Hendrickson, Connor Riley, and Pat Hanley shared the baton.
The shuttle hurdle team broke a record set in 1989 by placing first in 1:01.85. The four hurdlers were Dylan Anderson, Abe Gertler, Luke Rosica, and Mat Richards.
Gertler, one of the state's most versatile stars, also broke the individual school record in the pole vault as he led the Dodgers to a school record in the team pole vault with a combined 35-0 to finish third. Gertler cleared 15-0 to break the school record that he co held with Greg Gaudio, which was set in 1979. And Gertler, Anderson, and Matt Mutone combined for a total of 35-0, which broke a school record that set in 1991 and matched last year.
BACK ON TRACK
Josiah Hanko of Trinity Christian and Liz Lansing of Randolph are finally back on the track.
Hanko, who missed the entire indoor season with Lyme disease and the early part of this outdoor season with an Achilles injury, made a successful return to the track this past week.
The Duke-bound Hanko, one of the nation's top distance runners who has won multiple state titles in XC and on the track, won the 400 and 1,600, and was 2nd in the 800 at the MACS Invitational in brutal conditions last Wednesday at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa.
Then on Saturday, Hanko won the 1,600 in 4:32 and the 3,200 in 9:59, and anchored the 4x400 in 54.8 in a quad meet at Blair.
Lansing, a junior, was cleared by doctors to resume running this past Monday, according to distance coach Kevin Higgins.
After helping Randolph to the No. 1 cross-country ranking in New Jersey and the school's first Meet of Champions title this fall, Lansing suffered a stress fracture in her leg during the basketball season this winter.
The plan is for Lansing to be at full strength by the time sectionals rolls around at the end of this month.
Lansing won the 1,60 at the Meet of Champions as a freshman in the spring of 2012, and placed second to Tenafly's Josette Norris last June. Last fall, she won the Group 4 cross-country title during her first year of cross-country and was a Nike Nationals XC finalist.
Welcome back to the track, Josiah and Liz!!
It's good to see you both back!!!
KEEPING
TRACK
Montville had a number of strong performances at the county relays-
Booker McLean - top triple jump of the meet and with a PR of 43-09.25, and 4th in LJ with season best of 21-4.75
Alex Rodgers - 2nd in shot put with season best of 51-7 ½.
Leah Wis - 1st in meet and season best in discus with a 124-0, and 5th in LJ with personal best of 16-7.25.
Michelle Golowko split 2:23 in the 4x800, and Cassandra Harasts split 5:14 in 4x1600.
Tommy Rhodes of Delbarton launched a PR of 57-0 ½, the top throw of the meet and No. 4 in the state this season, in the shot put at the Morris County Relays.
Keturah Orji of Mount Olive, U.S. #1 in the triple jump with a 43-10 1/2, had the top TJ of the meet at the count relays with a 40-0 ½, to lead her team to victory, and soared a season best 19-8 ½ to help her team get second in the team LJ.
Sophomore Kathryn Campbell launched a meet best 116-11 to spark Parsippany to the girls title in the javelin at the county relays with a combined 271-5.
Sophomore Jason Schweizer, a star on the rise at Morris Hills, threw down a 1:58.1 anchor carry in the 4x800 to bring his team across second at the county relays in 8:03.23, just behind Morristown (8:02.52) as both teams ran under the former meet record of 8:03.27 set in 2012 by Randolph.
Kinnelon senior Marissa Rehberger (PR of 10-0), junior Cariann Johnson (9-0), and junior Madison Galascio (9-0), set a new school record when they won the girls pole vault at the county relays with a combined 28-0.
The Chatham girls shuttle hurdle team placed first at the the county relays in 1:05.26, breaking its school record that was set earlier this season by over 2 seconds. Team consisted of Liz Malatesta, Erin O'Connor, Rashida Haye, and Simone Kirton. Haye, a sophomore who is a new hurdler this season, improved her split from 17.5 to 15.5!
Tymia Joseph, a sophomore at Morris Knolls, had the 2nd best long jump on Friday at the county relays with a 17-3 ¾ (her personal best is 17-7 ¾ at Randolph Relays). She also jumped 34-9 in the triple jump at ?? hills vernon dual meet.
Hanover Park's all underclassmen lineup of junior Gianna Parlavecchio (Jr), and sophomores Chino Anukwuem, Anna Lazur, and Katie Lazur placed 2nd in the girls 4x100 and 3rd in 4x200, both running from the 2nd heat. Anna Lazur, a rising star, ran 1:04.46 in the 400 hurdles, the fastest time at the meet and currently the 10th fastest time in the stat
NEXT UP
The action is fast and furious over the next few weeks.
The NJAC Championships are Tuesday and Wednesday (May 6 ad 7) at two different sites. The Large School meet is at Morris Hills each day and the Small School meet is at Wallkill Valley. Each meet is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.
Next week will be the Morris County Championships on Tuesday and Wednesday (May 13-14) at 4 p.m. at Boonton. Then it's the 44th East Coast Relays at Randolph on Monday, May 19, and then the state sectionals will take place on May 23-24.