MORRIS COUNTY REWIND
Mendham's scored an impressive sweep, the Randolph girls extended the state's longest current winning streak to six in a row, the Whippany Park girls racked up the most points of any team in the state on the way to victory, and several athletes from Morris County turned in sparkling performances at the NJSIAA Sectional Championships that concluded last Saturday.
GET OUT THE BROOMS
The Mendham boys made it three straight titles and the Mendham girls won its first title in 14 years at the North Jersey, Section 2 Group 3 meet at Hub Stine Field in Planfield.
Mendham was one of just four teams to pull off the boy/girl sectional sweep. Metuchen, Penns Grove and Pingry also did it.
For the Mendham boys, which rolled to a 110-58 victory over county rival Morristown, Christian Kildal-Brandt, Stephan Cole, Spenser Clouse, and the 4x400 team all struck gold.
Kildal-Brandt won the 400 (49.46), was second in the 200 (22.59), and ran on the 4x400 (3:25.94). Clouse won the high jump (6-2) and was second in the triple jump (43-3 ¼), and Cole won the triple (43-9 ½), was second in the LJ (21-2 ½), and sixth in the pole vault.
Malcolm Montilus also had a big meet with a runner-up in the 400 (PR of 49.75), a fifth in the 200, and a leg on the 4x400.
On the girls side for Mendham, which outscored county rival West Morris, 111-75, Sierra Tonnesen, Mackenzie Barry, Courtney Foshay, and Audrey O'Neill led the charge.
Tonnesen ran a PR of 58.49 to win the 400, was third in the 800 (2:19.86). Barry won the 3,200 (10:37.42) and placed fifth in the 1,600 (5:09.50). Foshay soared a PR 17-8 ¼ to win the long jump and was sixth in the 200 in a PR of 26.79. O'Neill grabbed a pair of seconds in the 400 hurdles (1:04.33) and 200 (PR of 25.80), and Mendham's 4x100 (48.96) and 4x800 (9:39.25) each won.
RANDOLPH DOES IT AGAIN
The names and faces change, but the results don't for the Randolph girls, which ran its winning streak to a state best six in a row with a 93 ½ to 72 victory over a resurgent Montclair team at the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 meet on the Rams home track.
Sophomore Nora May McSorley and Aliyah Huland El were the catalysts for Randolph.
McSorley won the 1,600 in 5:00.04 and the 800 in 2:15.46. Huland El was first in the triple jump (37-7 ½) and was third in the high jump (5-2), and the 4x400 finished first in 4:07.13.
Also for the Rams, Carole Harsch came through with a second in the 3,200 (10:56.39), and a fourth place in the 1,600 (5:07.50). Marianna Loeken was second in the 400 hurdles (66.27), Aimee Mehta fourth in the long jump (15-10), Elly Scherer fourth in the 100 HH (15.16), Nicole Ough fifth in the discus (96-9), and Liz Wellman was thid in the 1,600 (5:06.33), and Margaret Thomson was fourth in the 3,200 with a PR of 11:30.42.
Pretty incredible to think that just a week before sectionals Wellman was in a walking boot, fearful that she may have had a stress fracture. Thankfully that wasn't the case and Wellman bounced back with a strong race.
WILDCATS CRUSH GROUP 1
There were 40 teams champions crowned at the state sectionals last Saturday, and none of the other 39 winners were as dominant as the Whippany Park girls, which piled up a staggering 203 points to win its first title in six years by 135 points over runner-up Lyndhurst in North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 at Ridge High School.
Whippany's point total was the most by any team in the state at the sectional meets (boys or girls) and it's 203 points represent more than half the maximum number of points that can possibly be scored (390).
There were several stars for the Wildcats, which won 10 of the 18 events!!!
Junior Danielle Cozzarelli was a triple winner, broke a school and meet record, and earned a silver to score 38 points. Kristen Hall won the triple jump and was second in the high jump and long jump. Gina Dello Russo won the high jump, and was second in both the pole vault and 400. Alida Dudley won the javelin, Julia Nixon crossed first in the 800, Nickolette Dunbar captured the shot put, and Whippany won the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
Cozzarelli was very excited afte she won the 100 hurdles in a a meet and school record 15.41, won the pole vault with a PR matching 9-6, and finished first in the long jump with a 16-10.
``I wasn't real happy with my triple jump (second with a 34-1) on Friday, so I really wanted to come out today (Saturday) and have a big day and do whatever I could to help my team win,'' said Cozzarelli. "So I'm really happy with what I was able to do. It was one of the best days I've ever had. We haven't won this in a while, so we've been looking forward to this opportunity all season.''
Whippany Park will try to keep rolling this weekend when it attempts to win its first state title ever
when it competes at the state Group 1 Championships this Friday and
Saturday at Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield. Whippany will aiming to become the first
Morris County girls team to win a state title since Parsippany captured Group 2 in 2006.
SAUNDERS RUNS WILD
Bria Saunders of Parsippany continued her red hot sprinting with the best meet of her carer so far.
The Rutgers-bound Saunders won the 100, 200 and 400 , all personal best times, to spark Parsippant to a runner-up finish (109-83 behind Summit) at the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 meet at Plainfield.
She won the 100 in 11.92 (PR 11.91 in the trials), the 400 in a PR of 56.89, and the 200 in a PR of 24.05. Saunders' 24.05 is No. 1 in New Jersey this season. Her 11.91 is tied for No. 2 in New Jersey this season, and her 56.89 is No. 12 in New Jersey this season.
For her amazing triple, Saunders was named the track and field Athlete of the Week in the state by The Star-Ledger.
ZACH ATTACK
Zach Matthiesen of Roxbury, one of the top runners in the state that no one really knows about, had the best meet of his career when the senior won the 800 in 1:55.86 and placed third in the 1,600 in a school record 4:20.19, both personal bests, at the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 meet at Plainfield.
Matthiesen's 800 time is No. 2 in school history behind the 1:50.85 run by Jason Apwah in 2007, and his 4:20.19 broke the Roxbury record of 4:22.6 set in 1976 by Don Seeger.
Matthiesen, who will attend Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, will try to lower the 1,600 record and drop his PR's at the state Group 3 meet this weekend in South Plainfield.
LYONS ROARS
Sean Lyons of Morristown had a great triple at the North Jersey, Section 2 Group 3 meet at Plainfield.
The senior won the 1,600 in a personal best 4:16.46 and the 3,200 in 9:24.16, both personal bests, and ran on the runner-up 4x800 (8:02.62).
HERE'S THE FULL RESULTS OF THE NORTH JERSEY, SECTIONS 1 AND 2 CHAMPIONSHIPS
GREAT 1-2 PUNCH FOR WEST MORRIS
Kylene Cochrane and Sierra Castaneda had a pair of red hot 1-2 finishes at the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 meet in Plainfield.
In the 1,600, Cochrane was first in 4:56.16 and Castaneda was second with a PR of 5:00.65. In the 800, Cochrane (2:12.06) and Castaneda (2:19.85) went 1-2 again as both runners ran personal bests.
There is a good chance Cochrane, the indoor Meet of Champions 1,600 winner this past winter, and Castaneda will drop some more PR's at the state Group 3 meet this weekend in South Plainfield because the 800 and 1,600 are stacked with talent.
In the Group 3 race on Friday, Cochrane and Castaneda will clash with a field that includes Josette Norris of Tenafly, who broke the meet record when she won the Meet of Champions 1,600 last spring, and Catherine Pagano of Northern Highlands, who is No. 1 in the state this season with a 4:48.82.
Could the Group 3 and overall meet record (all six groups combined) of 4:43.92, which was set in 2010 by the legendary Ajee' Wilson of Neptune, be in jeopardy? You never know?
ORJI AND WIS SCORE 30
Keturah Orji of Mount Olive and Leah Wis of Montville were two of the biggest stars at the North Jersey, Section 1 Group 3 meet at River Dell.
The Georgia-bound Orji won the 100 dash (12.43), the triple jump (41-11) and the long jump (18-1 ¾) to score 30 of Mount Olive fourth-place total of 49 points.
Wis, the versatile sophomore star, also tallied 30 points with another great all-round performance. Wis
won the discus (season best 126-10) and the 100 HH (a PR of 15.43), finished second in the high jump (5-4), and placed fifth in the long jump (a PR matching 16-8). Wis scored 30 of Montville's fifth-place total of 47 points.
KEEPING TRACK
Greg Arabagain of Morristown had two PR's at the North Jersey, Section 2 Group 3 meet when he ran 4:20.81 to place fourth in the 1,600, and 1:56.65 to take third in the 800.
STATE GROUP CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 96th Group Track and Field Championships will be held this Friday (2:30 p.m.) and Saturday (11 a.m.) at two sites.
The Groups 1-3 and Non Public B meet will take place at Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield. The Groups 2-4 and Non Public A meet is scheduled for Silver Eagle Stadium in Egg Harbor.
AT STAKE: The top six finishers in each event in each group plus six wild cards per event from the six groups combined with all advance to the Meet of Champions next Wednesday at Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield. The M of C is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. Rain date is Thursday, June 5.
DID YOU KNOW: The scoring system used last year to determine the group team champions,
which only permitted the top two teams from the sectional meets to score points, is no longer being used. The traditional method of scoring the top six finishers in each event has returned. So now every team has a chance to win the team title.
Here's the performance lists for the Group 2-4 and Non-Public A meet
Here the performance lists for the Groups 1-3 and Non-Public B meet
Here's the order of events for the state Group Championships and the Meet of Champions
Here's the meet records and past team champions at the state Group Championships