Craig is the only one to win more than once in a single day and
he did that twice, both on Feb 19, 2006 and Feb 18, 2007.
There has been three 1-2 finishes by Colts Neck runners.
In the 2005 spring track championships, Ryan Jagielski was 1st and Chris Clark
2nd in the 800 meter run, in the 2005 girls cross country championship, Briana
Jackucewicz was 1st with Ashley Higginson 2nd, and in the 2008 winter track 3200
meter race, Allison Linnell was 1st and Briana Jackucewicz was 2nd.
|
#1 Jorge Ventura
(Outdoor 1600m), Egg Harbor, Group
1, June 6, 2000
|
|
Jorge Ventura wins the Group I 1600 meter run, becoming
CN's 1st State Champion in any sport. courtesy Asbury Park Press. |
In spring 2000, Colts Neck HS had been open almost two full
years. It still had
only sophomores and juniors though the track team was almost all sophs and frosh.
Jorge Ventura had made a name for himself in the 800m. He had made
it all the way to the Meet of Champions as a frosh and was gearing toward
a top 3 finish at the State championship in that event. He had
become our 1st Freehold District Champion, running 1:59.1 for the 800 and
had run 1:57.9 in the 4 x 800 meter relay at the East Coast Relays.
Coach Schlentz talked him into trying the 1600 at the Central Jersey
Champs and he responded with a 4:29.2 victory with a big kick. He
also won the 800m in 2:00.8. The 800m was Jorge's favorite event but he let
Coach Schlentz talk him into taking a shot at the State title in the
1600. The pace was fast early, as Jorge hit 64.4 for the 400 as he
was in the front pack. He was still with the leaders, in about 4th
place, as the paced slowed during the middle two laps. With a lap to
go, Jorge was about five meters back of the leader. He made a big
move with 300 to go and broke the race open. He won easily, running
his last 400 in 61.5 for a 4:26.01 finish, a new school record. He
would come back later in the day and finish 4th in the 800 at
2:00.61. He became the school's first State Champion in any sport.
400m Splits:
| 64.4 |
2:15.2 (70.8) |
3:24.6 (69.4) |
4:26.01 (61.4) |
| first 800 2:15.2 |
last 800 2:10.87 |
| Colts Neck High School's first State
Champion in any sport |
|
|
|
full
race result CN
website race result 2000
season summary
|
| Group 1 1600m |
| 1 Jorge Ventura |
Colts Neck |
SO |
4:26.01 |
| 2 Mike Lucke |
Pt Pleasant Beach |
SR |
4:27.50 |
| 3 Don Fillinger |
Bordentown |
JR |
4:28.10 |
| 4 Travis Keany |
Rumson-Fair Haven |
JR |
4:31.98 |
| 5 Sam Hetzel |
Metuchen |
SO |
4:32.03 |
| 6 Joe Jacobs |
Butler |
JR |
4:32.44 |
|
#2 Jorge Ventura
(Indoor 1600m), Princeton, Group
1, Jan 27, 2001
|
|
|
Chris Platt was the new sophomore sensation. He would
run 4:16 at the spring track MOC. He was also the favorite coming
in. Jorge was having a wonderful season. He had become the
school's first Monmouth County Champion by winning the 1600 with an
explosive last 800 at the slow Red Bank track in 4:35.41. The week
before the State Champs, he had high
hopes of a State Championship in the 4 x 800. Instead, the day
before the meet, one of his teammates had fallen off a bike
while he was racing it in the snow. He was
unable to compete so they had finished well back. Jorge had also
been feeling sick and was hoping he had recovered in time for this
race. The race went out very slow, keeping a big pack together with
lots of jostling back and forth. With about 3 laps to go, Chris
Platt made a big burst and got clear of the pack. It took Jorge a
half lap to get clear and try to chase after Platt. He caught him
with a lap to go and passed him coming out of the first turn. Platt
immediately took off after Jorge and was known as a big kicker, but so was
Jorge. Coming out of the last turn, it was Jorge and Platt all alone but
catching up to lapped runners. Jorge moved out to lane 2 to be clear
of the lapped runners he was catching. Platt went inside to pass and
was catching Jorge. As they neared the finish, Jorge held his
position in lane 2 and Platt was forced to back off or run into the lapped
runner. Jorge won by a short margin having outsmarted the young soph.
400m Splits:
| 71.4 |
2:23.4 (72.0) |
3:31.4 (68.0) |
4:33.32 (61.9) |
| first 800 2:23.4 |
last 800 2:09.9 |
|
|
|
full
race result CN
website race result 2001
season summary
|
| Group 1 1600m |
| 1 Jorge Ventura |
Colts Neck |
JR |
4:33.32 |
| 2 Chris Platt |
Haddonfield |
SO |
4:34.26 |
| 3 Oskar Nordenbring |
Montclair Kimberley |
FR |
4:38.74 |
| 4 Doug Wall |
Montclair Kimberley |
SR |
4:40.80 |
| 5 Sam Hetzel |
Metuchen |
JR |
4:42.30 |
| 6 Breton Bonnette |
Haddonfield |
JR |
4:42.39 |
|
#3
Jorge Ventura (Outdoor 1600m), Egg Harbor, Group
1, June 2, 2001
|
|
|
Jorge was on a roll. He had run terrific in four
different events. At the Freehold District meet, he had won
the 800m with a new meet record of 1:57.4 and then broke 50.0 for the
first time in the 400, anchoring the 4 x 400 in 49.8. At the Shore
Conference Champs, he ran school records in both the 3200 (9:47.93) and
the following day, 1:55.00 for the 800m. He followed these with a
two day triple crown at the Central Jersey Group I Champs. On
Friday, he won the 3200 in 10:07.4. On Saturday, he won the 1600 in
only 4:34.7, but ran the last 400 in 59.1. A few hours later he won
the 800 in 2:00.5. He was now ready to defend his State title.
the race went out at a very comfortable pace of 67.3. During the 2nd
lap, State Group 1 Cross Country champion, Joe Jacobs tried to break open
the race with a big surge. He was unable to maintain it and the pace
slowed back down during the third lap. Don Fillinger of Bordentown
then started a long drive with 400 to go and opened 5 meters on
Jorge. At 300 meters to go, Jorge switched gears, flew by Fillinger
on the backstretch and extended the lead to the finish. His time of
4:24.24 was a new CN record and gave him his 3rd State title. Jorge
would come back in the afternoon and finish 2nd in the 800 in
1:58.80.
400m Splits:
| 67.3 |
2:13.1 (65.8) |
3:22.4 (69.4) |
4:24.24 (61.8) |
| first 800 2:13.1 |
last 800 2:11.1 |
|
|
|
|
full
race result CN
website race result 2001
season summary
|
| Group 1 1600m |
| 1 Jorge Ventura |
Colts Neck |
JR |
4:24.24 |
| 2 Don Fillinger |
Bordentown |
SR |
4:27.22 |
| 3 Joe Jacobs |
Butler |
SR |
4:32.28 |
| 4 Tom Caruso |
Bound Brook |
SR |
4:34.01 |
| 5 Sam Hetzel |
Metuchen |
JR |
4:34.48 |
| 6 Joe Minch |
Bordentown |
JR |
4:34.49 |
|
#4
Dave Gaines (Indoor 800m), Princeton, Group
II, Feb 2, 2003
|
|
need a picture |
Dave's senior winter track season had started with a
bang. He had won his first Monmouth County Championship running
2:02.46 on the slow Red Bank track. He had followed that up by
anchoring the school's first relay state champions, the 4 x 800 meter
relay. He had received the baton with the Orange HS anchor and
pulled away with a 2:00.4. Next was the State Individual
Championships at the same track. At the Princeton track, the start
in the 800 is so critical and he did not get a very good one. The
race started out very fast and he was stuck back in 6th place after the
200. He moved up to 5th at the 400 at a very fast 57.1 but there was
still a lot of traffic to work through. Making a strong move on the
backstretch, he was able to move up on the leader, Mike Carmody of
Governor Livingston. Dave sat on his back down the backstretch of
the last lap as the two pulled far away from everyone else.
Gathering himself on the turn, he started his acceleration in the last 30
meters of the turn and sling-shotted off it. They ran shoulder to
shoulder for half the straightaway before Dave pulled away for the
victory. Dave would later win the Shore Conference, finish 9th in
the Meet of Champions and then culminate the season with a 5th place
finish in the 800m at the Eastern States Championships in 1:56.79.
He also ran 4:27.2 for the full mile in the 4 x 1 mile relay at the indoor
nationals. Michael Carmody would go on in his senior year to run
1:49 for the 800, one of the fastest times in NJ history. video
of race (coming soon)
200m Splits:
| 28.0 |
57.1 (29.1) |
|
1:58.14 (61.0) |
| first 400 57.1 |
last 400 61.0 |
|
|
|
|
full
race result CN
website race result 2001
season summary
|
| Group II 800m |
| 1 Dave Gaines |
Colts Neck |
SR |
1:58.14 |
| 2 Michael Carmody |
Gov Livingston |
JR |
1:58.50 |
| 3 Samir Mane |
Fort Lee |
SR |
2:01.00 |
| 4 Kester Stephens |
Orange |
SR |
2:01.51 |
| 5 Greg Horn |
River Dell |
SR |
2:02.65 |
| 6 Paul Rosa |
Delbarton |
SR |
2:02.80 |
|
#5 Ashley
Higginson
(Indoor 3200m), Princeton, Group
III, Jan 16, 2005
|
|
need a picture |
Princeton no longer wanted the state meets in their gym so
they upped their price and gave lousy dates to force the track meets
out. This led to the earliest State Championship date ever
run. Craig Forys, coming back from a stress fracture missed it
completely. ashley hadn't even run a 3200 meter at this point in the
season. She had opened her season with a 5:10.2/2:24.2 1600/800
double in the NYC Armory and had followed that up with a 5:14.8/2:22.5 at
the State Relays in Princeton. This was her 1st good chance at
winning a state title but she had no idea who the competition would
be because the meet was so early. The plan would be run with the
pack and allow the pace to slow. With about 1000 meters to go,
Ashley would take the lead and pick the pace up and try to break away or
take their kick away. Ashley settled in and made her move with 1000
meters to go (5 laps) and was able to gap the field. She closed well
over the last 400m to win by 5 secs. It was the first girls
individual state championship for the school. She would go on to win
the Monmouth County 3200 and 1600 meter titles and the Shore Conference
1600 meter title. She would finish the season winning her 1st
Meet of Champion title in 10:52.72 and make All-American for the first
time in the 2 mile.
400m Splits:
| 85.4 |
2:51.0 (85.6) |
4:14.9 (83.9) |
5:37.1 (82.2) |
| 7:01.1 (84.0) |
8:26.9 (85.8) |
9:50.7 (83.8) |
11:09.97 (79.3) |
| first 1600 5:37.1 |
last 1600 5:32.9 |
|
|
|
full
race result CN
website race result 2005
season summary
|
| Group 3 3200m |
| 1 Ashley Higginson |
Colts Neck |
SO |
11:09.97 |
| 2 Kristen Stevens |
Roxbury |
JR |
11:14.28 |
| 3 Catherine Van Horn |
Triton |
SR |
11:27.99 |
| 4 Kathleen Henry |
Ridge |
SR |
11:29.35 |
| 5 Colleen Weber |
Clearview |
SR |
11:38.56 |
| 6 Lindsey Pierret |
Morristown |
JR |
11:40.40 |
|
#6 Craig Forys
(Outdoor 1600m), Egg Harbor, Group
III, June 3, 2005
|
|
need a picture
|
At this point of his career, Craig had never won a state
championship and had finished 2nd in every state championship he had ever
run. He had five runner-up finishes, only once had he lost by more
than 1 sec. He had lost twice to Korey Edwards, once in cross
country and once in the 3200 the year before. Cory would be in this
race as well. Though only a sophomore, Craig was tired of being the
bridesmaid. The plan was to let the pace settle in but then make
sure the middle of the race was fast enough to take everyone's kick
away. They were faced with a stiff breeze on the homestretch with
pouring rain. The pace was moderate for a lap and then slowed
down. James Kavaliauskas of Highland then drastically picked the
pace up with a 63.6 3rd 400 with Craig on his back. Waiting until
the backstretch, where the wind was at his back, Craig accelerated by
Kavaliauskas with 300 meters to go to win his first state championship by
3.5 secs. His last 400 was 60.9 and his last 800 was 2:04.5.
Craig wouldn't get much time to enjoy it since he would be running the 3200
the next day to try to make it a pair.
400m Splits:
| 64.6 |
2:13.0 (68.4) |
3:16.6 (63.6) |
4:17.55 (60.9) |
| first 800 2:13.0 |
last 800 2:04.5 |
| Craig's first of 12 state titles |
|
|
|
full
race result CN
website race result 2005
season summary
|
| Group 3 1600m |
| 1 Craig Forys |
Colts Neck |
SO |
4:17.55 |
| 2 James Kavaliauskas |
Highland |
SR |
4:21.05 |
| 3 Ben Diestel |
No Highlands |
JR |
4:23.03 |
| 4 Korey Edwards |
Parsippany Hills |
SR |
4:23.70 |
| 5 James LaGreca |
Demarest |
SR |
4:23.94 |
| 6 Jayson Decker |
Morris Hills |
JR |
4:25.60 |
|
#7 Ryan Jagielski
(Outdoor 800m), Egg Harbor, Group
III, June 4, 2005
|
|
Ryan Jagielski nears the finish in the Meet of
Champions. picture courtesy of Toby Nygard
|
Colts Neck was off to it's greatest state championship
weekend ever. Craig Forys had won the 1600 the afternoon before and
now it was time for Ryan Jagielski, CJ Clark and Zach Tedoff, who had all
qualified in the 800. CJ and Zach were in the unseeded heat.
An official's mistake had given CJ a seed time of 2:00.44 instead of the
1:59.5 he had run the week before. His only chance to place high and
get to the Meet of Champions was to run fast from the start by
himself. He went out a little too fast, 55.7 at the 400, and held on
for a 1:58.15 with Zach at 1:59.31. The top seed was Andrew Porter
(Mt Olive) in 1:58.44 so CJ's time looked good. Ryan had had a great
winter track season and an outstanding spring season in the relays,
running 1:55s twice. He had only run 1:57.27 in an individual race
and had won his first 800m individual championship the week before in the
Central Jersey Champs. Used to running fast from the front, he went
out, instead, in an easy 58.0. It was still slow at 600 and CJ had a
chance of stealing the race from the slow heat. Ryan Jagielski
exploded with 100 meters to go to pull away from a group of three and win
going away. CJ's time held on for 2nd for CN's first 1-2 finish in a
state championship. Zach just missed top 6th (.07) with his 7th
place finish. With the 18 pts from this event, as well as Forys' two
titles, and a 4th place finish in the 4 x 400 with all three 800 runners
plus Evan Stivala, CN finished 2nd as a team with 42 pts, 13 behind
Camden's 55. Ryan and CJ would finish 5th and 8th in the MOC
in 1:54.66 and 1:55.23, four days later. The 800 runners would show
their team depth by adding Craig Forys and breaking the State record for
the 4 x 800 meter relay in 7:39.54 and finishing 2nd in the Distance
Medley at the National Championships.
400m Splits:
| 58.0 |
|
1:57.52 |
|
| first 400 58.0 |
last 400 59.5 |
|
|
| Group 3 800m |
| 1 Ryan Jagielski |
Colts Neck |
SR |
1:57.52 |
| 2 Chris Clark |
Colts Neck |
SR |
1:58.15 |
| 3 Nikolajs Batarags |
No Highlands |
JR |
1:58.45 |
| 4 Andrew Porter |
Mount Olive |
SR |
1:58.67 |
| 5 Steven Chennells |
Lakewood |
SR |
1:59.19 |
| 6 Greg Hample |
Oakcrest |
SR |
1:59.24 |
| 7 Zach Tedoff |
Colts Neck |
SR |
1:59.31 |
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2005
season summary
|
#8 Ashley
Higginson (Outdoor 3200m), Egg Harbor, Group
III, June 4, 2005
|
|
need a picture |
After winning the MOC title indoors, Ashley's confidence
went sky high and it showed in her races. She had finished 3rd in
the prestigious Penn Relays 3000 meter run in 10:02.48, by far her best
3000/3200 type race. She had won the 1600/3200 double at the
Monmouth County Champs, won the 1600 in 5:02.61 at the Shore Conference
Champs and had won the 1600/3200 (5:02.4/11:14.3) double and run 2:18.9 in
the 800 at the Central Jersey Champs. She was strong and she had
greatly improved her last 800. In the first day, in the rain and
wind, she finished 3rd in the 1600 in a personal best (PB) 5:01.25.
When the 2nd day of the state championships dawned, the rain had stopped
but the runners had air thick with 98% humidity. Ashley hung in the
pack as the pace slowed in the middle to 84-85s. With three laps to
go, she surged to an 80.5, and followed it to 79.1 and 76.3. She had
run the 2nd 1600 12.6 secs faster than the first 1600 to pull away and win
by 4.6 secs. It was her 1st spring track title. She would go
on to finish 2nd in the MOC 3200 with a PB of 10:47.91.
400m Splits:
| 79.0 |
2:42.5 (83.5) |
4:08.0 (85.5) |
5:33.0 (85.0) |
| 6:57.5 (84.5) |
8:18.0 (80.5) |
9:37.1 (79.1) |
10:53.44 (76.3) |
| first 1600 5:33.0 |
last 1600 5:20.4 |
|
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2001
season summary
|
| Group 3 3200m |
| 1 Ashley Higginson |
Colts Neck |
SO |
10:53.44 |
| 2 Brianna Rogers |
Moorestown |
SO |
10:58.03 |
| 3 Megan Fitzpatrick |
Hopewell Valley |
SO |
11:05.44 |
| 4 Karen Guthrie |
Mendham |
SR |
11:05.80 |
| 5 Eleonora Spinazzi |
Montgomery |
JR |
11:07.36 |
| 6 Blair Sullivan |
Mendham |
JR |
11:08.63 |
|
#9 Craig Forys
(Outdoor 3200m), Egg Harbor, Group
III, June 4, 2005
|
|
need a picture |
Craig had won his first state
championship the day before. He wanted to continue his fine
sophomore spring track season and prepare for the MOC. He and his
teammates had big plans for the relays in the post season. After
winning the indoor national distance medley relay and finishing 2nd in the
4 x 800, they were 3rd at the Penn Relays but faster than the
winter. Craig had won the Monmouth County 1600/3200 and did the same
at the Central Jersey Group III Champs. There was no rain but the
air was thick with 98% humidity and Craig would also have to deal with his
nemesis, Korey Edwards. Korey had beat his twice at state
championships and was a big kicker. The pace was moderately quick,
for the weather conditions, with a 4:39.6 1st 1600. Then Craig
started to slowly bring the pace up, a lap at a time. Each lap got
faster as he ran the 2nd 1600 in 4:31.9 to win by 13 secs and get his 2nd
state title in the weekend. Craig would move onto the Meet
of Champions (MOC) the next week and win the 1600 with a state sophomore
record. He would then be the anchor leg on the state record 4 x
800 meter relay team and the distance medley team that finished 2nd in the
national championships.
400m Splits:
| 69.5 |
2:19.9 (70.4) |
3:30.5 (70.6) |
4:39.6 (69.1) |
| 5:48.4 (68.8) |
6:56.6 (68.2) |
8:04.2 (67.6) |
9:11.49 (67.3) |
| first 1600 4:39.6 |
last 1600 4:31.9 |
|
|
|
full
race result CN
website race result 2005
season summary
|
| Group 3 3200m |
| 1 Craig Forys |
Colts Neck |
SO |
9:11.49 |
| 2 Korey Edwards |
Parsippany Hills |
SR |
9:24.35 |
| 3 Kyle Soloff |
Morris Hills |
SO |
9:25.14 |
| 4 James Kavaliauskas |
Highland |
SR |
9:25.95 |
| 5 Dale Taylor |
North Hunterdon |
JR |
9:28.73 |
| 6 Adam Lampell |
Holmdel |
JR |
9:29.54 |
|
#10 Craig Forys
(Cross Country), Holmdel Park, Group
III, Nov 12, 2005
|
|
need a picture |
Craig's 2005 Cross Country season had taken some
bumps. He had been nursing a hip injury late summer and into
September. He had set a course record at the Paul Short Inv on the
Lehigh course but had followed that up with a sub-par race at Van Cortland
Park in the Manhattan Inv. He defended his County title and then ran
a personal best 15:51 at Holmdel Park in the Shore Conference. After
winning the Central Jersey Champs, he was looking ahead to the Meet of
Champions race against Ben Massam but he had some work to do at the State
Group III Champs. There was also the fact he had finished 2nd, both
his freshman and sophomore years, at the State Group champs. The
plan was simple. He needed to win here but prepare himself for the
kind of race he would have at the MOC. He knew Ben would force the
pace the 2nd mile so he needed to practice here. He let the others
control the pace and it resulted in a very slow 5:29 first mile.
With the focus on the 2nd mile, Craig opened up a huge lead with a 5:05,
which included the bowl. It was his fastest time ever for that
mile. He backed off the pace after the 2 mile, to save something for
the next week and coasted in with a 8 sec victory. The
move would pay off big the next week at the MOCs as he would beat Massam,
who had a personal best at Holmdel Park that was 15 secs faster than
Craig's.
Mile Splits:
| 5:29 |
10:34 (5:05) |
last 1.1 15:55 (5:21) |
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2005
season summary
|
| Group III Cross Country Results -
Holmdel Park |
| 1 Craig Forys |
Colts Neck |
JR |
15:55 |
| 2 Kyle Soloff |
Morris Hills |
JR |
16:03 |
| 3 Jayson Decker |
Morris Hills |
SR |
16:10 |
| 4 Chris Southwick |
Voorhees |
JR |
16:14 |
| 5 Greg Kremler |
Ocean Twp |
SR |
16:24 |
| 6 Alex Brenner |
Ridge |
JR |
16:26 |
| 7 Simon Gordonov |
Hightstown |
SR |
16:28 |
| 8 Brandon Rodkewitz |
Morris Hills |
SR |
16:30 |
| 9 Peter Murphy |
Millburn |
SO |
16:31 |
| 10 Ozzie Huerta |
Kingsway |
SR |
16:33 |
|
#11 Briana
Jackucewicz (Cross Country), Holmdel Park, Group
III, Nov 12, 2005
|
|
need a picture |
Briana had come into high school with huge
expectations. In 7th grade she had won a national championship,
against high school kids, in the indoor 5000 meters, setting
a national scholastic record of 16:43.02. She had grown so much
in 8th grade that she developed osgood-schlatters disease in her knees and
had been unable to train most of the spring and summer. She had
recovered as her growth slowed down and had been training well through the
fall. She had tied for 1st with teammate Ashley Higginson in the
Cougar Inv, had run a real nice 17:45, losing to defending national
champion, Aislinn Ryan, at the Paul Short Inv and was 6th, right behind
Ashley, at the Eastern States Champs. Bri then tied for 1st with
Ashley in the County Champs and the Central Jersey Champs, with a sub-par
race in between at the Shore Conference Champs. Her training was
going well and the team had run great at the Shore conference
Champs. In the Group III State Champs, Bri and Ashley were favored
to go 1-2 in the individual race and the team was favored to win their 1st
Group III title. Bri went out even faster than at the Shore
Conference Champs and was 6:00 for the uphill 1st mile. She was 10
secs ahead of Ashley. At 2 miles, Bri was 12:07, way ahead of the
state freshman record pace. Closing strong, she poured it on to run
18:22, a new freshman record, breaking the old record of 18:36 by Erin
Donahue, who would go on after high school to become one of USA's top 1500
meter runners. Erin would make the World Championship team in
2009. Ashley finished 2nd and the ream won easily on their way to a
final ranking of 17th in the nation. Bri would go on to qualify and
compete in the Footlocker National Champs in San Diego, CA where she
finished 37th.
Mile Splits:
| 6:00 |
12:07 (6:07) |
last 1.1 18:22 (6:15) |
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2005
season summary
|
| Group III Cross Country Results -
Holmdel Park |
| 1 Briana Jackucewicz |
Colts Neck |
FR |
18:22 |
| 2 Ashley Higginson |
Colts Neck |
JR |
18:55 |
| 3 Amanda Goetschius |
Delsea |
JR |
19:00 |
| 4 Melanie Thompson |
Voorhees |
FR |
19:03 |
| 5 Christina Valerio |
West Milford |
JR |
19:12 |
| 6 Renee Tomlin |
Ocean City |
SR |
19:15 |
| 7 Eleonora Spinazzi |
Montgomery |
SR |
19:16 |
| 8 Nicole Traynor |
Ridge |
JR |
19:22 |
| 9 Laura Gallo |
Cranford |
JR |
19:28 |
| 10 Emily Sherrard |
Hopewell Valley |
SR |
19:37 |
|
#12
& #13 Craig Forys (Indoor 1600/3200m), Princeton, Group
III, Jan 29, 2006
|
|
need a picture |
Craig was having a fantastic junior winter track
season. At the Lavino Relays, only his 2nd meet of the winter track
season, he had doubled 4:14.4 in the distance medley relay and 1:55.8 in
the sprint medley relay. It was his best 1600/800 double ever and
showed he had good speed. The week before the State Group III
Champs, he had anchored his team to a first place finish. For the
Group meet, there was no special plan. He would be running the 1600
first and then after a couple of hours rest, he would come back in the
3200. His fitness level was such that he expected no serious
competition and his focus was on getting ready for a mile race against
post-collegiate competition the following weekend. He ran with the
pack for 5 laps (1000 meters) and then started a long drive to the
finish. He quickly pulled away from the pack and coasted in the last
400 to win by just over 6 secs.
400m Splits:
| 66.5 |
2:13.7 (67.2) |
3:17.7 (64.0) |
4:22.03 (64.3) |
| first 800 2:13.7 |
last 800 2:08.3 |
| Craig's first winter track title |
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2005-6
season summary
|
| Group III 1600 |
| 1 Craig Forys |
Colts Neck |
JR |
4:22.03 |
| 2 Dale Taylor |
North Hunterdon |
SR |
4:28.37 |
| 3 Chris Behre |
Mount Olive |
SR |
4:29.03 |
| 4 Dennie Waite |
Red Bank |
JR |
4:30.12 |
| 5 Brian Toms |
Triton |
SR |
4:30.97 |
| 6 Chris Reale |
West Winds-Plains So |
JR |
4:31.77 |
|
| Group III 3200 |
| 1 Craig Forys |
Colts Neck |
JR |
9:22.08 |
| 2 Tony Salvatore |
Wayne Valley |
JR |
9:39.91 |
| 3 Simon Gordonov |
Hightstown |
SR |
9:40.71 |
| 4 Doug Smith |
Roxbury |
FR |
9:41.81 |
| 5 Matthew Cowhey |
Ocean City |
SR |
9:49.30 |
| 6 Chris Southwick |
Voorhees |
JR |
9:49.55 |
|
The first part of the double was down, so on to the
3200. Again, the plan, win as easy as possible. Craig stayed
with the pack as it slowed to 74-73s. Finding that he was tripping
over everyone in the tight pack, he accelerated down to 70.2 and then 68s
and the race was over. He continued hitting 68s until dropping it to
66.9 for the last 400 to finish in 9:22.08 to win by half a
lap.
400m Splits:
| 71.6 |
2:26.0 (74.4) |
3:39.0 (73.0) |
4:49.2 (70.2) |
| 5:57.8 (68.6) |
7:06.7 (68.9) |
8:15.2 (68.5) |
9:22.08 (66.9) |
| first 1600 4:49.2 |
last 1600 4:32.9 |
He would go on the next week to run 4:09.77 for the mile to become only
the 4th junior in US history to break 4:10 for the indoor mile. He
would also win both the 1600
& 3200 at the MOC, only the 2nd time that had been done and then
finish 2nd in the nationals in the 2 mile..
|
#14
Craig Forys (Outdoor 1600m), South Plainfield, Group
III, June 2, 2006
|
|
need a picture |
Craig had gone from his greatest indoor season to struggling
with iron deficiency and workouts. He had not done a full, hard
workout for about a month, as he struggled to recover from anything
hard. He used races to get some work in. He had done tons of
150s, just hard enough not to go anaerobic. Coach Schlentz and Craig
had decided if he didn't feel better in the two races at the State Group
meet, they would call the rest of the season off. In the 1600, Craig
allowed the pace to go slow, hoping he could break the field with a big
3rd 400. That's exactly what happened so he hammered a 61.3.
And then, something surprising happened, he felt great. He turned
loose a 59.8 last 400 to run his last 800 in 2:01.1 for the win. It
felt easy. there was now hope for the next day and maybe the MOCs.
continue to #16 for the 3200
400m Splits:
| 67.6 |
2:14.5 (66.9) |
3:15.8 (61.3) |
4:15.58 (59.8) |
| first 800 2:14.5 |
last 800 2:01.1 |
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2006
season summary
|
| Group III 1600 |
| 1 Craig Forys |
Colts Neck |
JR |
4:15.58 |
| 2 Kyle Soloff |
Morris Hills |
JR |
4:19.40 |
| 3 Ben Diestel |
Northern Highlands |
SR |
4:21.43 |
| 4 Tony Salvatore |
Wayne Valley |
JR |
4:22.45 |
| 5 Tommy Fiscia |
Red Bank |
SR |
4:23.17 |
| 6 Chris Behre |
Mt Olive |
SR |
4:23.38 |
|
#15 Ashley
Higginson (Outdoor 3200m), South Plainfield, Group
III, June 3, 2006
|
|
need a picture |
Ashley was having a break through year. She had set a
new meet record in winning the Meet of Champions 3200m indoors and had won
the prestigious Penn Relays 3000 meter event in Philadelphia, PA
outdoors. She had run 4:56 for 1600 meters at the Monmouth County
Champs and tied for 1st with Briana Jackucewicz in the 3200 at the Central
Jersey Group III Champs. She was defending champ in the 3200 and was
looking to get ready for the MOC. On Friday, the day before, she had
finished a disappointing 5th in the 1600 in 4:58.46. A slow middle
of the race had hurt her. She wanted to make sure the middle was
strong in this race. The race started with a 78 and then settled
into six straight laps of 81+. The middle stayed strong but at the
same time, it becomes the kind of race that pulls everyone to a fast time
because there are no surges to break the pack up. It is also
dangerous because it leaves the people in the front pack with more energy
to kick. This time, it was Ashley with the big kick as she pulled
away over the last lap of 75.8 to win by 2 secs. It showed she had
learned a new way to win. It was her fastest outdoor time up to this
point and she felt ready for a shot at her first spring track MOC title.
400m Splits:
| 78.2 |
2:40.1 (81.9) |
4:02.0 (81.9) |
5:23.3 (81.3) |
| 6:44.3 (81.0) |
8:05.3 (81.0) |
9:26.4 (81.1) |
10:42.19 (75.8) |
| first 1600 5:23.3 |
last 1600 5:18.9 |
| Ashley would end up 3rd in the MOC 3200m as a big
surge later in the race left her susceptible to getting caught by
late in the race. It was an outdoor personal best of 10:38.42. |
|
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2006
season summary
|
| Group III 3200 |
| 1 Ashley Higginson |
Colts Neck |
JR |
10:42.19 |
| 2 Megan Fitzpatrick |
Hopewell Valley |
JR |
10:44.11 |
| 3 Blair Sullivan |
Mendham |
SR |
10:47.63 |
| 4 Laura Gallo |
Cranford |
JR |
10:48.72 |
| 5 Melanie Thompson |
Voorhees |
FR |
10:48.75 |
| 6 Claire Buck |
Hopewell Valley |
FR |
10:51.40 |
|
#16 Craig Forys (Outdoor
3200m), South Plainfield, Group
III, June 3, 2006
|
|
need a picture |
After a very satisfying 1600 victory the day before, Craig
entered the 3200 with a plan to help him win the 3200 at the Meet of
Champions (MOCs), the following week. Ben Massam, the main
competitor, would try to run Craig off his feet in the middle of the race
so he would need to prepare for that type of race. The plan was to
run the 2nd 1600 under 4:30 with a big surge with 1200 to go. After
the surge he could relax. The pace went out moderately and then
started to slow as they waited for Craig to take the lead. As they
went through the 1600 in 4:46.4, Craig picked the pace up to 68.8.
The next lap was even faster as he hit 65.7 to break the race open.
Now it was Craig against the clock and he eased back the last two laps but
was able to run the last 1600 in 4:28.5. It was his 7th state title,
with his senior year to try and get five more.
400m Splits:
| 69.3 |
2:23.0 (73.7) |
3:35.2 (72.2) |
4:46.4 (71.2) |
| 5:55.2 (68.8) |
7:00.9 (65.7) |
8:07.0 (67.1) |
9:14.85 (67.9) |
| first 1600 4:46.4 |
last 1600 4:28.5 |
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2006
season summary
|
| Group III 3200 |
| 1 Craig Forys |
Colts Neck |
JR |
9:14.85 |
| 2 Jared Labar |
Morris Hills |
SR |
9:25.71 |
| 3 Simon Gordonov |
Hightstown |
SR |
9:27.79 |
| 4 Brandon Rodkewitz |
Morris Hills |
SR |
9:28.44 |
| 5 Chris Southwick |
Voorhees |
SR |
9:31.54 |
| 6 Ozzie Huerta |
Kingsway |
SR |
9:33.66 |
|
#17 Craig Forys
(Cross Country), Holmdel, Group
IV, Nov 11, 2006
|
|
need a picture |
Craig had set five new course records during the fall.
He had set records at Penn State, Bucks Mill Park, Van Cortland Park,
Ocean County Park and Thompson Park. The one he wanted the most was
the record at Holmdel Park, the state championship course since
1978. He knew he would have to go for it by himself because there
was no one who would attempt to go with him at the pace needed. He
wanted to run fast at the Group Champs and then just run to win at the
MOCs, the following week. That would allow him to be rested for the
Northeast Footlocker Champs the week after. There was one major
problem, the day dawned humid with temperatures in the mid 60s, very warm
for this time of year. He decided he would go for it anyway and with
the course record holder, Jason DiJoseph (15:16.2 in 1988), on hand to
watch, Craig went out in a suicide pace. He was too charged up and
went out way to fast the first uphill 800. He was at the time he
wanted at the mile but was already feeling the pace. When he was
forced to slow down the 2nd mile, the race for the record was over.
He finished with a new personal record of 15:31, the 3rd fastest time in
course history. It was so warm that he was the only one to break
16:00.
Mile Splits:
| 5:06 |
10:15 (5:09) |
last 1.1 15:31 (5:16) |
|
| Craig would come back the next race and race to
win. In the process, he realized he was ahead of record pace
with a mile to go and would break it by one second. His first
mile was 9 secs slower. The following week he would set a NJ
record for the Van Cortland 5000m course in winning the Footlocker
NE Regional and then finish 2nd at the Footlocker Nationals in San
Diego. |
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2006
season summary
|
| Group III Cross Country Results -
Holmdel Park |
| 1 Craig Forys |
Colts Neck |
SR |
15:31 |
| 2 Matt Ciambriello |
Old Bridge |
SR |
16:02 |
| 3 Christian Gonzalez |
Franklin |
SR |
16:03 |
| 4 Kris Carle |
Jackson |
SR |
16:06 |
| 5 Ed Sheridan |
Phillipsburg |
SR |
16:19 |
| 6 Brian Leung |
West Wind-Plains So |
JR |
16:25 |
| 7 Jermaine Coore |
Franklin |
JR |
16:33 |
| 8 Alex Yersak |
Cherokee |
JR |
16:37 |
| 9 Zach Bahor |
Randolph |
SR |
16:47 |
| 10 Robby Andrews |
Manalapan |
SO |
16:49 |
|
#18 & #20 Craig Forys
(Indoor 1600/3200m), Toms River, Group
IV, Feb 18, 2007
|
|
need a picture |
This was Craig's 3rd meet of the year. He had hurt his
high hamstring area in the Footlocker Nationals and it had kept him from
normal training until mid Jan. He ran a 4:16.92 mile in Boston in
late Jan and then doubled a 9:29.79/4:26.19 3200/1600 double at the Shore
Conference Champs to test his fitness a couple of weeks later. He
felt out of race shape but figured he would need the state meet to get
more race fit for the MOCs. Even though he'd be running just the
3200 at the MOCs, he needed to run both to get more race action. In
the 1600, he wanted to practice surging over the 2nd half of the race so
he let the race slow in the 2nd 400. After the 800, he picked up the
pace sharply, opened a lead and then just maintained it over the last 400
to finish in 4:21.43. It was his 9th state championship and it set
him up to go for his 10th, a couple of hours later.
400m Splits:
| 64.7 |
2:13.1 (68.3) |
3:17.6 (64.5) |
4:21.43 (63.8) |
| first 800 4:13.1 |
last 800 2:08.3 |
A couple of hours later, he was back on the track for the 3200.
The pace was relatively easy but uneven, with laps of surging and then
slowing down. The pace slowed dramatically with a 1200 to go (6
laps) as everyone waited for someone to make a move. After the first
turn with 4 to go, Craig took the lead and dropped the pace from 75.5 to
67.6. He accelerated more with two laps to go and he was home free.
He won by just less than 4 secs with a last 800 of 2:13.3. He
had focused on strong last 800s in both races to set up a similar
race in the MOCs, where he knew the competition would come from someone
who had focused on gradually picking it up the last 1600. He felt he
was now ready for the race.
400m Splits:
| 71.5 |
2:24.9 (73.4) |
3:35.0 (70.1) |
4:46.1 (71.1) |
| 5:59.6 (73.5) |
7:15.1 (75.5) |
8:22.7 (67.6) |
9:28.40 (65.7) |
| first 1600 4:46.1 |
last 1600 4:42.3 |
Craig would follow this meet with a big win in the MOC 3200, running
the last 1600 in 4:23.0 and the last 800 in 2:06.6. His final time
was 9:03.58 was a new meet record. A couple of weeks later he win
his 1st national championship in the 2 mile.
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2006-7
season summary
| Group IV 1600 |
| 1 Craig Forys |
Colts Neck |
SR |
4:21.43 |
| 2 Christian Gonzalez |
Franklin |
SR |
4:24.37 |
| 3 Conor Sullivan |
Don Bosco |
SR |
4:25.51 |
| 4 Doug Weeks |
Toms River East |
SR |
4:28.07 |
| 5 Andrew Brodeur |
Brick Memorial |
JR |
4:28.47 |
| 6 Ryan Fenimore |
Jackson Memorial |
SR |
4:29.60 |
|
| Group IV 3200 |
| 1 Craig Forys |
Colts Neck |
SR |
9:28.40 |
| 2 Matt Ciambriello |
Old Bridge |
SR |
9:34.10 |
| 3 Zach Bahor |
Randolph |
SR |
9:34.17 |
| 4 Jason Baker |
Don Bosco |
SR |
9:28.44 |
| 5 Robert Molke |
Don BoscoB |
SO |
9:38.23 |
| 6 Ed Sheridan |
Philipsburg |
SR |
9:38.67 |
|
#19 Ashley
Higginson (Indoor 3200m), Toms River, Group
IV, Feb 18, 2007
|
|
need a picture |
Ashley had mixed it up during the winter season. She
had run her fastest 800 ever, a 2:14.9 relay split, set a new Monmouth
County record in the 1000 meters, and a couple of fast miles. She
had not run a serious 3200 and would be doing it after running the 1600
earlier the same day. She ran a Freehold District record by running
4:53.70 in the 1600, finishing 2nd. She had a couple of hours to
recover and then would have to take on teammate, Briana Jackucewicz, and
Theresa Cattuna of Cherry Hill East, who was having a breakthrough
year. Ashley and Bri had finished 1 - 2 in the MOC indoor
3200, the previous year. The race went out and settled into consistent 80
and 81s. It was soon a three girl race as those three distanced
themselves from the rest of the field. Right after 11 laps of the 16
they would need to run, Briana fell back and it was just Ashley and
Theresa. Ashley picked it up a little more with 3 laps to go and
then extended the lead over the last 400 to win by just under 4 secs.
She had run a fast 10:38.73, just 2 secs off her 3200 best after running a
4:53 1600. It boded well for the next couple of meets, the MOC and
the winter nationals.
400m Splits:
| 79.4 |
2:39.9 (80.5) |
3:59.3 (79.8) |
5:20.8 (81.5) |
| 6:42.4 (81.6) |
8:02.5 (80.1) |
9:22.1 (79.6) |
10:38.73 (76.6) |
| first 1600 5:20.8 |
last 1600 5:17.9 |
Ashley would win the MOCs in a new meet record, breaking her own record
and then break the state 2 mile record while winning the national title.
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2006-7
season summary
|
| Group IV 3200 |
| 1 Ashley Higginson |
Colts Neck |
SR |
10:38.73 |
| 2 Theresa Cattuna |
Cherry Hill East |
SR |
10:42.42 |
| 3 Briana Jackucewicz |
Colts Neck |
SO |
10:54.32 |
| 4 Amanda Marino |
Jackson Memorial |
SR |
11:00.04 |
| 5 Tori Berard |
Morris Knolls |
SO |
11:03.27 |
| 6 Allyson Moskal |
Freehold Twp |
SO |
11:10.42 |
|
#21 Craig Forys (Outdoor
1600m), Egg Harbor, Group
IV, June 1, 2007
|
|
need a picture |
Craig had already set state records in the 3000m, 3200m and
2 mile this spring but he had never run a fast open 1600. He had run 4:04
or 4:05 four times, all anchoring relay teams, but had not broken 4:10 in
an open high school race. He wanted to take a shot at a fast
1600 even though he knew he would have to do it on his own. Since he
was going to attempt the 1600/3200 double at the MOC the following week,
this would be his last chance to go for one. The plan was to try to
go out in 60, settle into 61s for the middle and then finish the best he
could. As the team arrived at the meet, it was evident that the race
would be a struggle. There was a huge wind going down the
backstretch. Craig decided to do the best he could and went to the
lead immediately. He had a couple of second lead by the 200.
He hit 59.5 at the 400 and slowed to a 63.0 for the 2nd 200. He was
slowing noticeably against the wind on the backstretch and then trying to
pick it back up on the homestretch. After a 62.8 3rd 400, he could
manage only a 62.0 in the last 400 to finish in 4:07.36. It was a
new All-Groups meet record for the Groups Champs.
400m Splits:
| 59.5 |
2:02.5 (63.0) |
3:05.3 (62.8) |
4:07.36 (62.0) |
| first 1600 2:02.5 |
last 1600 2:04.9 |
Craig would come back the next day to run the 3200. click
here to see what happens.
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2007
season summary
|
| Group IV 1600 |
| 1 Craig Forys |
Colts Neck |
SR |
4:07.36 |
| 2 Andrew Brodeur |
Brick Memorial |
JR |
4:18.49 |
| 3 Brian Leung |
West Wind-Plains So |
JR |
4:20.61 |
| 4 Christian Gonzalez |
Franklin |
SR |
4:21.10 |
| 5 Kevin Cronin |
Mainland |
SR |
4:22.47 |
| 6 Robby Andrews |
Manalapan |
SO |
4:23.55 |
|
#22 Ashley
Higginson (Outdoor 3200m), Egg Harbor, Group
IV, June 2, 2007
|
|
need a picture |
After dream seasons in cross country and winter track,
Ashley was continuing where she left off. She had run state records
in the 5000 meter (16:38.31), the 2000m steeplechase (6:50.39) and just
missed the state record for 3000m. She had defended her title in the
Penn Relays and run a 2:11.9 split for 800m. She was fit and ready
for fast times. This weekend she would focus on the 1600 and then
run the 3200 fast enough to win. The MOCs were just a few days later
so it didn't make sense to run all out twice. In the 1600 on Friday,
6/1, she hooked up with the two Southern Reg stars, Danielle Tauro and
Jillian Smith. Despite high winds on the backstretch, Ashley set a
very fast pace as they went through 800 in 2:23. On the 3rd lap,
Ashley forced the pace to try to get a gap. She couldn't get away
from their big kicks and finished 3rd but ran her fastest time ever,
4:47.71 and a new Monmouth County record. On Saturday, it would be
run with the pack and surge away later. In the 3200, it was a race
of attrition. They ran 81s before slowing to 83 on the 4th.
After the 5th lap was increased back to 80, Ashley had a small gap.
She ran just fast enough to keep the gap open and win by 4 secs in
10:52.49. It was her 3rd consecutive 3200 win at the spring track
group champs and gave her 5 state titles for her career.
400m Splits:
| 76.8 |
2:38.2 (81.4) |
4:00.1 (81.9) |
5:23.1 (83.0) |
| 6:43.5 (80.4) |
8:06.8 (83.3) |
9:31.4 (84.6) |
10:52.49 (82.1) |
| first 1600 5:23.1 |
last 1600 5:29.4 |
Ashley would move on to the MOCs the next week and win her 4th MOC
title before moving to the nationals where she would win the 2 mile in a
new state record. It gave her national championships in all three
seasons. She would also run the steeplechase, her 3rd race in 16 hrs
and set a new state record in finishing 3rd.
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2007
season summary
|
| Group IV 3200 |
| 1 Ashley Higginson |
Colts Neck |
SR |
10:52.49 |
| 2 Theresa Cattuna |
Cherry Hill East |
SR |
10:58.44 |
| 3 Lauren Penny |
Roxbury |
JR |
11:08.64 |
| 4 Amanda Marino |
Jackson Memorial |
SR |
11:08.67 |
| 5 Sophia Ginez |
South Brunswick |
FR |
11:13.21 |
| 6 Victoria Berard |
Morris Knolls |
SO |
11:20.44 |
|
#23 Craig Forys (Outdoor
3200m), Egg Harbor, Group
IV, June 2, 2007
|
|
need a picture |
After fighting the wind and the clock the previous day in
the 1600, Craig was looking forward to running with the pack. The
last thing he needed to work on for the upcoming nationals was a huge
surge with two laps to go. So the plan was to run with the pack
until 1200 to go, pick up the pace with 1200 to go and then run as close
to 61-62 on the 7th 400 as possible. Then, he could ease off the
pedal. It would prepare him for the big move he wanted to make at
the nationals. the pace went out in a comfortable pace and stayed in
the 71-72 area. On the 5th lap it slowed significantly as everyone
waited for a move. On the next lap, the move came as Craig
accelerated almost 9 secs faster for that lap. After opening a lead,
he picked it up even more for the 7th 400, running a hyper fast 62.1
before easing back in the last 400. The last 1200 took only 3:12.9
and he won his 12th and final state championship in 9:14.93. It tied
the state record for boys for most state titles, the most by a track
runner.
400m Splits:
| 68.4 |
2:19.7 (71.3) |
3:30.8 (71.1) |
4:43.0 (72.2) |
| 5:57.8 (74.8) |
7:07.7 (65.7) |
8:09.8 (62.1) |
9:14.93 (65.1) |
| first 1600 4:43.0 |
last 1600 4:31.9; last 1200
3:12.9 |
| Craig's 12th State Group Championship, ties State
record |
|
Craig would go on to win the
MOC 1600/3200 double 4:09/8:52 to become only the 2nd to pull it
off. He became the first ever to do it indoors and outdoors.
He then finished 2nd in the 2 mile at the nationals to set a new State
record for 3000 meters and 2 miles. In that race he ran a 61 7th 400
to break all but one runner in one of the greatest high school fields
ever.
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2007
season summary
|
| Group IV 3200 |
| 1 Craig Forys |
Colts Neck |
SR |
9:14.93 |
| 2 Christopher Carle |
Jackson Memorial |
SR |
9:24.14 |
| 3 Brian Leung |
West Wind-Plains So |
JR |
9:26.24 |
| 4 Daniel Emont |
Ridgewood |
SR |
9:31.41 |
| 5 Zach Bahor |
Randolph |
SR |
9:35.43 |
| 6 Matt Ciambriello |
Old Bridge |
SR |
9:36.20 |
|
#24 Allison
Linnell (Indoor 3200m), Toms River, Group
IV, Feb 16, 2008
|
|
Briana Jackucewicz leads teammate, Allison Linnell.
The positions would be the opposite at the end. |
Allison had killed herself in training for four years and
was finally getting the results she had dreamed of. She had finally
won Shore Conference and Central Jersey Championships, had broken 5:00 in
the 1600 and was on the verge of breaking 11:00 in the 3200. She had
become a winner due to a killer surge that she could throw in anywhere
from 1200m to 400 to go. She had used it over and over again in
races to fine tune it. It had become a devastating move. The
week before the Group Champs, she had won the 1600 and then come back and
finished 2nd to teammate Briana Jackucewicz in the 3200. With
national champ, Jillian Smith in the 1600, Allison knew her only chance
for an elusive state title was to run the 3200 against her younger
teammate. Briana set a suicidal early pace to stay away from
Allison's kick. All Allison could do was let her go and hope to
catch her later. In fact, Bri was so fast, she was on state record
pace for the first 800. After the 800, Bri started to gradually
slowing. By the the 1600, Allison had closed the gap to 1 sec as she
was 5:16.8, extremely fast for someone with a 11:00 personal best.
Two laps later, they were together and ran that way until two laps to go
where Allison made her move and went by her teammate. Briana would
hold on for 2nd as they completed their 1-2 finish. Allison's final
time of 10:48.33 would be the #21 time in NJ history at the time.
400m Splits:
| 75.8 |
2:35.0 (79.2) |
3:56.1 (81.1) |
5:17.8 (81.7) |
| 6:41.6 (83.8) |
8:08.1 (86.5) |
9:33.2 (85.1) |
10:48.33 (75.1) |
| first 1600 5:17.8 |
last 1600 5:30.5 |
The two would go on to finish 5th and 6th in the MOC the next week but
their big breakthroughs came a little later in the national
championships. They would take the 4 x 1 mile relay team from 13th
to 4th and All-American in the final two legs of the relay. The next
day, Allison would move down to the mile and finish 4th in 4:55.56
and Bri would run her fastest high school 2 mile in 10:33.57 to
finish 2nd.
|
|
full
race result
CN
website race result
2007-8
season summary
|
| Group IV 3200 |
| 1 Allison Linnell |
Colts Neck |
SR |
10:48.33 |
| 2 Briana Jackucewicz |
Colts Neck |
JR |
10:54.67 |
| 3 Caitlin Orr |
Lenape |
SO |
11:15.74 |
| 4 Lindsey Lambert |
Howell |
SR |
11:22.19 |
| 5 Maria Ruiz |
Williamstown |
JR |
11:28.74 |
| 6 Natalie Anthony |
Randolph |
SO |
11:29.36 |
|
#25 Briana
Jackucewicz (Indoor 3200m), Toms River, Group
IV, Feb 15, 2009
|
|
|
Briana had won her 1st state championship
individual title in her very first season in high school. She had
finished 2nd in the indoor MOC 3200 as a soph and in the indoor 3200 as a
junior, both times to teammates. She also had a 2nd at the group
meet her sophomore year. She had started her senior winter track
season hurt, just like the year before, and hadn't raced until Jan
24th. she had run 11:00 winning the County Champs but had only run
5:10 in the 1600. To make matters worse, she had only finished 3rd
in the 3200 at the Central Jersey Champs the week before. the good
news was she now had a secret weapon. She didn't have the closing
speed but she did have a mid race surge she had been working on in her
races. It hadn't worked at the Central Jersey Champs, but that was
more of a hard week of training. Her plan was to let the pace slow
and then pick it up drastically around the 1600 mark. The pace
quickly slowed to 84s after the first 400 and Briana made her move a
little before the 1600 mark. She quickly opened a lead as the others
did not want to pick it up, that much, that early in the race.
Running her 2nd 1600 eight secs faster than her first 1600, she won by 6
secs in 10:51.54. It was her 1st state title in winter or spring
track.
400m Splits:
| 78.4 |
2:43.2 (84.8) |
4:07.3 (84.1) |
5:29.8 (82.5) |
| 6:50.3 (80.5) |
8:11.7 (80.9) |
9:34.4 (82.7) |
10:51.54 (77.1) |
| first 1600 5:29.8 |
last 1600 5:21.7 |
The next week, Bri would finish 3rd in the Meet of Champions 3200
running 10:41.35. Her winter season would end with a DNF (did not
finish) in the 5000 meter race as she tried to run recovering from a bad
case of the flu, just days before.
| Group IV 3200 |
| 1 Briana Jackucewicz |
Colts Neck |
SR |
10:51.54 |
| 2 Angela Rugino |
Toms River North |
SR |
10:57.64 |
| 3 Maria Ruiz |
Williamstown |
SR |
10:59.04 |
| 4 Jillian Prentice |
Montgomery |
JR |
11:02.52 |
| 5 Sophia Ginez |
South Brunswick |
JR |
11:09.76 |
| 6 Natalie Anthony |
Randolph |
JR |
11:10.14 |
|
|
full
race result CN
website race result
2008-9
season summary
|
#26 Mark Leininger
(Indoor 3200m), Toms River, Group
IV, Feb 15, 2009
|
|
|
Mark had come close to a state championship once
before. In the cross country state championships, he had thrown down
a huge surge with 1 mile to go, opening a 5 sec lead over the great Robby
Andrews. He had held the lead until 200 meters to go before Robby
was able to sprint by him. It was a day Mark had dared to take a
chance. He had run his two fastest 1600s ever and had won the
Monmouth County 1600 title and the Central Jersey 3200 title but he still
wanted that state championship. Would he dare to make a early big
move again? The pack went through an easy first 1600 in
4:48.3. The 5th 400 was a little faster than the 4th but still
easy. Suddenly, with 1000 to go, Taro Shigenobu of Ridgewood made a
strong move to the front. Only Mark was able to go with him as the
pace dropped significantly. Mark sat on Taro for two laps and then
took the lead and surged even harder. He opened a small gap and was
able to open a little more daylight by end. His last 800 was 2:13
and it was also a personal best. The gamble with three laps to go
had paid off.
400m Splits:
| 71.1 |
2:22.8 (71.7) |
3:34.5 (72.0) |
4:48.3 (73.5) |
| 6:00.7 (72.5) |
7:11.6 (70.9) |
8:20.2 (68.6) |
9:24.58 (64.4) |
| first 1600 4:48.3 |
last 1600 4:36.3, last 800 2:13.0 |
Mark would go on to finish 4th at the MOC 3200, running 9:16.01.
At the nationals he would run under 4:20 for 1600 on two consecutive days,
anchoring the Distance Medley Relay to All-American status.
| Group IV 3200 |
| 1 Mark Leininger |
Colts Neck |
SR |
9:24.58 |
| 2 Taro Shigenobu |
Ridgewood |
SR |
9:28.31 |
| 3 Mike O'Dowd |
Colts Neck |
SO |
9:35.48 |
| 4 Matt Valeriani |
Southern |
JR |
9:35.61 |
| 5 Andrew Fine |
Ridegwood |
SR |
9:37.92 |
| 6 Chris Banafato |
Bridgewater-Raritan |
JR |
9:39.45 |
|
|
full
race result CN
website race result
2008-9
season summary
|
Relay
State Champions
|
