Boys Win 2nd State Sectional Championship!!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!