Orji Takes TJ Title

Keturah Orji won her first state title Friday, June 1, at South Plainfield, when she won the triple jump at 39' 3 1/2" in the Group 3 State Championships.  She had just placed 2nd in the 400 in 56.80 to pick up a silver medal, coming in behind Neptune's Agee Wilson, world junior champ in the 800.
Still winded, Keturah managed several 39' jumps to take the gold.
In other first day action, soph Alicia Warren ran a 59.9 400 and soph Zach Heeman recorded a 45' throw in the shot.

Keturah Orji Rewriting Record Book

Soph Keturah Orji continues her ascension to the top of the N.J. high school track & field scene in spring 2012.  After setting indoor school records in the 55, 200, 300, 400, and long jump, as well as being on several record setting relay teams, Keturah (pictured at the indoor states) has amazed everyone with her outdoor feats thus far.  With the State Sectionals looming Memorial Day weekend, she has broken school records in the 200, 400, long jump, and triple jump.  She has also anchored the 4 x 200 team to a school record. 
So far, it seems a toss up between the jumps, but her triple is tied at 6th in the U.S. at 40' 10."  This is the Morris County record and one of the best all time NJ and a state soph record.  Her long jump isn't a slouch either, at 19' 7.5," also in the top 20 in the nation and a county record.  She currently leads the state in both those marks.
At the recent county championships, she lowered her own school record in the 400 at 56.71 and defended her title from last year.  This time ranks her 8th in N.J.  Her narrow loss in the 200 on the second day of the county meet beat the old record and the 24.9 set by All American Kim Duke, who went on to compete at UVa.  Keturah's 24.67 is 3rd in the state at the half-lap distance, her favorite race distance.  Guess so!
She has joined her teammates on the relays to rip up the track in the sprints.  M.O.'s 4 x 200 squad ran 1:43.20, fifth ranked in the state.  Teammates Ingrid and Suzie Nimoh, Alicia Warren, Micaela Poggi, and Sam Tavalare have garnered records and titles in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400, the latter a gold-medal effort at the county relays without Keturah!  Fans anxiously await that team's best effort with their main runner on the team.
Congrats to Keturah and her teammates!!!

MORRIS COUNTY CHAMPS!!!

M.O. GIRLS

Girls 5th in Group 3 State Championships

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

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

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

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.