MOHS Runner

Girls 5th in Group 3 State Championships

2011-12-06T16:59:00.000-08:00

The 2011 girls squads had one of the best Holmdel performances in program history at the Group 3 State Championships on Nov. 12. The girls placed 5th overall, just 7 pts. out of 3rd and 10 pts. out of 2nd.

Sarah Masukewicz and Marissa Karl (lower picture) had the 10th and 11th fastest MO girls times at the famous course, a history that stretches back to the late 1970's. Karl became # 10 with her 30t-place 20:28 while Masukewicz became # 11 with her 31st 20:29. Mariah Christian (21:02) and Steph Smith (21:03) finished in a tandem also in 44 and 45 (top picture above). Erin Miller's 66th in 21:39 finished MO's scoring. Alex Schneeberg was 86th and Lindsay Schafer 140th as #'s 6 & 7.

The ladies averaged 20:58. The 1989 team which won the MOC averaged 20:53, proving how much more competitive the ladies' racing has become! The 2011 squad brought back the winning ways of the girls teams of the past with an undefeated season (7-0), a conference title, and runnerup finshes in the Counties and Sectionals. Their finishin Group 3 is the best since 2004, when the team was 5th.

Morris County Championships: Girls--Silver; Boys 9th

2011-11-26T13:18:00.000-08:00

The girls team, with only 2 days rest, stormed back after their Sectional qualifying race, to finish their highest at the Morris County Championships since 1996. Sarah Masukewicz placed 16th and Marissa Karl 18th to lead the Marauder cause. Sarah's time of 20:04.67 was a p.r.and a freshmen class record. Seniors Steph Smith and Erin Miller were next in, taking 26th and 28th. Mariah Christian was the 5th finisher for MO in 34th, while Danielle Halikias (39th; p.r. 21:19) and Alex Schneeberg (48th) brought all the red and gold in. The girls ran their second fastest ever at Greystone, averaging 20:33.

For the boys team this was their last race of the season and a preview of 2012. Sr. Scott Rennalls was unable to finish after being pushed off the course just past midway and suffering an injury. First-year soph Nick Yanakas had his best race of the season placing 35th in 17:50. Peermate Eddie Garcia followed right in at 17:59, taking 42nd. Steve Kubicki stayed close in 47th with his best race at 18:10.42. Nick Miele, Sean Gallagher, and Joey Ulbrich piled in at 74, 79, and 83. The total underclass team ran 18:26 and were 9th overall. Every team in front of the Marauder boys had an average of half their top 5 as seniors.

The J.V. Girls were 2nd. Erin Schafer was the top finisher in 5th. Sara Christian, 9th; Jamie Tavalare, 14th (in a p.r. 22:48); Katrina Laemmerhirt, 15th; and Jackie Pignataro, 22nd, completed the team.

The J.V. boys were 8th. Anthony Talanca was first in in 53rd.

Girls 2nd, Boys 6th at Sectionals

2011-11-23T12:47:00.000-08:00

The girls team narrowly missed adding a sectional title to their conference title, when they took second at the North 1, Group 3 State Sectional Championships, on Saturday, 11/5. The Lady Harriers scored 96, just shy of Northern Highlands 92.
Fr. Sarah Masukewicz led the way, placing 8th and running her fastest-ever 5k in 19:39.39, a school record for the Thompson Park course in Jamesburg. Marissa Karl was right behind in 11th in her second sub-20 clocking of the season at 19:50. Mariah Christian and Stephanie Smith both ran close, taking 21st and 23rd, and recorded 5k p.r.'s in 20:28 and 20:32. Lindsay Schafer recorded her 2nd sub-21 time on the course in 20:55 and getting 33rd to finish the MO scoring. Alex Schneeberg ran a p.r. 5k time of 21:03, taking 37th. Erin Miller was 43rd in 21:20. The team time of 20:17.8 was a season-best and possibly the fastest ever on a 5k course for any M.O. girls team in its 35 year history.
The boys came agonizingly close to advancing to the Group 3 Championships with their 6th place finish. The boys beat out every local team to represent Morris County against its Bergen and Passaic opponents. The team also ran a season-best average time of 17:52. Sr. Scott Rennalls and soph Eddie Garcia ran a close tandem, placing 28 and 29, in 17:34 and 17:35, the latter a 20 sec. improvement for Garcia from his initial run at Thompson 3 weeks earlier. Jr. Nick Miele (36th) showed he likes this course, running 17:49 to go along with his 17:44 earlier race here. Nick Yanakas took 47th in 18:02. Joey Ulbrich (59th--18:21), Steve Kubicki (65th--18:34), and Sean Gallagher (76th--18:49) each recorded their bests ever atthe 5k xc distance. Gallagher's time was his first ever under 19 min.

NJAC Championships

2011-11-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

After completing the regular season, the boys and girls settled their sights on the championship races, starting with the NJAC Championship Race, which combines the two large school divisions--the American and National. The 5-2 boys squad led things off by placing 7th overall in their race. The team averaged a new best team time for the season, clocking 18:00.5. Senior Scott Rennalls (above left) was 23rd overall in 17:20. Soph Eddie Garcia wasn't far behind in 29th with a big p.r. of 17:32. Soph Nick Yanakas cracked the 18 min. mark in 17:58. Jr. Nick Miele (50th--18:12) and soph Steve Kubicki (67th--18:57) rounded out the scoring.

The girls finished 5th in a tight battle for 3rd. Their tally of 135 pts. trailed Morristown by 2 and Pope John by 1. Their 20:27 was a new school record, breaking their own. Marissa Karl's 10th in 19:31 was a new school individual record and a breakthrough performance. Frosh SarahMasukewicz continued to gain strength with each race as she nabbed 24th in 20:22. Erin Miller, Mariah Christian, and Lindsay Schafer rolled in to complete the scoring (29th--20:39; 34th--20:48; and 38th--20:56) and recorded p.r.'s.

Joey Ulbrich led the j.v.'s, running a p.r. 18:42 in 35th. The squad was 10th.

The j.v. girls were impressive, taking 1-2-3. Alex Schneeberg won in 21:21, Sara Christian was 2nd in 21:23, and Erin Schafer was 3rd in 21:35. The team was second. Jr. Jackie Pignataro (22nd) and fr. Jamie Tavalare (28th) were the other two scorers.

Girls & Boys Post Improvements at Old Bridge Fall Classic

2011-10-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

The xc teams traveled to Jamesburg on Saturday, 10/15, to race at Thompson Park.
The girls varsity turned in their most impressive performance of the season taking 3rd place behind the #9 and 12 ranked teams in the state. Their total of 85 points was just behind Group 4 powers Bridgewater-Raritan's 55 and Hunterdon Central's 73. After setting a school record for team average at Greystone Park in last week's NJAC meet at 20:40, the top 5 girls ran 20:38.2, one of the best team average's ever recorded by the M.O. girls, and possibly the best ever. Junior Marissa Karl led the way in 9th (20:19), followed closely by frosh Sarah Masukewicz in 14th (20:25), senior Steph Smith 15th (20:33), sophs Lindsay Schafer in 19th (20:44) and Mariah Christian 28th (21:10). Sr. Danielle Halikias was 59th (22:15) and soph Erin Schafer 63rd (22:26).
The J.V. girls were 5th with soph Sara Christian crossing the line in 4th (22:14) and sr. Katrina Laemmerhirt 10th (22:51). Also scoring were junior Jackie Pignataro (23rd, 23:30) and frosh Jamie Tavalare (31st, 24:01) and Katherine Bausch (36th, 24:06).

The boys faced tough competition in their race with 3 state ranked teams and many Group 4 schools. The team placed 14th overall and recorded their best team time of the season at 18:00, better than their 18:46 last time at Greystone. Scott Rennalls continued to be the team leader and ran his best time of the season,placing 52nd in 17:39. Junior Nick Miele and soph Eddie Garcia both cracked the 18 minute mark for the first time ever, in 56th (17:44) and 66th (17:54) respectively. Also running their bests ever were sophs Nick Yanakas (84th, 18:13) and Steve Kubicki (98th, 18:34). Soph Joey Ulbrich got his first sub-19 time as well (106, 18:46). Soph Jake Tanenbaum, moving up to the varsity, was 142 in 19:55.
The boys j.v. were 18th. Jr. Matt McNamara was in first at 120 (21:08). The other runners were Ryan Schilling (132), Mike Henry (155), Scott Gong (160), Ryan Leone (163), and Jon Bass (170).

Passaic Invite Results

2011-09-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

9/24: Garrett Mtn. site of the North Jersey State Sectionals

The boys and girls teams made their annual trip to the Passaic Coaches Invitational on Saturday, September 24, to test themselves out on the North 1 State Sectional course.
The Marauders left with 21 medals overall and competed in all six available races to them at the varsity, novice, and frosh levels.
In varsity action, the girls took 4th, even though holding back for their upcoming race 3 days later back at Greystone Park (NJAC race #2). Marissa Karl was the top finisher in 20th at 22:21, followed by Steph Smith (22, 22:28), Lindsay Schafer (25, 22:34), Mariah Christian (26, 22:35), Danielle Halikias (28, 22:39), Erin Miller (29, 22:40), and Alex Schneeberg (38, 23:13).
The boys placed 6th and were led by Scott Rennalls in 19th at 17:55. Soph Eddie Garcia came next (27, 18:32) and jr. Nick Miele (32, 18:54). Soph newcomer Nick Yanakas just missed a medal in 36th and was followed by sophs Joey Ulbrich (54), Sean Gallagher (61), and Steve Kubicki (62).
The girls novice race was the highlight of the day as M.O. put its 6 runners from 1st to 11th and romped over the field, taking 1st with 26 points. Sara Christian won the race in her first time over the varsity course in 23:21. Newcomer sr. Katrina Laemmerhirt (3rd), soph Erin Schafer (6th), jr. Jackie Pignataro (7th), soph Sarah Miller (10th), and sr. Sam Tavalare (11th) dominated the race to earn the first place trophy. In the boys novice race, Jack Tanenbaum (24), Gennaro Ruggiero (30), Dan Nemeth (32), and Jack Greenbaum (34) all earned medals and brought the boys in 5th.
Katherine Bausch (24) and Jamie Tavalare (29) got medals in the freshmen girls race.

Opening NJAC Action Highlighted by Sulley Girl Win 200

2011-09-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

The girls went 3-0 and the boys 2-1 in the opening NJAC race Wednesday, 9/21, at Greystone Park. After just missing the 200 girl win milestone for their coach at the end of last year, the girls began the season by besting Vernon (26-33), Pope John (25-32), and Montville (19-42). Team depth proved the key to all three victories. Against Pope John, MO put four in before the Lions' 3rd and 11 in before their 5th. Against Vernon, Marissa Karl won and then 9 Marauders got in before the 4th Vernon runner. The score against Montville was the most lopsided, with 7 in the first 9 places. Karl also took first in that race. After Karl, the MO varsity was Steph Smith, Erin Miller, Mariah Christian, Lindsay Schafer, Danielle Halikias, and Alex Schneeberg.

The boys got off to a good start. While Montville took 1-2, the male harriers struck back by taking 7 of the next 8 positions to win in 27-32. Vernon, who handily beat MO boys last year, proved to be a weaker team in 2011. The Marauders took places 1-4 and 6-10 to wallop them 16-47. Pope John was too strong as it down the boys 15-49. P.J. would have beaten every team in the race, which included Mendham, Randolph, Roxbury, and Morris Knolls.

In the frosh/j.v. race, 9th grader Katherine Bausch was a close 2nd.

Roxbury Invitational Opener for 2011 XC

2011-09-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

The Mount Olive Boys and Girls Cross Country teams opened their 2011 season with a stellar effort at the Roxbury Invitational on September 10. The Marauders came home with a total of 18 medals from the class meet held at Horseshoe Lake Park.

The highest individual showings came in the sophomore girl race in which Lindsay Schafer and Mariah Christian placed 3-4 and led the soph ladies to a 1st Place win! The team, pictured right, also included Sara Christian (10), Erin Schafer(12), Atalia Bermudez (14), and Sarah Miller (30).

In the Jr-Sr girls race, Marissa Karl and Steph Smith went back to back in 7-8 and led the girls to a 6th place showing. Katrina Laemmerhirt (27) and Sam Tavalare (35) were the other scorers in this meet that uses a 4-runner total.

Eddie Garcia was the highest boy finisher for the team, taking 8th in the soph race. Nick Yanakas grabbed a medal in his debut in 25th. The soph teamtook 6th overall. In varsity boys, Scott Rennalls brought his team in 8th with his 22nd place, followed closely by Nick Miele in 27. The frosh girls had several medal winners in Katherine Bausch (16) and Jamie Tavalare (26).

RANDOLPH CHAMPS FOR BOYS!!!

2011-05-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

For the first time in school history (1974), the boys track team won their division of the Randolph Relays on Sat., 4/30.
This was the 3rd relay meet of the season for the boys. Two weeks earlier the team had competed in cold, wet conditions at the Morris Hills Relays. There, the strength of the jumps team was evident as it has been all season. Cory Colligan, Matt Herb, and soph Justin Maksimow combined for 112'10" to take 2nd place there, while Maksimow and Herb teamed with Antonio Hunt to take 3rd in the long jump with a 54' 7" total. The 4 x 100 team (5th), 4 x 200 (6th), and shot put (5th) all placed as well to help the team score.
As stated the boys won the Large School Division of the Randolph Relays by accumulating 53 points. The team of Juan Rios, Dan Maya, Hunt and Colligan won both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200, both in season-best times. The 400 H team of Antonio and Gennaro Ruggiero and Hunt grabbed silver in the 3 x 400H relays. All 3 boys ran p.r.'s. Also, the long jump and pole vault teams took silver medals. Maksimow, Herb and Cuellar did a s.b. 56' 8" in the long jump while Kramaritsch, Ed Feeney, and Matt Messina vaulted to a total of 32' 6". Kramartisch hit his first 13 foot vault of the seaon.
The girls team was second at Randolph behind the host girls. Like their counterparts the girls 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 teams did well, taking 1st and 2nd respectively. Jr. Armani Blair, Lina Koch, sr. Camille Ingles, and fr. Keturah Orji teamed in the shorter race, with fr. Alicia Warren taking Koch's place in the longer one.
Inglese (16' 9") and Orji (16' 1") went 1-2 in the l.j. and with jr. Gentrix Shanga won that event. Orji led Ali Schroeder and Katrina Laemmerhirt to 2nd place in the h.j.
The distance girls made some waves for the first time in the season. They placed in every relay: 2nd in the 4 x 800 (Sam Tavalare, Laemmerhirt, Lindsay Schafer, and Marissa Karl. A different foursome took 5th in the 4 x 1600 (Alex Schneeberg, Steph Smith, Erin Miller, Mariah Chrisitan). Finally, the distance medley of Karl, Warren, Tavalare and Danielle Halikias placed 4th.

Boys Rolling Over Opponents

2011-05-11T17:16:00.000-07:00

Since splitting the first meet of the season, beating Montville and losing to host Pope John, the Marauder men have gone on a tear, ripping up Jefferson, Sparta, High Point and Vernon. With one final meet to go at home against Morris Hills, the squad has a 5-1 record.
The high point scorer for the team has been senior Matt Herb, who has been unbeatable in his specialty the high jump. He is undefeated in that event for the season. In addition, he is 4 for 4 in the triple jump against these last opponents and won the long jump twice.
Sr. Antonio Hunt and jr. Cory Colligan have been a strong duo behind him.
Transfer Hunt has placed in the top 3 in every meet in 3 or 4 events per meet. He has placed 1st 5 times; he is the top 110H man and has split with Colligan in the 100 and 200. Colligan has been a key performer in both those sprint races and the long jump and triple jump.
The team has done well with key people in their best events: sr. Paul Kramaritsch has hit p.r.'s in the pole vault (13') and is unbeaten. Sr. Chris Victoria has led the throwers in the shot and disc. He has picked up 6' in the shot from the beginning of the season and has now hit over 46'. Sr. Zach Miller and jr. Scott Rennalls have covered the distances. Miller has hit p.r.'s in both the 1600 and 3200.
Jr. Antonio Ruggiero has been consistent in the 400H and backing up in the 110H. Soph Chris Cuellar is the leader for MO in both the jav and long jump.
The girls are 4-2. Most outstanding has been fr. Keturah Orji, who has won practically everything she's been in--100, 200, 110H, high jump, and long jump. Sr. Allissa Hoffmann has been the top thrower and gone past her own school record in the javelin. Soph Marissa Karl has run away from most opponents in the 800 and 1600--running 2:23 and 5:15.

OPENING RESULTS

2011-04-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

Several boys teams traveled to Summit to participate in the relays on Saturday, 4/2. The shot putters brought home medals with their 5th place. Chris Victoria (42'11"), Rob Parisi (38' 52.25"), and Matt Deptula (34' 9.25") totaled 116' 1.5". The 400H trio of Antonio Genarro (63.3), Gennaro Ruggiero (64.2), and Mike Gonzalez (66.1) placed 7th in 3:13.4. The disc team was 11th; Victoria had the team's best throw with a 122'6". At Pope John the boys and girls both split their meets, both losing to Pope John and both beating Montville. The boys lost to P.J. 92-48 while the girls lost 102-38. The boys beat Montville 101-38 and the girls 111-16. The big name for the boys was Matt Herb, who won the high jump against both teams, opening with a 6'2" height. He recorded two more firsts in winning the triple jump at 39' 3/4" and added two 2nds in the long jump, just going over 19'. In fact, the jumps were the strong area for the boys as they wracked up 26 out of 36 pts. vs. P.J. and 29 against Montville. Chris Cuellar took 1st in the l.j. at 19'9" in his first-ever try. Justin Maksimow added 3rds in the l.j. and t.j. (2nd against P.J.). Sr. Paul Kramaritsch won the p.v. at 11'. The boy sprinters overwhelmed Montville going 1-2 in the 100 and 200 with Cory Colligan and Dan Maya and sweeping the 400 and relay. Antonio Hunt led a sweep of the 110H against Montville and Antonio Ruggiero a sweep of the 400H. Scott Rennalls placed 1st in the 800/1600 against Montville. Keturah Orji made her outdoor debut noteworthy by winning the 100 in 12.5 over indoor county champ Julia Rizio of Montville. She won the 200 against Montville and was 2nd against P.J. Alyssa Hoffman won the jav overall with a 100' heave. Sam Tavalare was the winner of the l.j. at 15' 7". She also ran 1:02.8 in the 400 to take 1st and 3rd. Marissa Karl ran 5:27 to take 1st against Montville and narrowly lose the 1600 against P.J. Danielle Halikias led a 1-2-3 sweep against Montville in the 3200. Marissa Karl also led a 1-2 sweep of Montville in the 800 and 1600.

Indoor Awards

2011-04-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

Matt Herb was named First Team High Jump by the Daily Record. Ashley Tomasula made 2nd team Pole Vault and Marissa Karl 2nd Team 1000 m run. Honorable Mentions went to sprinters Cory Colligan and Armani Blair and hurdler Ingrid Nimoh. The Star Ledger named Herb 2nd Team H.J. and Tomasula 2nd Team P.V., while Karl took 3rd Team 1000 honors and Ingrid Nimoh in 55H. For the boys Scott Rennalls was 3rd Team 800. The girls 4 x 400 was also named 3rd team: Sam Tavalare, Marissa Karl, Alicia Warren, and Ingrid Nimoh. In all, six M.O. indoor track athletes were in the top 50 in the N.J. performance list. Marissa Karl had the 11th best 1000m time at 3:09.1 and also the 38th best time at 2:21 for 800. Ashley Tomasula was tied at 12th for her 11' in the pole vault. Matt Herb was tied in 24th place for his 6'2" efforts in the high jump. Scott Rennalls was 28th in the 1000 at 2:42.7. Katurah Orji as 31st in the 200 with her 26.84 and 43rd in the 55 with a 7.48. Ingrid Nimoh had the 45th best 55H time at 8.75. The girls sprint med team was 25th with its 4:28 clocking by Armani Blair, Ingrid Nimoh, Sam Tavalare and Marissa Karl.

Loschiavo Run

2011-03-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

About 140 runners braved cold and windy weather to participate in this year's Loschiavo Run, held at the high school Saturday, March 26. The run, held each year since the death of track member John Loschiavo, raises money for scholarships to MOHS seniors.

Senior distance ace Zach Miller kept the first place honors for the home town in the 4 mile run. His time of 22:58 was a :58 p.r. over his time last year. Steve Wagner was 3rd in 24:49 and Scott Rennalls 4th in 25:11. Seven MO boys tracksters placed in the top ten. Soph Marissa Karl was the first female finisher and won the h.s. division in 27:14. Danielle Halikias was 3rd (27:21) and frosh teammates Mariah Christian and Lindsay Schafer were 4th and 5th (29:05, 29:21).

Jr. Sam Tavalare was 3rd overall in the 2 mile and Emily Crowley 5th. Fr. xc runner Stephen Carlstrom was 4th.

Eastern States Championships

2011-03-10T04:55:00.000-08:00

The final competition of the 2010-2011 indoor season for the MOTF teams was the prestigious Eastern States Championships, held at the 168th St. Armory in NYC. Athletes must qualify according to entry guidelines and then be selected by the Games Committee. Three MO girls made the cut. Coach Joe Hehn took two of his sprint proteges in for races in the 55 and 200. Ketura Orji qualified for the semis in the 55 after a 7.48 trial. Amazingly, this time tied the school record held by Jackie Sendgikoski. She placed 20th overall in the semis, running a 7.56. She came back in the 200 later, joining teammate Armani Blair. Armani blazed the 1 lap in 27.46 to take 22nd overall. Keturah ran in a later heat and finished 19th with a 27.03.
In the field, Ashley Tomasula had her last vault competition and successfully cleared 11' again, good for 7th in the field. Ashley continued to equal her own school record set earlier in the season.

Meet of Champs

2011-03-10T04:39:00.000-08:00

Three Marauders made their fourth trip back to the Toms River bubble for the annual state finals known as the Meet of Champions. Junior Ashley Tomasula placed 8th overall, clearing 11'. Soph Marissa Karl placed 17th in the 800, running 2:23.44. Senior Matt Herb concluded his successful indoor jumping career with a clearance of the opening height of 6' to take 18th. This was Ashley's second trip to the MOC indoors, while it was a first-time appearance form both Marissa and Matt.

State Success

2011-02-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, Feb. 19, the qualifiers from the North 1, Group 3 State Sectional Championships competed in the Group 3 State Championships at the Bennet Center in Toms River.

Three individuals from the Marauder squads medaled and thus advanced to the Meet of Champions on Saturday, Feb. 26. The best 6 medalists from each of the 6 groups, plus 6 wildcards, move on to contest to see who's the best in NJ.

The highest place was junior Ashley Tomasula, who equaled her own school indoor record, taking 2nd at 11'. It was her second consecutive clearance of that height in as many weekends. Next highest was the bronze medal won by soph Marissa Karl in the 800 m. She zoomed to 3rd on a 2:21.85 p.r. improvement; she may have turned some heads because of her 2:25.25 from the week before and her 9th place seeding prior to the race. Finally, senior Matt Herb jumped 6'2" in the high jump along with 3 others, but was awarded 5th, his 5th time over that height this season. The winner went 6'4".

Both 4 x 400 teams ran their season bests. The girls team, pictured above, ran an automatic 4:15.09 for 12th place. Fr. Alicia Warren, jr. Sam Tavalare, jr. Ingrid Nimoh, and soph Marissa Karl ran .05 off their 4:14.8 at the Varsity Classic at the Armory, but will be given credit for the record because of the official auto timing. The flat nature of the Toms River oval makes times run there up to 4 sec. slower for 1600m than the banked track of the Armory. The all junior boys team of Mike Gonzalez, Dan Baules, Cory Colligan, and Scott Rennalls posted a 3:38.54. Speaking for the group, Scott said, "We're happy to run our fastest time of the season. We can still do better." Rennalls placed 11th in the 800 in 2:03.58, slightly off his 2:02.61 the week before. He did, however, post his best 400 split in 52.7.

Sam Tavalare placed 10th in the 800 in 2:28.51, her second time under 2:30. Fr. Keturah Orji and jr. Armani Blair were 18th and 19th in the 55 semis at 7.69 and 7.70 respectively. The 7.70 was Armani's best time of the season and a scant .01 off her p.r. of 7.69.

The girls were 9th overall with 14 pts.

North 1 Group 3 State Sectionals

2011-02-15T17:58:00.000-08:00

The Marauders advanced a total of 11 athletes to the Group 3 State Championships this past Saturday, 2/13. Sr. Matt Herb successfully defended his h.j. title, winning that event at 6'. The next highest placing team members were jr. Ashley Tomasula, who cleared 11', breaking her own school record and soph Marissa Karl, who also took a silver in the 800 with a p.r. of 2:25.25. Karl also handled the second leg of the 4 x 400 team, which placed 3rd. Sam Tavalare joined her on that team, following her 4th place finish in her first non-relay 800, which she ran in 2:27.06. Ingrid Nimoh anchored that team and took the baton from her freshman sister Suzie. The team ran 4:15.45, not far off the school record set earlier in the week.
The biggest event of the night for the girls was the 55 dash. After going 3-4-5 in the semis, the same girls--Keturah Orji, Armani Blair, and Camille Inglese--went 3-4-5 in the finals, running 7.62-7.77-7.78. Keturah tied the 9th gr. record in the semis with her 7.58.
Jr. Danielle Halikias had the dreaded 7th place, but had stepped up to the 3200 for the first time and ran a respectable 12:34.8. She led fr. Mariah Christian to a 12:36 and jr. Alex Schneeberg to12:39. Fr. Alicia Warren had a p.r. in the 400, taking 10th in 1:04.33, and classmate Lindsay Schafer a 9th in the 1600 at 5:48.89. The girls finished tied for 3rd with 38 pts., their best team finish ever.
Jr. Scott Rennalls was the next highest boy finisher, finishing in 2:02.61 for 800m and getting 4th. He returned to run a 52.9 anchor for the 4 x 400 team, which ran their best of the season at 3:41.35. Jrs. Mike Gonzalez, Dan Baules, and Cory Colligan took the first three legs for the squad. The boys placed 6th overall with 18 pts.
The Group 3 Championships are Sat, 2/20, at 4 PM.

Second Trip to Big Apple Fruitful for Tracksters

2011-02-15T17:40:00.000-08:00

The indoor track & field squads made a hop across the Hudson for the second time this winter to whiz around the banked oval at the Armory.
The girls' 4 x 400 team achieved one of their season's goals by taking down the school record. The previous record, set in 1997, of 4:16, fell to the 4:14.8 run by Sam Tavalare (1:03), Marissa Karl (1:03), Alicia Warren (1:05), and Ingrid Nimoh (1:03). Tavalare and Karl had run the 1st and 2nd legs on the 4 x 800 earlier that gave took a final shot at that record; teaming with them were Laura Goodfriend and Bridget Phillip, who together ran a season best 10:06.9. Karl had the best leg of 2:25.
Sr. Matt Herb grabbed a 5th place medal in the h.j. at 6'2". Scott Rennalls had a season best at the 800 in 2:04.1. In the girls 800 jr. Erin Miller had a best in 2:38.3 and fr. Lyndsay Schafer a 2:35.6. Fr. Mariah Christian dropped 7 seconds off her time in running 5:48 for the 1600; jr. Danielle Halikias ran a first-ever 5:54.
Ashley Tomasula vaulted to a place in the p.v. at 10'6", equaling her own school record.
Ingrid Nimoh ran a hand-timed 8.7 in the 55h, while sr. Alex Reyes got a p.r. at 8.9
The sprinters did well on the infield in the 55. Jr. Armani Blair and fr. Keturah Orji ran 7.3 hand times. Camille Inglese recorded a 7.7. Onto the track, personal bests in the 200 were scored by Armani Blair, 26.8; sr. Camille Inglese, 27.5; jr. Cory Colligan, 23.6; Juan Rios, 24.4; and, in the best showing, Keturah Orji broke the freshman girl school record with a 26.6 (26.84).

Shot Putters Have Field Day

2011-02-15T17:20:00.000-08:00

The throwing portion of the indoor team took their talents to nearby Randolph for the Randolph Shot Put Invitaional on Jan. 26. The group came away with no fewer than 10 p.r.'s under the direction of Coach Ondilla. Frosh Andrew Kraemer and Andrew DeVenezia and soph Jay Shah had the biggest improvements. Kraemer, the county frosh champ, improved on his best of 41' 6.5" with the 4k ball to 43'5" and medaled. DeVenezia went from 32'9" to 34'6". Shah threw the 12 pounder 37' 2.5", up from his previous 35'4". On the boys' side, other p.r.'s were scored by sr. Luke Bippus, 33'7"; soph Andrea DeCarlo, 26'5.25"; sr. Matt Deptula, 38'1"; and fr. Kevin Harrington, 30'4.25". For the girls, new bests were achieved by jr. Nicole Dei, 26'; sr. Alissa Hoffman, 31' 1.75"; and jr. Jessica Scairpone, 26'4". Two other girls, jr. Laura Kubicki and jr. Kerry Quinn, were within 6" of their p.r.'s. All in all, a great night out of shot putting.

Frosh/Novice Meet at Armory

2011-02-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

The younger runners took a trip to the Big Apple on 1/31 to experience the banked turns of the famous 168th Street mondo surface oval. Freshman Katurah Orji came away with two medals and one class record. First, she placed third in the 55 dash in 7.7 and led teammate Suzie Nimoh in the same event to a 4th place finish in 7.8. Next, she won the seeded heat in 27.2 to break the freshman school record held by Armani Blair.
Also among the 9th graders, the girls 4 x 800 team had an exciting 3rd place finish. Mariah Christian, Erin Schafer, Sara Christian, and Lindsay Schafer raced to a 10:49 clocking to take bronze medals.
Danielle Halikias placed 2nd in the Novice girls 800 in 2:37.3. The varsity girls distance medley took 12th with their best time of the season in 13:27.8. The team was composed of soph Marissa Karl (3:58 1200), frosh Alicia Warren (400), and juniors Sam Tavalare (800) and Steph Smith (1600).

BIG PERFORMANCES IN BIG MEETS

2011-01-26T11:19:00.000-08:00

At the Morris County Championships on 1/19, the girls squad placed 5th overall with 24 points, their best finish since 2001. The highest placing medalist was junor Ashley Tomasula, who took silver in the pole vault at 10' 6", the 12th best vault in N.J. Classmate Ingrid Nimoh had a breakthrough evening in the hurdles, first smashing her p.r. of 9.28 by running 8.81 to qualify for the finals. She then took 3rd in the finals in 8.75, currently the 21st fastest time in the state. The 4 x 400 team also took 3rd in 4:17.36 with Nimoh anchoring; the opening 3 legs were handled by Sam Tavalare, Marissa Karl, and Alicia Warren. Karl also had a huge p.r. in the 1000m where she took 4th. She improved 6 seconds to 3:09.09, 9th best time in N.J. and one of the fastest M.O. times ever run.
The boys team finished 12th overall with 10.75 pts. The big event for the men was the h.j.: Matt Herb took 3rd with a 6' leap. First-year man Kifton Vanemon tied for 5th at 5'4". Scott Rennalls took 4th in the 1000 in 2:42.68, a season best.
Earlier in the week at the Freshmen/Sophomore County Championships the frosh girls took 5th with 21 pts. while the soph boys took 5th with 19. There were several gold medal achievements. First, Matt Kraemer won the 9th grade shot, throwing the 4k ball 41' 6.5". The frosh 4 x 400 were victorious in 4:40.23 with a team of Suzie Nimoh, Katurah Orji, Lindsay Schafer, and Alicia Warren. The soph boys were also winners with the team of Mike Eppel, Justin Bakelmun, Gennaro Ruggiero, and Anthony Talanca in 3:52.07. Bronze medals were won by Talanca in the soph boys 600m (1:33.92) and Orji in the fr. girls 55 (7.90). Nimoh picked up two more medals in the fr. 55 (5th--8.12) and fr. 300 (5th--46.99). Eppel took a 5th in the soph 300 in 39.86, and Warren a 6th in the fr. 300 (47.04) and Phil Demeo a 6th in the soph soph shot (37' 1.5").

Championships Under Way

2011-01-18T07:14:00.000-08:00

The Championship schedule opened up on Jan. 3 for the Marauders with the County Relays and continued with the State Relays on Jan. 15.
On 1/3 the girls placed 6th as a team, their best showing since 2004 when they also placed 6th. Three outstanding bronze medal efforts highlighted the lady varsity effort. First up was the 4 x 200 team of Armani Blair, Camille Inglese, Katurah Orji, and Ingrid Nimoh (1:53.74). The sprint med showed its quality again when Blair and Nimoh ran their second 200's of the evening and joined Sam Tavalare (400) and Marissa Karl (800) to record a 4:27.48, slightly better than their earlier season time. Icing it off were Nimoh, Tavalare, and Karl joined by Alicia Warren in the 4 x 400 for the last medals of the night.
The younger girls wanted to show their older sisters some stuff, so they ran and threw to medals in the JV 4 x 400--1st! (S. Nimoh, Warren, Courtney Hart & Gentrix Shanga); the JV 4 x 800--3rd--with Meisel, Ashley Torres, Erin Schafer & Mariah Christian; and 4th in the JV Shot with Manjarres and Kerry Quinn.
In the boys varsity the top team was the high jump. Matt Herb had the best jump of the evening and teamed with Kifton Vanemon to take 2nd. The sprint med kept pace with the girls by taking third--jr. Dan Baules & Cory Colligan handled the first two legs before handing off to Eppel and Rennals to bring it home. In the distance med, sr. Steve Wagner, sophs Mike Gonzalez and Anthony Talanca handed off to sr. anchor Zach Miller to take 6th.
In J.V. action, the putters of Matt Kraemer and Jay Shah took 3rd place.
At the Group 3 State Relays, the exciting MO girls sprint medley team showed their mettle by taking 3rd place medals. Sam Tavalare (1:03), Armani Blair (27.), Katurah Orji (27.) and Marissa Karl (2:26.) recorded a new school mark in the event: 4:25.11. Next best was the 4 x 200 team who scored 10th with a 1:53.41 (Blair, Inglese, Orji, I. Nimoh). The 4 x 400 team of Tavalare, Karl, Warren, and Nimoh was 11th.
For the boys, Matt Herb and Kifton Vanemon teamed up again to nab 6th place in the high jump. The most exciting action of the track for the Marauders was the sprint medley. Scott Rennalls reeled in every team in front of him and outleaned West Milford and Shawnee for the win in the 3rd section, one in front of the seeded heat. The first three legs were handled by Anthony Talanca, Cory Colligan, and Mike Eppel. Their time of 3:54.1 placed 8th overall.
Finally, the 4 x 200 squad of Cory Colligan, Justin Bakelmun, Dan Baules, and Juan Rios ran their best time of the season at 1:41.29.

New Year News

2011-01-18T06:41:00.000-08:00

The end of the 2010 and the start of 2011 have yielded a bumper crop of 51 medals in Invitational competition for the boys and girls indoor track and field teams.

Of special note is a new school record in the girls pole vault by junior Ashley Tomasula. At the Valentine meet on 1/14, Ashley broke her own school record in placing 2nd at 10'6". With many meets to go, this record will not stand long.

In a different jump event, senior Matt Herb has been on a tear in his specialty, the high jump. At the Racine meet on 12/29, he hit a p.r. of 6'2", and then hit it again at the Back meet on 1/7, taking the gold.

Junior Scott Rennalls has been the best performer on the track for the boys, with two silvers in the Racine and Back competitions, one at 800m (2:06.12) and the other at 1000m (2:43.27). He also teamed with jr. Mike Gonzalez and sophs Anthony Talanca & Mike Eppel for medals in the 4 x 400 at the Racine meet.

Various varsity have been tuning up for the championships in their specialties. At the Racine event, the girls quartet of jrs. Sam Tavalare & Ingrid Nimoh, soph Marissa Karl, and fr. Alicia Warren won an exciting 4 x 400 in 4:20.88. Earlier, Tavalare, Nimoh, and Karl teamed with jr. Armani Blair to take bronze in the sprint med at 4:28.90. Individually, Karl has thrown her name into the hat for the County meet with a 3rd in the 1000m at 3:15.33 (3rd at the Back meet). At the same comp, Nimoh took 5th in the 55H, while Blair took 6th in the 55. Armani had also taken a 4th in the 55 at the Racine meet.

Individuall, the boys did well at the Back meet with Dan Maya taking 5th in the 55 and Zach Miller 6th in the 1600. Though not medalling, many Marauders have been breaking their p.r.'s steadily throughout the season.

The underclassmen have absolutely shone throughout the season. At the Racine meet, the following scored: Matt Kraemer (2nd--fr. shot); Kerry Quinn (2nd--J.V. shot); Lindsay Schafer (2nd--Nov. 800); 4ths for Mike Eppel (JV 55), Heather Palanchi (JV 55); Nicole Dei (JV Shot). 5ths for Billy Behre (Fr. shot) and Shayla Holloway (JV 55) and 6ths for Luke DeVenezia (Fr. shot), Kelly Sagi (JV 55) and Amanda Meisel (JV 800).

At the Cliff Back meet: 1sts--L. Schafer (JV 1000) and Suzie Nimoh (JV 55); 2nd--G. Ruggiero (JV 600); 3rds--Laura Kubicki (JV Shot) & Nimoh (JV 300); 4ths--Steve Kubicki (Fr. 1600), Eppel (JV 55), Warren (JV 300); 6ths--Sean Gallagher (Fr. 1600) & Aimee Manjarres (JV Shot).

At the Valentine Meet: 1sts--Gennaro Ruggiero (VJ 600), Jay Shah (JV Shot), Kraemer (Fr. Shot); 4ths--Jon Damus (JV 55), DeVenzia (Fr. Shot); and 5ths--Sagi (JV 300) & Jessica Scairpone (JV Shot).

Indoor Track & Field Openers

2010-12-27T05:03:00.000-08:00

The 2010-2011 version of the boys and girls Indoor Track & Field Teams opened their season with a 58-medal haul in the first two meets.
At the Lid Lifter Invitational on Thursday, 12/16, both squads got a chance to shake out the rust and test their early-season training. Junior Scott Rennalls was the best boy performer, taking 2nd in his specialty, the 1000m run, in 2:48.47. He also anchored the 5th place 4 x 400 with Anthony Talanca (10), Mike Gonzalez (10), Byron Reed (12) in 3:48.55. Sr. Matt Herb placed 3rd in the h.j. at 5'9", sr. John Johnson 4th in the 55 hurdles in 8.16 (with a HUGE p.r. of 8.13 in the semis), and the 4 x 200 teama 6th in 1:41.73 (Johnson, jr. Cory Colligan, Gonzalez, and jr. Dan Baules).
The top girl medalist was Alyssa Hoffman, 5th in the shot at 30'8.5". The relays put in nice opening marks: 3rd in the 4 x 400 by Marissa Karl (10), Sam Tavalare (11), Danielle Halikias (11), and Ingrid Nimoh (12). The 4 x 200 was 4th in 1:55. 37 (Armani Blair, 11; Camille Inglese, 12; Lina Koch, 11; Nimoh).
The Holiday Relays, two days later, were highlighted by varsity and junior varsity performances. The girls placed in six relays. The girls 4 x 200 improved on their time by grabbing a 2nd in 1:54.83 with the same foursome of Koch, Inglese, Blair, and Nimoh. The sprint med was 5th in 4:40.03 with Blair & Nimoh on the 200 legs, Tavalare on the 400, and jr. Steph Smith on the 800. The 4 x 800 was 6th in 10:29.91 with a team of Bridget Phillips (12), Tavalare, Halikias, and Karl. Three j.v. relays showcased some new talent, led by the 4 x 200 team of Katurah Orji (9), Courtney Hart (10), Kelli Sagi (10), and Suzie Nimoh (9), who were FIRST in 1:58. 22. The 4 x 800 was 3rd in 11:11.44: Alex Schneeberg, 11; Ashley Torres, 10; Mariah Christian, 9; Lindsay Schafer, 9. The 4 x 400 was 4th in 4:46.4: Hart, Shayla Holloway (10), Gentrix Shanga (11), Nimoh.
For the boys the top performance was a runnerup sprint med relay in 3:52.97 by Baules, Colligan, Johnson, and Rennalls. Matt Herb hit a P.R. of 6'2" in the h.j. (also better than his outdoor p.r.) and with sr. newcomer Kifton Vanemon took 3rd at 11'2". The J.V.'ers, like the girls, had a chance to strut their stuff. The 4 x 200 of Mike Eppel (10), Darius Snyder (11), Alex Reyes (12), and Alex Dimick (10) was 3rd in 1:45.8. The A and B shot put teams were 5th and 6th: Phil Demeo (10) & Matt Kraemer (9) and Luke Bippus (11) & Jay Shah (10).
The next meet on the schedule is 12/29, the Racine Drew Invitational. The Morris County Relay Championships follows on Monday, 1/3.

Boys & Girls MOXC Excellent Adventure 2010

2010-11-14T07:57:00.000-08:00

Veteran and rookie runners combined to provide some exciting and interesting results to close out the fall 2010 season. Asst. coach Behre summed it up well, "There was some exciting stuff in the last couple races."

First, at the Morris County Meet the rivalry between the girls and the boys as to who could place higher began to heat up. The girls fared slightly better than the boys, taking 8th place to 9th. Jr. leader Steph Smith, hobbled with injury, ran a brave race (54th) but could not equal her best. Marissa Karl, stepped up to run a p.r. and fastest MO time on the Greystone course at 20:42, and led the Marauderettes at 34th. Atalia Bermudez (557), Danielle Halikias (58), Alex Schneeberg (62), and Sam Tavalare (63) all ran their bests at the new course.

Jr. Scott Rennalls led the boys in (22nd), running a p.r. Zach Miller (35), Mike Artiglere (51), Steve Wagner (63), and Anthony Talance (72) rounded out the scoring.

The girls J.V. brought home medals for their 3rd place finish. Freshmen Lindsay Schafer (9), Mariah Christian (12), Erin Schafer (29), Sara Christian (30), and soph Jackie Pignataro (25) were the scorers.

The frosh boys also took 3rd place. Eddie Garcia and Chris DuChemin finished 7 and 12 respectively. Steve Kubicki (25), Sean Gallagher (27, and Jake Tanenbaum (32) cemented the bronze effort.

One week later at Garrett Mtn. the XC'ers were at the North 1, Group 3 State Sectionals, trying to grab a top 5 finish to qualify for the Group 3 state championships at Holmdel Park. Again, the girls, coming on strong at the end of the season, did a little better than their male counterparts. And again, Marissa Karl led the girls with her 20th place. Without Steph Smith, forced out with injury right before the race, the girls ran a smart race, moving up from behind throughout. Danielle Halikias made the biggest moves and grabbed 33rd, followed by Atalia Bermudez (40), Alex Schneeberg (42) and Sam Tavalare (59). Two freshmen girls were tapped to go in to replace regulars and performed well--Lindsay Schafer (67) and Mariah Christian (77). The girls finished 7th, just out 2 spots. All the girls who competed and much of the team return next year.

The boys faced many tough teams and had to run well to beat their predicted finish of 10th. They managed one better, coming in 9th. Zach Miller ran a superb race to place 16th with a big p.r. of 17: 21. Steve Wagner (37), Scott Rennalls (40), Mike Artiglere (51), and Antonio Ruggiero (54) were the first five. Anthony Talanca and Anthony Chuplis also ran.

XC APPROACHES CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

2010-10-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

With the regular season having come to a close, the Marauder harriers begin the championship portion of the season with the Morris County Championships Saturday, October 30. Close on its heels is the North 1, Group 3 State Sectional Championships Saturday, November 6. The top 5 teams and top 10 individuals advance from the sectional meet to the Group 3 State Championships at Holmdel Park on November 13.
In late September action, the squads traveled to Garrett Mtn. Park to race over the state sectional course. The boys and girls both came in 6th in their respective Varsity Group 3 races. Senior Zach Miller led the boys with a 10th place finish in 17:49. Soph Marissa Karl and junior Steph Smith were 22-23 to lead the girls. Junior Dan Nemeth led the j.v. boys team to 5th place with his 9th place finish. The frosh girls took home third place team medals with their 3rd place showing. Their boy counterparts were 4th. Of note, the team went home with 21 individual medals.
The teams traveled to the Brett Taylor Invitational on Oct. 9. The team brought home three first place trophies, a school record. The girls repeated as team champion in their race with Steph Smith breaking the tape first and running her best 5k of the season. Her six teammates picked up individual and team medals, all finishing in the top 20 (Karl, Kraemer, Tavalare, Schneeberg, Torres, Halikias). The JV boys won the B race. Dan Nemeth (4th) led Gennaro Ruggiero (6) and Brandon Kahan (7) and the rest of the team. The frosh girls took their 2nd 1st of the season in an invitational (Roxbury on 9/11). Atalia Bermudez was race champ and led Lindsay Schafer (4), Mariah Christian (5), and Nicole Mallett (10) in while the girls also took 15-16 (S. Miller, S. Christian). The frosh boys were a close 2nd in their race with Eddie Garcia coming in 3rd and Chris DuChemin 7th. The boys also had 13-15-16-21 (Gallagher, Kubicki, Tanenbaum, Ulbrich). The boys varsity were 5th in a competitive race. Zach Miller and Scott Rennalls were 16-17 and Mike Artiglere and Antonio Ruggiero grabbed medals in 34-35. Senior Steve Wagner was absent for the SAT's.
The boys ended the regular season at 8-7 overall. In the last meet, they just lost to Morristown, but shellacked Jefferson, High Point, and Par Hills. The girls split their last outing, losing to Morristown and High Point, but beating Par Hills and Jefferson. The girls record was 5-9. While the boys reached career win # 200 for Coach Sulley in the first meet, the girls moved to 198 wins by the end of the season and can reach that milestone at the beginning of 2011.

MOXC Opens at Roxbury

2010-09-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

MOXC fielded full teams in every class race for the first time in its history this past Saturday, 9/11, at Horseshoe Lake Park. Since this meet uses a 4-person scoring system as opposed to the normal lowest 5 runner total, the Marauders scored in each of the 6 races.
The best team showing came in the freshmen girls' race, where the young, untested squad were beaten out by one point. Atalia Bermudez led the way, taking 5th, and Lindsay Schafer a 9th. A pack of 14-15-16-17 showed a promise of big things in later meets in the season.
Their boy classmates took 3rd in their race right before the girls. Eddie Garcia debuted by taking 5th place also. The boys had 5 in the top 28 to all grab medals.
Both the soph and jr/sr girls teams took 4th. Ashley Torres and Marissa Karl teamed up to grab 7th and 8th. Jackie Pignataro also got a medal in 22nd. The jr/sr girls placed 5 in the top 26 with Steph Smith leading the way in 12th. Alex Schneeberg (21), Sam Tavalare (22:18), Ellen Kraemer (23), and Danielle Halikias (26) showed great pack running like the frosh girls.
The jr/sr boys were in the largest field of the day and took 6th overall, running a 17:49 average. Zach Miller (24th--17:28), Steve Wagner (29th--17:44), and Scott Rennalls (30th--17:45) finished close to each other throughout the race. Mike Artiglere finished the scoring in 44th.
The soph boys were 8th with Nick Miele taking a medal in 29th.
Next up is the first NJAC meet at Greystone Park on Tuesday, 9/14. M.O. faces Morris Hills, Sparta, Mendham, and Roxbury.

Summer Action

2010-06-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

Some MO tracksters continue to zoom! Aeron Gilson traveled to Maryland to compete in the Mid Atlantic Prep Classic. Gilson won his new specialty, the 400H, in 57 sec.
In action in Mahwah on Saturday, 6/19, Ashley Tomasula vaulted to a new personal best and school record of 11' 5.75".
Anthony Talanca qualified as the fastest 400 runner in the intermediate division in 53.75 and then placed 3rd in the finals in 54.27. He came back to take 5th in the 800 in 2:14.

End of Season Recognition

2010-06-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

First Team All County:
***Aeron Gilson, Jacinta Ford
First Team All Conference National Division
*First Team
---Aeron Gilson, Dan Maya, John Johnson, Dan Baules, Scott Rennalls, Allissa Hoffman, Jacinta Ford, Gianna Pastena, Ashley Tomasula
*Second Team
---Chris Schneider, Cory Colligan, Armani Blair, Ingrid Nimoh, Brittney Gulick, Sam Tavalare, Marissa Karl
Star Ledger All Morris:
* First Team
---Aeron Gilson, 400H; Armani Blair, 200 (photo left); Jacinta Ford, Triple Jump
*Second Team
---Dan Maya, 100
*Third Team
---John Johnson, 100; Chris Schneider, 3200; Gianna Pastena, High Jump
Daily Record All Area:
*First Team
---Armani Blair, 200; Jacinta Ford, Triple Jump
*Second Team
---Dan Maya, 100
*Honorable Mention
---Aeron Gilson, John Johnson, Paul Kramaritsch, Kevin Lepore, Scott Rennalls, Chris Schneider, Chris Victoria, Jon Weiss, Allissa Hoffman, Gianna Pastena, Val Zielinski
Top Performance in All Area: Jacinta Ford, TJ, 35'11.75"
Highest Ranking State Performance: Aeron Gilson, 400H, 54.05 #10

State Championships Wrap Up

2010-06-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

The boys and girls competed on Friday/Saturday, May 27 & 28, in the Group 3 State Meet at South Plainfield. The girls came away with two medalists in the meet: senior Jacinta Ford, who placed 6th in the triple jump at 35' and soph Ashley Tomasula (pictured below), also 6th in the pole vault at 10"6". Ford also placed 10th in the long jump (15'11.75"). Other highlights included soph Armani Blair, 12th--200(26.22) and 14th--100(13.03); Allissa Hoffman, 14th--jav (107'9"); and Casey Garcia, 14th--3200 (11:51.62).
For the boys, junior Paul Kramaritsch place 8th in the pole vault in a p.r. 12'6"; senior Chris Schneider, 10th in the 3200 in 9:47.88; and junior Dan Maya, 13th--100 (11.34). The 4 x 400 did not finish as leadoff man Dan Maya suffered a severe foot cramp and had to stop 100m into the race.
The relay team's misfortune was assuaged the next Thursday at the Meet of Champs in which the 4 x 100 had qualified. The team of John Johnson, Dan Maya, Jamal Davis, and Aeron Gilson (in his last race in a MO uniform) completed the circuit in 43.19 to take 8th place medals and break their own school record yet again this season. Tomasula finished 20th in the vault at 10' in her first trip to the MOC and Ford placed 25th in the t.j. at 34'6.75".

Girls and Boys Bring Home Medals and Advance in States

2010-05-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

This past weekend showcased M.O.'s best on the track and in the field at the North 1, Group 3 State Sectional Championships. The Marauders traveled north to scenic Mahwah H.S. to compete in the opening round of the N.J. State Championships.
Senior Gianna Pastena repeated her '09 high jump win and her indoor win from this year when she cleared 5'. Sophomore Ashley Tomasula demolished her own p.r. and school record by clearing 11' in the pole vault, putting her in a good position in Group 3 next week. The dynamic duo of senior Jacinta Ford and sophomore Armani Blair were both double medalists. Jumps queen Jacinta was 4th in the triple jump at 35' 4" and 6th in the long jump at 16' 7 1/4". Sprinter princess Armani ran strong races in the 100 and 200 where she placed 6th (12.79) and 3rd (26.24). Soph Allissa Hoffman speared a p.r. 109'10" to take 6th in the javelin and senior Val Zielinski also grabbed a qualifying spot, taking 6th in the 1600 in 5:22.60. In the 3200 jr. Casey Garcia took 5th to once again advance to Gr. 3, this time in 12:04.64. The girls team scored 34 pts. to place a very respectable 5th overall in the competition.
The boys were sobered by the absence of senior star Aeron Gilson, sidelined with a hamstring strain, a sure winner in the 400H and many other events. Junior Dan Maya, continuing to emerge as a potent new sprinter this year for the Marauders, advanced to the finals of the 100 and 200. First, he broke up the Teaneck sprint crew by placing 3rd in the 100 in a p.r. 11.18 and then took 5th in the 200 (3rd--Trials, 22.90) at 23.21. Chris Schneider came back from a rough 1600 the day before, where he failed to place, to earn a 3rd in the 3200 in 9:54. Paul Kramaritsch brought in the lone field points when he once again cleared 12' in the vault to tie for 6th. The 4 x 400 capped it off with a solid 5th place carry in 3:31. Maya led off, followed by John Johnson, Dan Baules, and Scott Rennalls.
Both boys and girls compete at South Plainfield this Friday and Saturday, hoping to make it to the Meet of Champs.

Tracksters Win A.D.'s Award

2010-05-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

Seniors Jon Weiss and Gianna Pastena were the recipients of the Morris County Athletic Directors' Scholar Athlete Award. Each school is allowed to nominate a male and female student-athlete to receive the prestigious award. Weiss has been a member of the cross country, indoor and outdoor track teams and has been captain of each this past year. He has won numerous team awards and been an all conference performer.He is ranked 6th in the senior class and will attend St. John's University. Gianna has been a member of the soccer and indoor and outdoor track teams since her freshman year. She was a captain for all three this year. She is a conference and state sectional champ in the high jump and is # 2 in her class. She is headed to TCNJ. We are very proud that both winners of this year's award came from the track and field programs at MOHS.

Boys and Girls Both 6th at County Championships; Jacinta Ford Wins Triple Jump Crown

2010-05-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

Sr. Jacinta Ford became a Morris County Champ by winning the triple jump at the Morris County Track and Field Championships, 5/11-12, at Boonton H.S. Her winning leap was 35' 6", just short of her school record 35" 11 1/2" the week before. She also took 3rd in the long jump at 16' 9". Soph Armani Blair continued to shine in the sprints with a 3rd in the 200 (26.27) and 4th in the 100 (12.9). She ran a leg on the 4 x 400, which placed 6th in 4:11, with Sam Tavalare, Marissa Karl, and Ingrid Nimoh. Sr. Gianna Pastena took 3rd in the high jump at 5' and jr. Alissa Hoffman threw the jav 107' 2" for 4th. Aeron Gilson wins his semi in the 200.

Aeron Gilson opened the meet for the boys, nearly stealing the 400H from Steve Vitale of Randolph. His 54.75 was another outstanding race in his 4th try at the event. He placed 1st in his heat in the 200 in 22.62, leading all qualifiers and then jumped 20' 9" in the long jump to qualify for the finals. A knotted hamstring turned into a strain and Gilson had to withdraw from competition for the remainder of the meet.

Juniors Dan Maya and John Johnson stepped in to fill the gap by going 2-3 in the 100 and 3-5 in the 200. They clocked automatic-timed p.r.'s of 11.27/22.80 and 11.43/23.07. Johnson then subbed in for Gilson on the relay and clocked 52.4.

In the distances, sr. Chris Schneider broke through with another p.r. in the 3200, running 9 sec. faster than last week to run 9:41.70. This followed his 9th place p.r. of 4:26.97 in the 1600, just ahead of teammated Jon Weiss, who ran a p.r. 4:28.01.

In the field, Chris Victoria just missed the disc finals, placing 9th with 130'. Paul Kramaritsch tied for 6th in the pole vault.

Marauders Mop Up at Inaugural NJAC Championships

2010-05-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

The boys and girls track & field teams fared equally well at the first and last NJAC Large School Championships held at Morris Hills H.S. 5/4-5. Both squads took 4th place honors in the 15-school gathering, which combined the American and National Divisions. Such was the quality of the meet there were 30 National Elite marks in the meet as recorded by milesplit, the national webpage for h.s. track performance lists.
Sr. Jacinta Ford won the triple jump at 35'11.25" and picked up a silver in the long at 17' .25". The girls were strong in other field events, with Gianna Pastena taking 2nd in the high jump in 4'10" and Ashley Tomasula equalling her p.r./school record at 10'. Allissa Hoffman took 2nd in the jav at 102' 11" and Britney Gulick a 6th in the disc at 95'. On the track soph Armani Blair starred as she picked up two 4th place medals in the 100 & 200 (12.93, 26.59). The 4 x 400 team of Ingrid Nimoh, Val Zielinski, Sam Tavalare, and Marissa Karl capped off the 49 pt. total by placing 6th with a season best.
Senior Aeron Gilson led the boys with 4 medals. His two silvers in the hurdle races were debuts in these events for him in championship competitions. His 54.05 moved him to 2nd on the MO all-time list and ranked him in the top 5 nationally; his 15.02 (14.8h) pushed the county champ from Randolph to his second max effort of the meet. Without pause, Gilson moved to the long jump pit, where he set a p.r. in taking 3rd in 21' 6 1/4". He anchored the relay team of Dan Maya (50.7 p.r.), Scott Rennalls (51.8 p.r.) and Dan Baules (54) to a season best (s.b.) 3:26.61 with his 49 split. Maya picked up a 2nd in the 200 at 22.97 and a 3rd in the 100 in 11.36 for his best-ever meet. His sprint partner John Johnson followed him in 4th in the 100 (11.51) and 5th in the HH (15.86). Soph Scott Rennalls ran a best of 1:59.22 for 6th in the 800, his first time cracking under two from the line. After p.r.'ing in 4:30 the day before, sr. Chris Schneider finally broke the 10 barrier by running a gutsy 9:50.41 in the 3200 to get 4th.
The Morris County Championships are Tue and Wed, 5/11-12 at Boonton.

Girls Show Depth in 8th Place Showing at County Relays

2010-05-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

The girls' track & field squad showed their overall depth at the County Relays by placing in the top 6 in 10 of the 16 events. The team took 8th place overall in the meet with 31 points.
Senior Jacinta Ford was on 4 scoring teams, 2 of which took bronze medals. Jr. Camille Inglese likewise took 2 bronze medals, was on a 5th place team and had a long jump over 16', while soph teammate Armani Blair also grabbed 2 3rds and was on a 5th-place team. Laura Goodfriend and Val Zielinski were also on 3 teams each that scored for the Ladies. Ingrid Nimoh and Gianna Pastena were on 2 scoring teams.
The 4 x 100 not only took a 3rd but also broke the school record. The team of Blair, Inglese, Sam Tavalare, and Ford ran 50.45 to break the old 50.9 time.
Two other bronze medal efforts were turned in by the defending champ Sprint Med team of Inglese, Blair, Nimoh, and Zielinski with a season best 4:19.6; and the high jump team of Pastena, Goodfriend, and Ford.
Other teams and their members:
Discus--Britney Gulick, Ford, Brianna Zazzaro 4th 245' 1"
3 x 400H--Nimoh, Goodfriend, Marissa Karl 5th 3:39.3
4 x 200--Corinne Schroeder, Tavalare, Inglese Blair 5th 1:47.66
4 x 800--Zielinski, Goodfriend, Bridget Phillips, Katrina Laemmerhirt 5th 10:17.07
T.J.--Ford, Pastena, Gabriela Skervin 5th 93' 2 1/4"
4 x 1600--Zielinski, Stephanie Smith, Casey Garcia, Phillips 6th 22:49.6
Dist. Med--Smith, Tavalare, Goodfriend, Garcia 7th 13:21.7

4 x 100 Take County Title; Boys 8th Overall

2010-05-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

The sprint quartet of seniors Kevin Lepore & Aeron Gilson and juniors John Johnson & Dan Maya smashed the competition in the 4 x 100 in the opening day of the Morris County Relays held 4/30-5/1. Their time of 43.36 was just .09 off their previous week's time at the Randolph Relays but easily beat the 2nd place team (44.22). Their times place them in the top ten in the state. Their goal is to qualify for the elite race in the Meet of Champs. This is a repeat for the 4 x 100 team who won last year. Gilson returned to anchor this year's team and add yet another gold to his collection.
One of the most exciting races of the meet turned out to be the sprint medley. Outstanding legs were turned in by all members of the team as John Johnson (22.8), Dan Maya (22.3), Aeron Gilson (48.8) and Scott Rennalls (1:58.8) ran 3:33.07 to take silver. The squad had a 5 sec. lead at the handoff between the 400 and 800 and made Morristown's Hamar Farag run 1:52.5 to beat the Marauders. The 3:33 time narrowly missed the school record (3:32.91) by a legendary Steve Slattery-anchored team in 1997.
Gilson and Johnson also teamed with Byron Reed and Chris Duran in the shuttle hurdles to grab bronze medals. Their 1:03.49 is a season best and just off the 1:02.3 school record.
The 4 x 100 team came back late in the meet Saturday to just miss a bronze medal by running a season-best 1:33.25. Gilson was sharp again in that relay, splitting 21.7.
The distance med and long jump teams placed 8th, just outside the scoring. Jon Weiss had a p.r. 3:16 leadoff 1200 and soph Dan Baules a big 53.6. Kevin Lepore cracked the 19' barrier in the long jump for the first time. In the triple jump, Jamal Davis had a near-3' improvement in his triple jump, hop-skip-jumping to 41' 4 1/4".

Sprinters Smash 4 x 100 Record

2010-04-27T17:40:00.000-07:00

The MO boys 4 x 100 traveled to the Penn Relays last Friday for their second shot at the short relay this spring. The team of Kevin Lepore, John Johnson, Dan Maya, and Aeron Gilson improved their time to 44.09. With better stick passing the next day, the team took the gold at the Randolph Relays in 43.27 to crush the school record of 43.60, set last year at the Morris Hills Relays. Gilson also anchored that team, but he was teamed with three new teammates this year. That time moves them into the elite sprint teams in the state.
The 4 x 800 team also struck gold, taking that event in 8:20, two seconds faster than their previous run the week before. Scott Rennalls, Jon Weiss, Chris Orihuela, and Chris Schneider, who had earlier in the day medaled in the distance med in 10:47, came back to pull away from Seton Hall after the first leg.

BOYS NJAC NATIONAL CHAMPS

2010-04-25T17:16:00.000-07:00

The boys team completed an undefeated season last Wednesday, 4/21, by beating Mendham and Morris Hills at Mendham. The greatest effort of the meet was junior Dan Maya, who won the 100, 200, 400 (p.r. of 52.3), and anchored the 4 x 400 in a 52 split to 3:33.5. Classmate John Johnson backed him up with a 2nd in the dashes and a 2nd in the 110H. Aeron Gilson won the opening 400H but then crashed to the track in the 110H. Though limping and wrapped up, Gilson went over to the long jump and leaped 20'10" to give the Marauders a 1-2 (Jamal Davis was leading till Gilson's jump). MO won every track event against M.H. except the 110H. Morris Hills had been undefeated coming in and looking to extend their 9-year win streak. Other wins were recorded by Scott Rennalls in the 800 and Chris Schneider in the 3200 in a p.r. 10:01. The biggest upset of the meet was Howard Thiele, who won the jav with a toss of 146' after just picking it up not long ago.
The boys won the inaugural NJAC National Division regular season title, their first conference title since the 1990's.

Steve Slattery Takes Penn Relays Steeplechase

2010-04-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

Former M.O. great Steve Slattery added another award to his illustrious professional career when he won the 2010 Penn Relays Olympic Development steeplechase on Thursday, April 22. Slattery ran 8:41 to take the event and is poised to go into another season in Europe in the summer. After graduating from M.O., Steve ran at the Universityof Colorado on scholarship where he was a many-time All American. In addition, he has run in the World Championships several times, is a U.S. National Champ, and competed in three Olympic Trials.

Girls/Boys Bring Home Medals from Morris Hills Relays

2010-04-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

The girls posted a solid showing at the Morris Hills Relays this past Saturday, 4/17. The top team for the Ladies was the high jump who took 3rd in their event. Seniors Jacinta Ford and Gianna Pastena (4'10" each) teamed with soph Laura Goodfriend (4'3") to take the bronze. A 4th was turned in by the shot put trio (Britney Gulick, Jacinta Ford, Allissa Hoffman). 5ths were turned in by the 4 x 1600 (Casey Garcia, Bridget Phillips, Stephanie Smith, Val Zielinski), and the sprint medley (Ingrid Nimoh, Armani Blair, Camille Inglese, Val Zielinski).
The boys scored a modest 9 points but were minus many stars. The best performance of the day was from the 4 x 100 team of John Johnson, Jamal Davis, Kevin Lepore, and Cory Colligan, who ran the one-lapper in 44.93 and grabbed silver medals from out of the second heat. The boys 4 x 800 (Scott Rennalls, Chris Schneider, Chris Coyle, and Chris Orihuela) ran a respectable 8:24 to take 6th.

MO Frosh/Soph Have Big Day at Championship Relays

2010-04-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

The boys and girls freshmen/sophomore squads had successful efforts at the Morris County Freshmen/Sophomore Relays last Friday, 4/16, at Randolph.
The boys placed third overall with 60 points. Results can be seen at mctrack.org.
The boys pole vault team won that event. Ed Feeney, Kevin Woltz, and Matt Messina each clea

Fr. 4 x 200: 1:43.79 Bakelmun, Justin; Maksimow, Justin; Eppel, Michael; Talanca, Anthony. This same team ran the 4 x 100 and took 2nd.

So. 4 x 100: 48.17 Rios, Juan; McMahon, Justin; Gonzalez, Michael; Colligan, Cory.

Javelin: Fr. D.J. Sexton, So. Chris Boyle, Fr. Robbie Amoroso.

Long Jump: So. Cory Colligan; Fr. Justin Maksimow; So. Juan Rios.

The GIRLS were 6th with 31.5 points.

The girls continued to turn out good high jumpers as M.O.'s team took the gold medal. Sophs Alison Shroeder and Laura Goodfriend along with fr. Rachel Smith won.

The girls placed 4th-6th in 11 other events out of 13. This amazing balance of sprinters, throwers, jumpers, and distance runners shows the strength of the younger team against the county.

red 8' to tally 24'. The long jump, javelin, Fr 4 x 100, So 4 x 100, and Fr 4 x 200 all took silver medals.

Boys Defeat of Par Hills Move Them to 5-0

2010-04-20T17:03:00.001-07:00

The MO boys hosted Par Hills on Tuesday, 4/13, and won a blowout 94-46. The Marauders swept the 100, 400, 800, and triple jump and went 1-2 in the long jump, pole vault, and 200.
Double wins were recorded by senior Aeron Gilson and junior Dan Maya in the long jump/400 and 100/200 respectively. Both also joined Scott Rennalls and Chris Orihuela for a win in the
4 x 400. Other 1sts were recorded by Byron Reed (400H--61.5), Paul Kramaritsch (P.V.--12'),
Jon Weiss (800--2:04.7), and Jamal Davis (t.j.--35'10").
The girls topped Par Hills down at Par Hills on the same day to go 4-1.

BOYS POST TWO MORE WINS

2010-04-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

The boys team had its second meet of the season on Wednesday, 4/7, and beat both Montville and Morristown. The win against Morristown is the first ever in Mt. Olive's history.
Coach Sulley recalled, "Even the year we won the counties--1983--we lost to them in a dual meet. We had a great team that year that got third in Group 3. Paul Quitzau was state champ in both hurdle races and got third in the Golden West meet. We had a 210' jav thrower, a 9:31 3200 guy, a 1:58 800 man and another good hurdler who also jumped 6'6". It's pretty sweet finally beating them. First in my 29 years as boys coach."
That being said, the opening two NJAC meets in which M.O. has beaten four teams is a great start.
Senior captain Aeron Gilson won the 110H again (15.2) and the long jump, posting his season best 20'4". In his first effort at the 400H, he ran an amazing 55.8; only a handful of M.O. athletes have run faster, usually in championship meets later in the season.
Junior newcomer John Johnson continued hot in the sprints, winning the 100 (11.2) and 200 (23.5), and leading teammate Dan Maya across the line both times (11.2, 23.6) for a tough 1-2 finish against both opponents. Other overall firsts were scored by soph Scott Rennalls in the 400 (52.8), sr. Chris Orihuela in the 800 (2:05), sr. Chris Schneider in the 3200 (10:25), sr. Mike Shobitan in the high jump (5'2"), and jr. Paul Kramaritsch in the pole vault (12', P.R.). Against Montville, Jon Weiss (1600--4:40), jr. Jamal Davis (triple jump--37'8", P.R.), and the 4 x 400 of Rennalls, Maya, Orihuela, and sr. Chris Coyle took firsts.
In all, the boys swept a total of 5 times (1-2-3) and had 7 1-2 finishes.
The girls, at home, split a pair, beating Montville and being edged by Morristown. (Results to follow).
NEXT MEET--TUESDAY, 4/13, PAR HILLS. BOYS--HOME; GIRLS--AWAY.

Boys Take Two in Home Opener

2010-04-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

The April Fools Day opener found the M.O. Boys Team rollicking its way to a double win over Delbarton 94-45 and West Morris 96-44 on Thursday, April 1.

Aeron Gilson recorded four firsts against both opponents, winning the 100, 200, 110 hurdles, and long jump (10.8, 22.2. 15.1, 19'11 1/2").

Chris Orihuela won the 800 (2:04) and anchored the 4 x 4 to victory in 3:41. He was joined by Scott Rennalls, Dan Maya, and Dan Baules.

Other firsts were recorded by Jon Weiss in the 1600 (4:46), Paul Kramaritsch in the pole vault (11'9"), Chris Schneider in the 3200 (10:35), Chris Victoria in the disc (111'10"), Scott Rennalls in the 400 (52.1), and Matt Herb in the triple jump (36'8").

The girls team also had a big day, winning against West Morris.

The girls and boys both go against Montville and Morristown on Wednesday, 4/7. The girls are at home.

More Awards for Indoor

2010-03-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

The Star Ledger recognized the accomplishments of a number of MO tracksters for the indoor season. Aeron Gilson picked up yet another award being named 1st Team for the 300meters. Dan Maya was named 2nd Team 55m, while Matt Herb (H.J.) and Scott Rennalls (1000m) were named 3rd Team along with the 4 x 400 team (Rennalls, Maya, Chris Orihuela, Gilson).
On the distaff side, the girls had two members make the 3rd Team: Val Zielinski in the 1000m and Gianna Pastena in the high jump.

Gilson, Rennalls Garner Awards

2010-03-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

Senior Aeron Gilson and sophomore Scott Rennalls were both named to the Daily Record Boys Indoor Track & Field All Area First Team for the 2010 indoor season. Gilson was named 1st team in the 400 meter dash; Rennalls in the 1000 meter run. Gilson has been named numerous times since his freshmen year; this is Rennalls' first time.
Gilson won a number of titles and broken school records this season (see articles below) as well as has been named First Team All County, while Rennalls established himself as a formidable new face in the middle distance races and broke the school soph record for 800m.
Gilson recently competed in the Nike Indoor Nationals in Boston in the 400 and 200, where he competed against the best athletes from all over the U.S. See results on Dyestat.com.
Congratulations to our athletes! More good news should follow the Star Ledger publication of their all area teams.

College News

2010-02-24T19:55:00.000-08:00

St. Francis U. senior Chris Behre successfully defended his NEC mile title for the Red Flash by winning in 4:20, after running a 4:19 in the qualifying rounds. He also took 5th in the 800 in 1:57 after qualifying in 1:55. At the same meet, former teammate Chris Taiwo took 4th in the 60m dash and 5th in the 200.
Kean U. frosh Kevin Persson took 3rd in the NJAC Championships in the 400 in 49.3. He also anchored the 2nd place 4 x 400 team who ran 3:23.
At the Kent State Tuneup, Tiffin U. soph Antoine Allen took 3rd in the l.j. (23'2 1/2") and 4th in the t.j. (44' 2 3/4").

Gilson Improves on 200 Record

2010-02-24T19:45:00.000-08:00

Aeron Gilson established a clearcut hold on the school record in the 200 when he placed 8th in the Eastern States Championships on Tuesday, 2/23, at the New Balance Armory. His time of 22.53 bettered his 22.64 and also earned him US First Team Elite status on MilesplitUS. His time is 5th in NJ this season.
Armani Blair beat her own soph record in the 55 by running 7.69.

Group 3 State Championships

2010-02-24T19:35:00.000-08:00

Aeron Gilson earned a bronze medal at the Groups Sat., 2/20, running 51.13 in the 400. He dove at the tape after leading the entire way in the seeded section, but was edged by a thousandth in the closest of finishes. Ashley Tomasula placed 6th in the pole vault, equalling her best, at 9'6". Gianna Pastena grabbed a wild card spot in the h.j., clearing 5', to become the 3rd member of the indoor team to make it to the Meet of Champs on 2/27.
Other notable marks were recorded by Scott Rennalls, who placed 9th in the 800, taking his own soph indoor mark down to 2:02.34; Jacinta Ford and Laura Goodfriend both jumped 4'10" to tie for 10th, one spot behind their teammate Pastena.

Big Apple Trip Bears Fruit

2010-02-07T12:20:00.001-08:00

The boys & girls trip to the Armory in NYC proved worth it this past Monday, 2/8.
Aeron Gilson shone again in his performances. In the 400 he broke his own school record by running 50.4 (50.64 AT). Then in the 200, he tied Ryan Newberger's record at 22.4. To cap it off, he anchored the 4 x 400 in 49.6 when they ran 3:34.0.
The 4 x 800 team smashed last year's 8:35 record when Scott Rennall, Chris Orihuela, Chris Schneider, and Jon Weiss relayed to 8:22.1. The legs were 2:04, 2:05, 2:07, and 2:05 respectively.
Armani Blair broke soph records in the 55 (7.5T, 7.4S) and 200 (27.2). She also had a season-best in the 55H in 9.0.
Jacinta Ford placed 5th in the long jump in 16'4 1/2" and ran 7.5 and 7.3 in the trials and semis of the 55. Her 8.7 in the 55H was a p.r.
Numerous other season bests and p.r.'s were turned in throughout the night: boys 55-Dan Maya (6.5T & S), Jamal Davis (7.0), Jamore McBurroughs (7.1); boys 800-Chris Coyle (2:14.9); boys 200-John Johnson (23.4), Maya (23.8), Kevin Lepore (24.5); boys 1600-Bryan Kveglis (4:54.2); girls 55-Marissa Karl (8.1); girls 200-Kelly Sagi (29.1), Danielle Halikias (29.2); girls 1600-Erin Miller (5:45.9), Stephanie Smith (5:48.4), Ashley Torres (5:53.6).
Season bests were turned in by the 4 x 800 team in 10:16.9--notable were Val Zielinski's 2:28 leadoff and Laura Goodfriend's ensuing 2:31.7. The 4 x 400 ran 4:24.5 with a team of Sam Tavalare, Ingrid Nimoh, Goodfriend, and Zielinski.
Gianna Pastena made the opening height in the high jump at 5' for the third time this season to equal her season best.

Boys & Girls advance to Group 3 State Championships

2010-02-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

M.O. qualified a total of 15 athletes to the Group 3 State Championships on Saturday, 2/13, at Toms River. Eight boys and seven girls will be making the trip. M.O. had three individual winners at the sectionals on 2/3.
For details about the boys, see the article below.
The girls demonstrated their improving maturity this year by coming in 4th with 38 pts., an incredible showing over last year's 15th place with a mere 2.75 pts.! Most amazing was senior Gianna Pastena, who failed to place last year in the high jump, winning that event this year at 4'10"! Senior teammate Val Zielinski, in her first undercover campaign, did a lioness's share for the team, placing 5th in both the 1600 and 800, both p.r.'s in 5:30.05 and 2:29.11, and anchoring the non-placing relay to a season best 4:25.62. Perhaps even better were Jacinta Ford's 3 medal total--all 5ths in the 55H, 55, and high jump. The high jump was a huge success for the Marauderettes as Laura Goodfriend also joined Pastena and Ford as qualifies by taking 4th. Ashley Tomasula was the girls' lone entrant in the pole vault, but that didn't stop her from grabbing 6 big points by taking 3rd, equalling her p.r., school-record height of 9'6". Armani Blair was also 3rd in the 55H in a p.r. 9.38. Finally, Casey Garcia, who just missed qualifying in the 1600 in 7th, came back to run her first 3200 of the season and placed 5th in 12:35.38.

Boys Win 2nd State Sectional Championship!!!!

2010-02-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

Last year the Marauders surprised themselves by winning the North 1, Group 3 State Sectional title. This year the team went into the meet with a plan to win again. Senior Aeron Gilson led the way as he repeated as 400 champion in 50.91, dropped down to the 55 and took 2nd, and then led the relay to the runner up position. The 4 x 400 effort was the deciding factor since the team lost its scoring lead to Hackensack in the next-to-last event. Down by two, the relay squad ran true to form and upped the team total to 54 to Hackensack's 50. Gilson was named Daily Record male track athlete for the week for his superb efforts.
Other key efforts were turned in by junior Matt Herb who won the high jump at 5'10" despite a nagging injury; Scott Rennalls in the 800 in a new school soph record in 2:02.86, his second straight year in breaking a class record in that event; Jon Weiss the 1600 in another beautiful p.r. of 4:31.83; Dan Maya 6th in the 55 in 6.87; Byron Reed 6th in the 55H in 8.56; Chris Orihuela 6th in the 800 in 2:05.74; and Chris Schneider 6th in the 3200 in 10:25.13. Joining Gilson on the relay were Rennalls, Maya, and Orihuela.
Just outside the scoring, but turning in great efforts, were Chris Duran, 7th in the 55H; and Weiss and Zach Miller, 8th & 9th in the 3200.
In all, the Marauders placed in 8 out of the 10 events. Their score showed more depth and overall firepower this year compared to last year's 39.5 pts.

Marauder Accolades

2010-01-30T07:46:00.000-08:00

Senior sprint star Aeron Gilson has made a verbal commitment to Emporia State University of Kansas, a nationally ranked Division II powerhouse program. He is expected to make an immediate impact on the team. Signing day is Monday, Feb. 1.
Two of Gilson's teammates from last year's sensational record-setting relay squads, Kevin Persson and Peter Bonanno, recently ripped up the indoor boards with their performances for Kean University. Persson was named Kean Athlete of the Week! Check it out at the Kean University Athletic website.
Senior Chris Taiwo recently broke his own triple jump record at Monmouth University, going 47' 9.25". Antoine Allen, Tiffin University, recently placed 4th in both the t.j. and l.j. (22'2").
M.O. continues its tradition of sending student/athletes into the collegiate world to further both their educational and sports careers.

Marauders Make Statement at County Meet

2010-01-21T18:12:00.000-08:00

The recent performance at the Morris County Championships underscored the quality of this year's squads. The boys took a prestigious 3rd place overall in the team battle. Senior captain Aeron Gilson repeated as 300m champion, breaking the school record with a 36.40. The time is the 3rd fastest in NJ this season. He then anchored the relay home at the end of the meet, anchoring in 50.1. It was Gilson's 6th gold medal at County Championship Meets, counting indoor and outdoor, and 4th individual title. This will make Gilson First Team All County for the 4th time in his career in his last 4 seasons.
Soph Scott Rennalls, junior Dan Maya, and senior Chris Orihuela ran the first three legs before Gilson to record a team time of 3:32, a best this winter by 10 seconds!
Earlier, Maya almost pulled off an upset in the 55m, taking second and missing first by .01 in 6.73. Rennalls placed 3rd in the 1000m to continue his outstanding soph season, improving to 2:40. Another 3rd was racked up by jr. Matt Herb in the h.j. at 6'. Sr. captain Jon Weiss smashed his p.r. in running 4:34 and taking 4th in the 1600. Sr. vaulter Kevin Lepore snared a 6th place with a p.r. 10'6" in the pole vault.
On the girls' side, sr. Val Zielinski knocked 5 sec. off her best to run a gutsy 3:08 in the 1000 and place 5th. Classmates Gianna Pastena placed 4th in the high jump in 4'10" and Jacinta Ford 6th in the 55m dash. On both the boys and girls sides there were a number of top 10 finishes that were impressive as well as many personal and season bests.
At last Saturday's state Group 3 relays, the boys sprint medley team of Gilson, Dan Maya, John Johnson, and Rennalls brought home 4th place medals, running their fastest of the season in 3:44. Several outstanding performances were turned in, notably the sprint medley just mentioned, the boys shuttle hurdles (Byron Reed, Chris Duran, Matt Herb, and Johnson), the girls high jump (Gianna Pastena, Laura Goodfriend), and the boys 4 x 800 (Orihuela, Weiss, Chris Schneider, Weiss), who just missed the school record by a second.
The state sectionals are on Wed., 2/3 at Toms River. The boys will be defending their title from next year. Should be interesting.
One of the shining moments as several weeks ago was the sophomore girls' first place team finish at the County Frosh/Soph Championships. Armani Blair won both the 55 and 55 H, Laura Goodfriend the high jump, and Ashley Tomasula the pole vault. In the soph boys, Scott Rennalls won the gold in the 600m.

MO Tracksters Harvest Medals

2010-01-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

The indoor track & field squads participated in two meets over the holiday break and started the new year with a successful showing at the County Relays on Monday, 1/4. The boys team placed 5th and the girls 9th at the relay championships, an improvement on last year's 7th and 11th. The highest placing team was the girls high jump duo of Gianna Pastena and Laura Goodfriend who took silver. Taking bronze in the same event on the boys' side were Matt Herb and John Johnson. Matt Herb has impressed in each outing throughout the season by consistently jumping 6 feet. At the county relays, his jump was the highest in the competition. Herb and Johnson teamed up with Byron Reed and Chris Duran to take 4th in the shuttle hurdles while Goodfriend led off the 6th-place 4 x 800 (Bridget Phillips, Casey Garcia, Stephanie Smith). The girls got two more 6th places in varsity competition in the sprint med (Sam Tavalare, Jacinta Ford, Armani Blair, Val Zielinski) and shot put (Ford, Alissa Hoffman). The boys got a 4th in the distance med with Scott Rennalls, Aeron Gilson, Chris Orihuela, and Jon Weiss and in the sprint med (Gilson, Dan Maya, Juan Rios, Rennalls), a 5th in the 4 x 800 (Zach Miller, Chris Schneider, Orihuela, Weiss). The 4 x 200 group of Rios, Johnson, Jake Podolnick, & Maya placed 6th in the 4 x 200.
The j.v. teams had an outstanding night to demonstrate the team depth. The lone gold for the night was grabbed by the boys in the 4 x 800 with Alex Joss, Steve Wagner, Chris Coyle, & Bryan Kveglis. Their time would have placed them 10th in the varsity. The boys' A & B 4 x 200 teams took 2nd and 4th (Jamal Davis, Jamore McBurroughs, Jake Boylan, Mike Gonzalez/Nick SanGiacomo, Pat Heitkamp, Justin Bakelmun, Chris Duran) while the girls 4 x 2 took 6th (LaNija Mendes, Anna Poggi, Sam Bakelmun, Danielle Halikias). The girls 4 x 8 team of Alex Schneeberg, Amanda Meisel, Marissa Bello, & Ashley Torres took bronze and so did the 4 x 4 of Kelly Sagi, Poggi, Erin Miller, & Steph Smith. Gonzalez, SanGiacomo, Duran, and Schneider grabbed more medals placing 3rd in the 4 x 4. Rounding it all out were Matt Deptula and Nick Parra in 6th place in the shot, both winning their first medals ever.
Next up:
Frosh/Soph Relays--Friday, 1/8
Conference Championships--Saturday, 1/9
Frosh/Soph Championships--Monday, 1/11

Holiday Relays Results

2009-12-22T03:21:00.000-08:00

The boys and girls indoor track teams competed at the O'Leary Holiday Relays Saturday, 12/19. The girls high jump team of Gianna Pastena and Laura Goodfriend brought home gold medals in winning their event, cut short by snow. The girls sprint med of Sam Tavalare, Jacinta Ford, Armani Blair, and Val Zielinski were 5th. Just missing medals were the 7th place 4 x 200 (Blair, Ford, Ingrid Nimoh, and LaNija Mendes) and shot put (Ford and Alyssa Hoffman). The J.V. girls were bronze medalists with a team of Casey Garcia, Laura Goodfriend, Stephanie Smith, and Ashley Torres. Like the girls, the boys also struck medals in the sprint med with a team of Juan Rios, Dan Baules, Jake Podolnick, and Jon Weiss taking 6th. Matt Herb and Pat Heitkamp just missed taking home a medal in the high jump placing 7th. Two J.V. teams placed: the 4 x 800 of Mike Artiglere, Alex Joss, Chris Coyle, and Steve Wagner were 3rd and the 4 x 200 of Chris Duran, Jake Boyle, Nick SanGiacomo, and Mike Gonzalez were 6th.
Next is the DeSchriver Invitational on Tuesday, 12/22.

Schneider Named to State Team; Weiss Picks Up Accolade

2009-12-12T14:19:00.000-08:00

Senior Chris Schneider added to his 1st Team Morris County Coaches All County honors by being named to the 2nd Team All Morris Star-Ledger Team. Bigger yet, Chris was named 3rd Team Group 3, making him an All-Stater. Senior teammate Jon Weiss was recognized by the Star-Ledger also, being named 2nd Team All Morris. Super season, seniors!

SCHNEIDER NAMED ALL COUNTY

2009-12-01T18:19:00.000-08:00

Senior Chris Schneider was voted onto the All Morris County Boys Cross Country Team Tuesday night by the Morris County Track Coaches Association. Only ten county runners are selected to the team and invited to the coaches association banquet at the end of the year to recognize recipients in xc, indoor and outdoor track.
For a history of Morris County cross country, visit the mctrack.org website.
During the season, Schneider led the Marauders to a new team time average school record at Freedom Park, placed 4th in the Amercian Division Conference Championships, 11th at the Morris County Championships, 11th in the North 1, Group 3 State Sectionals, and 18th at the Group 3 State Championships. He set a new school record at Freedom Park in 16:40.
Congratulations, Chris, on an outstanding season and this recognition!

Harriers Tear It Up in Championships

2009-11-18T17:33:00.000-08:00

The boys and girls completed their fall '09 campaign with successes at the Morris County, State Sectional, and Group 3 State Championships.
At the Morris County Championships on 10/31, the runners treated themselves to an excellent performance at the tough Krafts Food Complex 5000m course, the last time the course will be used for a xc meet. On this same course, the MO girls won 5 County titles, and finished in the top 3 more times than any other Morris County program. The boys shining moment came in 2001 when they captured gold. Among the MO greats to compete on this course were fabled two-time All American, two-time state champion Steve Slattery, who won an unbelievable four straight years, the only person to ever achieve such an accomplishment; Christine Engel, another 1st team All Stater, and leader of the girls 1989 Meet of Champs winning team; Jackie Coscia, two-time winner; Marianne Herbst, 1st team All Stater; and Pat Slattery, winner and runner-up his junior and senior year and a 1st team All Stater.
Seniors Chris Schneider and Jon Weiss led the boys to a 6th place finish on the rain-softened course in 11th and 13th. Following them in were Zach Miller (44), Antonio Ruggiero (53), and Scott Rennalls (54). The girls were 13th and led by soph Steph Smith (44th). In the frosh boys race, Anthony Talanca had one of the best finishes in recent years by taking 4th.

At the North 1, Group 3 Sectionals at Garrett Mtn. on 11/7, the boys raced to a 3rd place finish, good for a ticket to Holmdel the next week. Schneider again recorded an 11th place finish. Weiss, Miller, and Rennalls all got in the top 30 to help tally a score just outside 2nd. The girls ran a respectable 9th; Steph Smith brought it in first for the Ladies in 25th place.

The boys improved for the third straight year by taking 12th at the Group 3 Meet on 11/14. Chris Schneider finished higher than any Marauder in the last 8 years with his 18th place. Jon Weiss also ran well, taking 38th. Joining them on that team were junior Zach Miller, sophs Scott Rennalls & Antonio Ruggiero, sr. Bryan Kveglis, and jr. Steve Wagner.

NJAC Championships

2009-10-27T17:27:00.000-07:00

The first-ever Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Championships were held at Freedom Park on Tuesday, 10/20. The boys squad placed 4th overall, slightly better than their dual meet standings. Chris Schneider and Jon Weiss took 4th and 7th in the varsity boys race. Schneider's 16:40 time broke Weiss's school record, set two weeks before. Weiss was just off his p.r. by one second in 16:49. Chris Rennalls had a big race, taking 22nd overall and setting a new soph record in 17:42. Zach Miller (28) and Bryan Kveglis (30) rounded out the M.O. scoring. The team average of 17:23 was a little slower than the record 17:20 run a fortnight earlier. Eight harriers from this year's boys' team are in the top 20 all time MO at Freedom Park: Schneider (1), Weiss (2), Steve Wagner (7), Miller (8), Rennalls (12), Antonio Ruggiero (17), Mike Artiglere (18), and Anthony Talanca, new freshman record holder (20).
In girls action, the Lady Marauders placed 7th, slipping a little off their dual meet standings. Soph Steph Smith led the way yet again with a 20th place finish in 21:10. Ellen Kraemer (26), Alex Schneeberg (35), Jackie Pignataro (40), and Ashley Torres (46) brought home the MO score.
The J.V. boys placed 6th overall with soph Antonio Ruggiero dropping his p.r. to 18:03, taking 5th. Seniors Chris Orihuela and Mike Lanza had season-best efforts in the top 30. The frosh boys took 8th; Nick Miele led it in (24th), closely followed by James Allen (26th).
For their efforts, Schneider and Weiss were selected first team all conference American Division. Stephanie Smith, Ellen Kraemer, Steve Wagner, and Zach Miller were given Honorable Mention status.

Marauder Harriers Haul in Medals at Brett Taylor Invitational

2009-10-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

It was a medal feast for the MOXC team Saturday, 10/10, at Darlington Park, Mahwah. The girls varsity squad, running without # 3 Ashley Torres, still managed a smashing victory in the A Race. Working together, junior captain Ellen Kraemer and soph Stephanie Smith caught the leader just past the midway point in the race and went on the go 1-2 in 20:23 and 20:43, a first for the lady harriers ever in this meet. Soph Alex Schneeberg followed in close behind taking 6th place. Jackie Pignataro (16th to pick up an individual medal), Danielle Halikias, Sam Tavalare, and Hannah Sulley were the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th runners on the team that brought home the first place trophy for Mount Olive. The girls team average of 21:38 easily beat last year's 21:56 average.

The boys varsity, minus their top two runners (SAT's) of Chris Schneider and Jon Weiss, ran an excellent team race, placing all 7 in the top 19 just 52 seconds apart. Team competition was tough as the boys placed 3rd overall. Zach Miller (17:22) and Steve Wagner (17:36) led the way in taking 8th and 10th and leading in Scott Rennalls (13th), Bryan Kveglis (15th) and Antonio Ruggiero (16th), Mike Artiglere (18th), and Anthony Talanca (19th). The team averaged 17:42, just slightly behind last year's 17:40.

In underclass racing, the freshmen boys took 6th place, without the services of Anthony Talanca, pulled up to varsity action. Jenn Kveglis took 25th in the girls frosh race to grab a medal. The J.V. boys took 5th in their race with individual medals going to Mike Lanza (15th), Dan Nemeth (21st), and Brandon Kahan (22nd).

In all, the Marauder harriers brought home 30 medals. They now prepare for the NJAC Conference Championship race on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Freedom Park.

Regular Season Closes 10/6

2009-10-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

The MOXC boys and girls harriers closed out the regular portion of the fall season this past Tuesday, 10/6, at Freedom Park in Randolph.
The boys beat out West Morris and Roxbury while losing to state ranked Mendham, but not without a fight. Jon Weiss and Chris Schneider both broke the old school record of 16:50 by running 16:48 and 16:49 respectively. In all, 14 boys broke their bests on this course in the varsity and j.v./frosh races, an amazing percentage. The boys squad broke the one-year old team average school record. Anthony Talanca broke the school freshman record held by Zach Miller. There is still the conference championship to run on October 20!
The girls beat out West Morris also, but dropped to Roxbury and Randolph, both county powers. Randolph is ranked in the top 10 in the state. The senior-less squad continues to break their bests and run a better team average every time out. This team can expect to run its best races in the end of the season and improve their chances of going to states. Newcomer soph Stephanie Smith led the way in again for the Ladies as she has all season.
Next up is the Brett Taylor Invitational, Saturday, 10/10.
The remaining schedule includes the Conference Championships (10/20), the County Championships (10/31), and the State Sectionals (11/7). Top five teams and top ten individuals in the State Sectionals qualify for the Group 3 State Championships at Holmdel on 11/14.
Check out all the results at mctrack.org as well as at NJRunner (njmilesplit).

MOXC OPENS WITH BIG EFFORTS AT THE ROXBURY INVITATIONAL

2009-09-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

The M.O. harriers ran home with medals from the Roxbury Invite last Saturday, 9/12, over at Horseshoe Park.
Ashley Torres brought home 2nd place in the frosh girls race; Steph Smith a 4th in the soph girls with Alex Schneeberg right behind her in 6th; Anthony Talanca 5th in the frosh boys; Jackie Pignataro 10th in the frosh girls; Ellen Kraemer 12th in the jr/sr girls; Scott Rennalls 18th and Antonio Ruggiero 20th in the soph boys; Sam Tavalare 20th in the soph girls; Jenn Kveglis 24th in the frosh girls; Dan Nemeth 33rd in the soph boys; and Chris Schneider, Jon Weiss, Zach Miller, and Steve Wagner 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 29th in the jr/sr boys. The jr/sr boys placed highest with a 3rd place with a 17:32 average for the top four boys.

Post Season Accolades Roll in for MO Tracksters!

2009-06-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

The post season awards are completed for outdoor track & field for 2009:
First Team All Iron Conference Girls Jacinta Ford, Gianna Pastena
Boys Aeron Gilson, Kevin Persson
Second Team All Iron Conference Girls Alissa Hoffman, Ingrid Nimoh
Honorable Mention All Iron Girls Megan McCann
Boys Kejabu Bullock
First Team All Country Boys Aeron Gilson, Kevin Persson, Peter Bonanno,
Codi Merritt
First Team All Area Daily Record Boys Aeron Gilson (100), Kevin Persson (400),
4 x 400--Gilson, Persson, Codi Merritt, Peter
Bonanno
Second Team All Area Record Girls Jacinta Ford (Triple Jump)
Honorable Mention All Area Girls Gianna Pastena
Boys Kejabu Bullock

Star Ledger State Awards Girls Jacinta Ford 3rd Team All State--Group 3,
2nd Team All Morris (Triple Jump)
Megan McCann--2nd Team All Morris (800)
Boys 3rd Team All State--Group 3: 4 x 400-- Aeron Gilson,
Kevin Persson, Peter Bonanno, Codi Merritt
Aeron Gilson-- 1st Team All Morris (100),
Kevin Persson-- 1st Team All Morris (400),
1st Team All Morris: 4 x 400-- Aeron Gilson,
Kevin Persson, Peter Bonanno, Codi Merrit

MO SCHOOL RECORDS '09

2009-06-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

The assault on the MO record book continued this spring.
After rumors of vaults over 10' in practice swept through Mt. Olive track circles, Ashley Tomasula claimed the record at 9'6" at the Morris Hills Relays. She was stopped from higher clearances by an injury at 10'.
Kevin Persson finally made good on his objective of taking the 400 m record. He ran a 49.11 at the State Sectionals to earn a spot on the record board.
Aeron Gilson took down yet another class record earlier in the season when he ran the 100 in 10.7.
Persson and Gilson teamed with Codi Merritt and Peter Bonanno to earn records in the 4 x 100 in 43.60 and 4 x 200 in 1:29.57.
Chris Victoria also erased the old soph disc record with a 120'11".
One of the sweetest records set this year was by the amazing quartet of Armani Blair, Camille Inglese, Ingrid Nimoh, and Megan McCann who vaporized the Sprint Medley record when they won the County relay title in that event in 4:11.34.

Outdoor Season Highlights

2009-06-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

Outstanding end of season results for M.O. Boys & Girls Tracksters!

The boys and girls outdoor track and field teams ended their seasons at South Plainfield on Friday and Saturday, May 29 & 30.
Senior Megan McCann ended her high school career in great fashion with two huge personal bests. In the 1600 she smashed her best by running a 5:10.98 and placing 11th overall in the toughest competition of all the groups. The next morning she did one place better, taking 10th in the 800 in 2:17.44. She sat back to wait out the weekend to see if she could possibly have made it into the Meet of Champs on a wild card, but, unfortunately, there were just enough fast times to keep her out of the final big one. Megan's times are among the best ever recorded in the distances for the Lady Marauders.
Megan's crown as MO D Queen perhaps was passed on to soph Casey Garcia that day, who shocked everyone with her 11:23.70 8th-place finish in the 3200. Casey's times have come down dramatically at the end of the season as she stepped in to try the longer event seriously at the County Meet several weeks before. This time is also among the fastest ever run for the Marauderettes.
The biggest news, though, for the girls was Jacinta Ford, who placed 6th in the long jump, at 16' 3.5". This qualified her for the Meet of Champs.
On the boys side, individual qualifiers Kevin Persson and Aeron Gilson sat out the 400 to run the 4 x 400 relay. They didn't disappoint, as they teamed with Codi Merritt and Peter Bonanno to once again record a stellar time and finish--3:21.18 for 3rd place. This is the second fastest time in M.O. boys track history. Both Persson and Gilson ran on last year's 3:20.1 team that took 8th in the MOC. Kejabu Bullock competed in the triple jump, placing 13th in 41'2".

2008-10-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

COOL LINKS!!!

For US high school cross country: http://dyestat.com/
For college cross country & track: http://trackshark.com/
For US Track: http://usatf.org/
For international track: http://iaaf.org/
For county and state schedules, history, results, links: http://mctrack.org/
For NJ running: http://nj.milesplit.us/