Track: Monster Performances from Groups

At 5 feet, 11 inches and 210 pounds, River Dell’s Andrew Tummino was one of the smaller competitors in last weekend’s Group III shot put finals.
The Golden Hawks junior was also one of the best as he launched a 56 foot, 6 ½ inch cannon shot to earn the silver medal.

“I rely on my form,” Tummino said. “When it comes down to it, that’s all that really matters.
“You go out there, get pumped up and try to put up a big mark.”
Tummino wasn’t thrilled with his performance at groups but that was only because of the high standards he’s set for himself.
Two weeks earlier, Tummino flew past the 56-foot range with a mammoth, personal-best throw of 59-3 ½ at the Bergen County Meet of Champions.
Tummino, who placed third at the state’s indoor MOC, will enter Wednesday’s season finale as the sixth-seeded thrower. Four of his competitors have eclipsed 60 feet.
“There’s a lot of good throwers and it’ll be a great competition … a lot of fun,” Tummino said. “I’m looking forward to seeing all those guys and going up against them.
“Hopefully I can put up a big mark and make a statement.”
Tummino will also take part in the discus competition but is a longshot there. He placed second in Group III with a throw of 146-11 but is seeded 26th in that event.

---

In the span of five or six seconds, Hawthorne Christian’s Caleb Hart went from being a very good javelin thrower to a medal contender at this week’s Meet of Champions.
In Friday’s Non-Public B competition, the Defenders junior added a whopping 16 feet to his personal-best mark by launching a Passaic County record 189 foot, 10 inch throw.
“As I released it, it was the best I’ve ever felt throwing,” Hart said. “It was really smooth and it came out great … by far my best throw ever.”
Hart said the significance of the moment “didn’t really sink in” until he went out to retrieve his javelin.
“I was going out there and saw I was past the 180-foot mark,” Hart said. “I was like, ‘I’ve never been here before.’
“I got to 189 and I didn’t know what to do. My whole family was there and they were all going nuts.”

Last week’s boys Group III 800 was one-half bumper car ride, the other half demolition derby.
Old Tappan’s Marc Rienas took the hits and emerged victorious, crossing the line in a personal-best 4:15.17.
Rienas’ biggest challenge was keeping up with the pack. The circumference of his path was expanded through the entire race, to the point where he finally crossed the finish line out in Lane 5.
“There was constant shoving and I tried to shove back,” Rienas said. “After the first lap, I realized there was no point … I just had to accept it.
“I was getting shoved out to Lane 3, even Lane 4 sometimes.”
By the fourth and final lap, the pack separated somewhat, allowing Rienas to move up. He took the lead with about 50 meters to go and held on from there.
“My legs were dead but I just tried to keep going,” Rienas said. “Thankfully I was able to.”
The Golden Knights junior enters Wednesday’s 1,600 as the eighth seed – just 3.09 seconds behind Clearview’s top-seeded Bill Dolan.
At the Group III meet, Rienas also placed second in the 800 in 1:53.28. He is the MOC’s fourth seed in that event.

This Wednesday’s main events include the boys’ 100-meter showdown between Paramus Catholic’s Jabrill Peppers and Ridgefield Park’s Chris Estrella.
Another competition that should have the crowd buzzing is the boys’ pole vault.
Old Tappan’s Luke Annichiarico is one of the top competitors and will try to improve on his second-place finish at the indoor MOCs. That competition literally raised the bar for New Jersey pole vaulting as 12 athletes cleared 14 feet and five cleared 15.
Delbarton’s Mike Benz and Annichiarico both cleared 15 but Benz won the competition with fewer misses.
Annichiarico said he injured himself just two days before that meet and won the silver medal despite being “discombobulated, mentally and physically.”
He said he’s been looking forward to the outdoor MOC ever since as well as reuniting with the rest of the state’s top competitors, who’ve formed something of a bond.
“We’re all pretty good friends even though we haven’t known each other that long,” Annichiarico said.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in that really competitive mode, where other guys are going after the same heights. It gives you more motivation to keep going higher.”
While Annichiarico said the pole vaulting community is tight, he said there’s a point where the gloves will come off.
“When you step on the runway, all the friendships go away,” Annichiarico said. “Everyone means business.”
At the Group III meet, Annichiarico had little competition as he won the gold medal by clearing 15 feet.
Kingsway’s Dylan Altland is the No. 1 at Wednesday’s MOC, having cleared 15-6 at groups. Annichiarico is one of four others who topped out at 15 at groups while six more competitors cleared 14-6.
Annichiarico said there’s a good chance he’ll beat his own Bergen County record of 15-4 ½. As far as winning the MOC gold, he had just one word: “Yeah.”

Pompton Lakes’ Zariq Hewitt hasn’t had the best luck over the last couple weeks.
At the Group I meet, the Cardinals’ big man launched his shot a personal-best 52 feet, 2 ½ inches and finished second – just half an inch behind Wallkill Valley’s Nicholas James-McLean.
A week earlier, Hewitt maxed out at 48-4 at the North 1, Group I sectional meet and finished second – exactly one inch behind James-McLean.
“We were throwing uphill at Randolph so no one really did that well,” Hewitt explained.
After his second straight narrow loss, Hewitt showed a lot of class and didn’t seem the least bit perturbed.
“It just pushes me to get better,” Hewitt said.
In the Group I discus event, Hewitt claimed the bronze medal with a throw of 155-3.
At Wednesday’s meet, he’s seeded 19th in the shot and 18th in the discus.

Demarest’s Josh Landsman is the Swiss army knife of North Jersey track and field.
Depending where his team needs him at any particular meet, the Norseman senior competes in the high jump, long jump, high hurdles, 100, 200, shot and discus.
“Practices are really difficult … I have to do four events every day,” Landsman said. “I’m running everywhere and my coaches are pulling me limb by limb.”
Landsman is headed for the University of Maryland and will compete as a decathlete.
“The only thing I don’t do is distance,” Landsman said with a laugh.
After winning the North 1, Group III high jump crown by matching his personal-best height – 6 feet, 7 inches – Landsman started the Group III meet as the top seed. He struggled to clear each of his heights, though, and maxed out at 6-4 to settle for fifth place.
“Missing a bunch of heights I clear every day wasn’t a big confidence booster,” Landsman said.
“When I cleared 6-4, it made me feel like I was ready to clear more heights. But it didn’t work out that way.”
Landsman hopes to make up for this performance with a big effort at the Meet of Champions. He’s one of 14 athletes who cleared 6-4 at groups and if he can get back up to 6-7, he’ll be right in the middle of medal contention.
One persona Landsman doesn’t expect to beat is Cedar Grove’s David Njoku. Just before the Group III competition started, all eyes at Frank Jost Field were on Njoku as he followed his Group I record leap of 7-1 by barely missed three attempts at an all-groups record 7-3.
“Seeing some guy go 7-1 … it doesn’t make me nervous, but it’s hard to think I can do that,” Landsman said. “I feel like I’m right in the mix for Top 5 in the state, though.
“I think I can do it.”

Read More...