It’s hard to believe but we’re into the final two weeks of the regular season for track and field with the state sectionals this weekend with the State Meet of Champions set for June 4. It’s been an amazing season so far and hopefully the best is yet to come over the sectionals, groups and MOC with some of the better teams and individuals extending to the Nationals in North Carolina in mid-June and perhaps beyond.
My colleagues Bob Shwalb and Dave Meisel have done a terrific job in their first seasons on the beat and we’ll be bringing you triple team coverage this weekend at sectional meets in Randolph, Toms River and Oradell with reports from Basking Ridge and Plainfield.
And North Jersey teams could win team titles at five different sites, which would be a remarkable accomplishment.
But let’s pause for a second and look back over the first seven weeks of the year to see what’s transpired and what could be coming.
In no particular order:
Ridgefield Park has given us one of the brightest new stars in the state this year as Chris Estrella moved North from the Dominican Republic to join his mom in Bergen County for his last year of high school. Estrella is electrifying, whether in the sprints, the long jump or the high jump and is a threat to win four titles this weekend at North 2, Group 1. But it’s in the 100, that the suspense is growing. The postponement of Friday’s Lou Lanzalotto Bergen Meet of Champions deprived us of a showdown between Estrella and defending state champion (and Michigan football recruit) Jabrill Peppers of Paramus Catholic as Peppers had a conflict. But don’t be surprised if the two meet at the State Meet of Champions and don’t be shocked if Estrella is first out of the blocks that night. The question is will Peppers be able to run him down. It’ll probably take less than 10 1/2 seconds to get the answer weather and health permitting.
Bergen and Passaic Counties have confirmed that North Jersey is home to the half-milers (or 800 meter runners to be precise). So far eight of the top 25 800 boys runners in the state are from our area, led by state indoor champion Joe White of DePaul, who leads the rankings with a 1:52.13 clocking. At the indoor state meet of champions, 8 of the top 11 finishers were from North Jersey including six of the eight medal winners. With Marc Rienas of Old Tappan, George Jenkins of Teaneck, Danny Cordeiro of North Arlington, James Buser of Mahwah and Mike Higgins of Don Bosco already at 1:56 or below with several others right behind, it’s possible the indoor feat could be approached outdoors.
Indoor 800 champ Corinne Myers of Westwood and Catherine Pagano of Northern Highlands are 2-3 in the state and have already broken 2:10 on the girls side. And there are four or five other state contenders with potential winners in neaarly every group.
The quartet of White, Jenkins, Jaleel Felton of Pascack Valley and Dalton Friend of Don Bosco have run between 48.33 and 48.37 this spring in the 400 and find themselves in the top six in New Jersey going into states.
Four of the top 10 girls shot putters in the state, led by soph Jessica Molina of Westwood and including Cheyenne Bellerand of Emerson, Alicia Hester of Wayne Valley and Amarys Berry of Hackensack, hope to make the South Plainfield podium and here’s a prediction — First one to 44 feet will be the state champion.
Two Bergen County vaulters, boy Bergen record holder Luke Annichiarico of Old Tappan (15-4 1/2) and Bergen girls champ Catherine Rozalski of Queen of Peace (12-1 1/2) sit atop the state rankings in the pole vault going into the state series but uneasy lies the crown even in North Jersey as there are 10 13-6 or better vaulters in North Jersey alone, including four from Ridgewood and three from Ridgefield Park, which added 18 inches to the 41 year old Bergen 3-man relay record by jumping 40 feet at the Twin-Boro Relays last month. And after Pascack Valley’s 1973 record of 38-6 wasn’t even challenged until 2004 when Ridgewood went 38 feet, not one but two Bergen schools, Ridgewood and Demarest, went 39-6 three weeks after RP set a record that looked like it might stand for another 41 years. Yikes!!!
Here’s a look at the performances so far this spring that have already moved relay teams and athletes into the top 20 alltime in Bergen and Passaic Counties.
RELAYS
Boys
4-x100:(Bergen County record: 41.71) 3. Paramus Catholic, 42.2; 13. St. Joseph Regional, 42.9.
4-x-200 (1:26.78) 15. Don Bosco, 1:29.54; t 18 Paramus Catholic, 1:29.64
4-x-1,600 (17:06.6*) 13. Don Bosco, 17:58.2
Distance medley (10:04.2*) 15. Don Bosco, 10:19.6
3-x-400 intermediate hurdles (2:49.2) 10. Old Tappan, 2:51.7
High jump (18-8); t 10 Ridgefield Park, 17-10.
Triple jump (130-8 1/2); 6. Englewood, 129-8 1/2; 11. Ridgewood, 127-5 1/2; 12. Ramapo, 127-5 1/4.
Pole vault (40-0): Bergen County record: Ridgefield Park, 40-0; tie 2 Ridgewood and Demarest, 39-6; 8. Old Tappan, 37-6.
Girls
4-x-100 (46.90): 10. Hackensack, 48.9; 18. Paramus Catholic, 49.3.
4-x-200 (1:41.0); tie 11, Hackensack, 1:44.8.
4-x-400 (3:51.44): 9. Northern Highlands, 3:55.81; 17. Westwood, 3:56.60.
4-x-800 (9:00.43): 10. Westwood, 9:27.41; 13. Ramapo, 9:28.8; 20. Tenafly, 9:32.6.
4-x-1,600 (20:27.2): 9. Ridgewood, 21:42.34; 12. IHA, 21:45.6.
Sprint medley (4:02.84): 3. Northern Highlands, 4:04.19; 4. Westwood, 4:04.38.
Distance medley (11:50.73); 5. Northern Highlands, 12:02.79.
Shuttle hurdles (60.77): tie 18. River Dell, 66.9.
3-x-400 IH (3:14.90): 8. Northern Highlands, 3:21.9; 16. River Dell, 3:25.3.
Shot put (114-8): 9. Demarest, 102-1 1/4; tie 17. Westwood, 100-3.
Discus (333-3): 2. Westwood, 329-6.
High jump (16-2): tie 6. Old Tappan, 15-0.
Long jump (51-0 3/4): Bergen County record: Paramus Catholic, 51-0 3/4; 2. River Dell, 49-2 3/4; 12. Old Tappan, 47-7 1/4.
Triple jump (106-9 3/4): 2. River Dell, 105-7 3/4; 6. Paramus Catholic, 103-5 1/4.
INDIVIDUALS
Bergen County Girls
200 (23.73): 10. Lauren Brzozowski, Ramapo, 24.96.
400 (54.68): 15. Brzozowski, 57.17.
800 (2:06.06): 4. Corinne Myers, Westwood, 2:09.09; 5. Catherine Pagano, Northern Highlands, 2:09.91.
1,600 (4:41.61): 3. Pagano, 4:48.82; 20. Colleen Buckley, IHA, 5:02.32.
3,200 (10:29.13): 4. Pagano, 10:34.60; 12. Julia Guerra, Indian Hills, 10:55.46; 20. Carleen Jeffers, Ridgewood, 11:03.26.
Shot put (47-5 1/2): 7. Jessica Molina, Westwood, 43-0 1/4; 11. Amarys Berry, Hackensack, 42-2 1/4; 12. Cheyenne Bellerand, Emerson, 42-1 1/2; 19. Nikolia Kanaris, Demarest, 40-3 1/2.
Discus (143-4): 8. Kailee Oakes, Westwood, 130-5; 9. Bellerand, 129-3; tie 12. Molina, 127-10.
Javelin (155-8): 12. Stacy Anning, Ridgefield Park, 132-3.
Triple jump (42-5): 5. Tatiyanna Sanders, Paramus Catholic, 39-3 3/4.
Long jump (19-4): 4. Sanders, 18-10 1/2.
Pole vault (12-5 1/2): 2. Catherine Rozalski, Queen of Peace, 12-1 1/2
Boys
100 (10.31): 5. Chris Estrella, Ridgefield Park, 10.62.
400 (47.18): 15. Jaleel Felton, Pascack Valley, 48.33; 16. George Jenkins, Teaneck, 48.34; 17. Dalton Friend, Don Bosco, 48.35.
Shot put (68-3): 20. Spencer Ross, Mahwah, 59-6.
Javelin (224-1): 9. Seth Zuidema, Midland Park, 194-11; 16. Paul Sheridan, Paramus Catholic, 190-0; 18. Mike Brazzel, North Arlington, 186–7.
Triple jump (50-5): 13. Jairus Paul, Mahwah, 47-6 1/4..
Long jump (25-0 1/2): 18. Paul, 23-1.
Pole vault (15-4 1/2): Bergen County record: Luke Annichiarico, Old Tappan, 15-4 1/2; tie 13. Sam Siegel, Demarest, 14-6.
Passaic County Boys
1.600 (4:13.1): 9. Jeremy Hernandez, Clifton, 4:19.97; 16. Brandon Ungemach, Wayne Hills, 4:20.96; 19. Adam Herskovits, Wayne Valley, 4:22.08.
3,200 (8:50.44*): 4. Ungemach, 9:23.44.
Javelin (186-11): 16. Emmanuel Soriano, Passaic Tech, 171-4; 19. Caleb Hart, Hawthorne Christian, 168-0.
Girls
200 (24.12): 14. Kadejah Sellers, Manchester, 25.47.
400 (54.0): 10. Sellers, 56.63; 18. Lyndsey Smith, Eastern Christian, 58.00.
800 (2:12.26): 5. Stephanie Bitcon, Wayne Hills, 2:15.70.
1,600 (4:53.33): 2. Bitcon, 4:57.36.
3,200 (10:31.6): 5. Bitcon, 10:52.48.
100 HH (14.33): 8. Jenna Dyksen, Hawthorne, 15.19; tie 13. Alexes Washington, Passaic Tech, 15.36.
400 IH (57.48): 15. Dyksen, 64.20.
Shot put (43-8 1/2): 8. Alicia Hester, Wayne Valley, 41-6 3/4.
Javelin (139-1): 11. Olivia Pantale, Wayne Valley, 114-11; tie 19. Kaitlyn Robertson, Wayne Hills, 108-10.
Triple jump (40-7): tie 9. Ianna McGregor, Kennedy and Dyksen, 36-9.
Long jump (19-11 1/4): 6. Dyksen, 18-1 1/2; tie 12. Kaitlin Salisbury, Hawthorne, 17-10 1/2.
Finally, here is a list of the athletes already in the top 20 who have not improved their performances yet this season.
Bergen Girls
100: 19, Sanders, 12.28.
800: 7. Josette Norris, Tenafly, 2:10.98; 13. Deanna DiLandro, Ramapo, 2:12.66.
1,600: 1. Norris, 4:41.61; 4. Guerra, 4:52.69; 10. Myers, 4:56.60.
3,200: Norris, 10:29.13.
100 HH: 19. Christina Welzer, Demarest, 15.04.
400 IH: 18. Welzer, 63.21.
High jump: tie 4. Taryn DeLeon, Old Tappan, 5-4.
Triple jump: 17. Rosemary Menyhart, Paramus Catholic, 37-7 3/4.
Pole vault: tie 7. Jordan Even-Chen and Megan Gambuti, Ramapo, 11-0.
Boys
100: 4. Jabrill Peppers, Paramus Catholic, 10.51.
200: 2. Peppers, 21.13; 19. Friend, 21.84.
3,200: 1. Kyle Levermore, Don Bosco, 8:55.41; 18. Rob Townsend, Don Bosco, 9:12.32.
Triple jump: 17. Pete Chamalian, Cresskill, 47-4 1/4.
Passaic Boys
400: Joe White, DePaul, 48.35.
800: White, 1:50.51.
Girls
100: 5. Washington, 12.16.
400: 11. Breaisha Morton, Passaic Tech, 57.26.
100 HH: 2. Morton, 14.41.
400 IH: 4. Morton, 61.91.
High jump: tie 3. Morton, 5-6.
Triple jump: 12. Morton, 36-8 1/4.
Pole vault: tie 2. Haley Steele, West Milford, 11-6; tie 4. Kristina Langan, Wayne Hills, 11-0.
Enjoy your weekend!
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