Tuesday night is one of the most enjoyable nights of the track season for me. I’ll be announcing in my quiet, understated (wink) style, and the meet at Hackensack should be one of the best of the year. If everything goes as expected, this meet, always a good meet, especially in the field events, will be even better next year if the track schedule changes.
But enough about the future, let’s look at this year’s meet:
The field events start at 3:30 and the crowd, as always will be allowed to surround the area at Hackensack high school.
Girls Field
SP: Cheyenne Bellerand of Emerson is the latest 40-footer in the County but has her hands full with six throwers at 37 feet or better. Look for Lisa Sesink-Clee of Holy Angels, Irene Cedano of Hasbrouck Heights, freshman Jessica Molina of Westwood, Laura Oh of River Dell and all-North Jersey indoor thrower Alysha Menzies of Garfield.
DT: Tania Pabon of Cresskill is the heavy favorite and the defending champion. Her career best throw of 128-7 is ninth all-time in Bergen. The only other 120 footer is Haley Hirsch of Demarest.
JT: Numbers 8, 12 and 13 all-time could hook up here with Sesink-Clee holding the best throw of the year, 140-11. Jackie Reyneke of Northern Highlands (132-0) and Camila Alonso of Lyndhurst (131-11) have been great all year but Reyneke might be a late scratch.
HJ: A wide-open event but defending champ Taryn DeLeon of Old Tappan might be winding into shape off her 5-4 clearance in tough conditions Saturday. Lisa Carle of Midland Park jumped 5-4 early but is in a bit of a slump. Jenna Phillips of Ramapo, and the versatile Sesink-Clee have also made 5-3 this year.
LJ: It’s the first of two major jumping battles between Amanda Fields of Holy Angels and Tatiyanna Sanders of Paramus Catholic, who rank 5 and 6 respectively in Bergen history. But defending champion Patty McHugh of Waldwick is back and there are four other jumpers over 17 feet this year.
TJ: Fields is 5th all-time here (38-6 3/4) and Sanders 10th (38-0 3/4), but Sanders’ PC teammate soph Rosie Menyhart beat them both at the Non-Public A sectional. Teaneck’s Ana Atkinson is also over 37 feet this year.
PV: There are nine vaulters between 10-6 and 11 feet although the 11-footers Mimi DeVita of Ridgewood, Megan Gambuti of Ramapo and Tiffany Tencza of Wallington are slight favorites. Don’t count out the flying Rozalski sisters of Queen of Peace, senior Catherine and soph Michele.
Boys Field
SP: Junior Andrew Trumbetti of Demarest is Bergen’s latest 60-footer and is heavily favored here although Austin Berninger of River Dell has been steady at or near 55 feet all year.
DT: Defending Jong-Min Youn of Old Tappan, Trumbetti and Anthony Seidel are all in the all-time top 35 in the event, with Youn’s second place at the State Meet of Champs last year at 175 feet the overall leader. Arie Zuidema of Midland Park is also a 160-footer.
JT: Seidel is the defender here but was upset last weekend at the Group 1 state sectionals by Seth Zuidema of Midland Park, brother of two-time state champ and state record holder Kaleb Zuidema, a sophomore at the University of South Carolina. Seidel leads the yearly list at 193-5, but there are nine other 170-foot plus throwers in the field in this notoriously fickle event.
HJ: A pedestrian event for most of the year until Demarest junior Josh Landsman exploded with a 6-6 jump 10 days ago at the Bergen B meet. Defending champ Danny Thompson of Indian Hills and Roland Gamez of Hasbrouck Heights are the only other jumpers to clear 6-4 this spring.
LJ: Gamez is skipping the defense of this title to concentrate on the high jump and 110 hurdles. That leaves a clear field to Fair Lawn’s Monmouth-bound George Alexandris, who jumped 23-3 1/4, number 13 all-time at the Bergen A meet. That puts him 19 inches ahead of the second seed, St. Joe’s junior Zach Basile.
TJ: Junior Pete Chamalian of Cresskill has led the triple jump all year, with a personal best of 46-3. But look out for rapidly improving Jarius Paul of Mahwah and junior George Trival of Ramsey, both 45 foot jumpers.
PV: It’s Eric Geider of Demarest against the county record of 15-4 1/4 set by Juan Andres Giglio of Ridgefield Park in 2010. Geider has four 15-foot jumps, more than any other Bergen athlete, but is still 1 3/4 inches shy of the mark. ridgewood’s Dylan Downing is the only other vaulter to clear 14 feet this year.
I’ll return later this morning with a look at the nine running events, which begin at 6 p.m. with trials in the 100 and 110 hurdles.