The NJSIAA Meet of Champions, the final meet of the New Jersey High School Indoor Track & Field season happens this Saturday at the John Bennett Athletic Complex in Toms River.
The finale is a now a week later than originally scheduled because of the snow events that forced mulitple postponements to the Sectional competitions. This postponement has thinned out the ranks a little, as some of the state's best have opted out for a variety of reasons. Still, it is the State All Groups Championship and there is a lot on the line and glory to be won.
The following is a little preview on who to watch in the Boys session which starts at 1:00 pm (following the Girls).
(BTW, Don, please buy Lanzalotto a cup of coffee so he'll shut up and leave me along about it - I'll reimburse you!)
| 400 Meter Dash | |||
| 1 | Najee Glass | SAINT PETER'S | 49.19 |
| 2 | Leonard Robbins-Lockh | 49.82 | |
| 3 | Darrell Bush | WOODBURY | 50.03 |
| 4 | Devonte Artis | SHABAZZ | 50.13 |
| 5 | Alex Reber | CHERRY HILL | 50.17 |
| 6 | Darnell Bembridge | LENAPE | 50.55 |
| 7 | Darius Holmes | WILLINGBOR | 50.69 |
| 8 | Bryan Murphy | 50.83 | |
| 9 | Daryian Miles | 50.88 | |
| 10 | Jonathan Henry | 51.04 | |
| 11 | Geordan Ferguson | MANCHESTER | 51.19 |
| 12 | Tarique Gray | BERGEN CATH | 51.24 |
| 13 | Steve Butenewicz | DELSEA | 51.32 |
| 13 | Akmed Muhammad | OAKCREST | 51.32 |
| 15 | Emeka Eze | 51.35 | |
| 16 | WEST ORANG | 51.38 | |
Najee Glass still has a bad taste in his mouth from last year's MOC when he was the favorite coming into the meet but finished second behind Clayton Gravesande of Franklin. Najee had the opportunity to go west to compete in Seattle but passed it by in favor of winning a Meet of Champions title. His comment was "there was never a doubt in my mind about what I was going to do." The Meet of Champions title was paramount. Okay, but he's got other athletes who feel the same way. Leonard Robbins of East Brunswick who went 49.33 at the sectionals is right there with Glass. Bush has a 49.41 PR from last spring. Artis whoose PR is 49.86 also from last outdoor season seems to be peaking at the right time. Junior Alex Reber of Cherry Hill, the best kept secret in quarter miling in New Jersey (how does this guy not get more attention especially after this 48.64 outdoors last spring?) ran 49.81 at the sectionals on this track. Bembridge with an outdoor PR of 49.27, junior Darius Holmes who has been getting faster each week, and Teaneck's Bryan Murphy and Daryian Miles are all right there having excellent PRs and strong downward trends in their times wek-to week. (Miles will have to run from the second fastest section if no one scratches out ahead of him).
So while Glass's 47.32 outdoor PR would seem to set him apart, he cannot falter as this is a deep field with runners who are clearly capable of keeping the pressure on and who will be right there throughout the race.
| 1600 Meter Run | |||
| 1 | Miles Schoedler | 04:16.57 | |
| 2 | Erik Johnson | 04:18.11 | |
| 3 | Ben Malone | PASCACK VAL | 04:18.46 |
| 4 | Collin Frost | 04:18.48 | |
| 5 | Blake Udland | 04:19.06 | |
| 6 | George Kelly | CHRISTIAN B | 04:19.23 |
| 7 | Tim Ball | 04:19.28 | |
| 8 | Ben Potts | HADDONFIEL | 04:20.32 |
| 9 | Matthew Nelson | BARNEGAT | 04:20.72 |
| 10 | Matt Nussbaum | HADDONFIEL | 04:20.78 |
| 11 | Evan Roelke | RIDGE | 04:20.85 |
| 12 | Nick Fogarty | 04:21.70 | |
| 13 | Jake Ruskan | 04:21.76 | |
| 14 | Everett Price | NEW PROVIDE | 04:21.78 |
| 15 | Levi Jennings | 04:22.04 | |
| 16 | Brady Deckert | DELSEA | 04:22.65 |
| 17 | Joe Rosa | 04:22.66 | |
Jeramy Elkaim is not running and Schoedler will be on the west coast so Schoedler's junior teammate Erik Johnson takes over as the top seed. However, soph Ben Malone has a ton of talent and speed and looked as though he had a lot more last week in the group 2 meet. While Johnson and Malone are at the head of the list, junior Tim Ball of Pistcataway is the possessor of a 4:10.57 (outdoor) PR and the Haddonfield duo of Ben Potts and Matt Nussbaum were clearly conserving energy last week in case they needed to run the 3200 and the relay to ensure the team tille. Frost, Udland and Kelly shouldn't be overlooked as they are capable and are getting faster at the right time. Barnegat's Matt Nelson has qualified here but may go 3200 instead.
Strange as it may seem, Joe Rosa is a an unknown here as he is unsure whether he will go in the 1600 or the 3200 and is of course not yet in top condition. The choice is being left up to Joe according to coach Brian Gould and he may not decide until the day of the meet. If he runs the 1600 he should not be taken lightly as the 3200 last week showed flashes of the Joe Rosa we all know.
| 55 Meter Hurdles | |||
| 1 | Christian Boateng | 7.44 | |
| 2 | Darren McCluskey | CHEROKEE | 7.50 |
| 3 | Greg Caldwell | W WIND PL N | 7.58 |
| 4 | Jermaine Collier | TRENTON CEN | 7.59 |
| 5 | Steve Worsley | LONG BRANC | 7.62 |
| 6 | Jordan Harris | HADDONFIEL | 7.68 |
| 6 | Andre Davis | 7.68 | |
| 8 | Darius Holmes | WILLINGBOR | 7.70 |
| 8 | Mark Jones | 7.70 | |
| 10 | Eric Kahana | FREEHOLD BO | 7.73 |
| 11 | Matt Pozo | CHRISTIAN B | 7.74 |
| 12 | Thomas Berryman | DELSEA | 7.75 |
| 12 | Jae DeShields | 7.75 | |
| 14 | Nick Picache | NO. HIGHLAN | 7.76 |
| 15 | Mark Jones | SUMMIT | 7.79 |
| 15 | Alexander Malveaux | 7.79 | |
Boateng edged McCluskey in a thrilling race at the group 4 meet with Jermaine collier and Boateng's multi-talented Andre Davis a little further back. Junior Greg Caldwell of West Windsor Plainsboro North had a nice PR at the group 3 meet dropping 0.13 seconds. Steve Worsely has sub-7.60 PR (7.57) from back in December but hadn't approached that until last week's group meet. Everyone else is north of 7.60 with Davis and Mark Jones next. Use of blocks could make a real difference her and it would seem that Boateng and McCluskey would get the most from them.
| 55 Meter Dash | |||
| 1 | Kadeem Douse | 6.43 | |
| 2 | Miles Shuler-Foster | LONG BRANC | 6.45 |
| 3 | Fabian Santiago | OAKCREST | 6.56 |
| 4 | Jihaad Howard | BRICK MEMOR | 6.57 |
| 5 | Darrell Bush | WOODBURY | 6.59 |
| 5 | Elijah Hughes | 6.59 | |
| 7 | Christopher Borgesi | AUDUBON | 6.60 |
| 8 | Robbie Fearon | 6.62 | |
| 9 | Jamir Syms | 6.63 | |
| 10 | Tyrik Thomas | 6.64 | |
| 10 | Adrian Thomas | 6.64 | |
| 12 | Ahmier Dupree | 6.65 | |
| 13 | Darnell Charles | OAKCREST | 6.67 |
| 14 | Devonte Artis | SHABAZZ | 6.68 |
| 15 | Keyshaun Grant | ATLANTIC CIT | 6.69 |
| 16 | Wellington Brown | UNION | 6.71 |
All that is standing between Miles Shuler-Foster and his second straight 55 meter title is senior Kadeem Douse of Ewing - and that's a lot. Douse defeated Shuler-Foster at the sectionals and the group meet. A big question is who is helped more by using blocks which are permitted in the MOC but not the sectionals or groups. Seeded 4th behind Douse and Shuler-Foster is Jihaad Howard of Brick Memorial who has a PR of 6.44 from December. He had not run close to that mark recently until his 6.48 in the sectionals. Oakcrest's junior Fabian Santiago is seede 3rd with a PR of 6.53. He is less experienced than the runners ahead of him but his times show good progression and he could be helped a lot by the use of starting blocks.
| 800 Meter Run | |||
| 1 | Justin Hill | SETON HALL | 01:54.12 |
| 2 | Allen Eke | UNION CATHO | 01:54.20 |
| 3 | Jared Mason | WEST ORANG | 01:55.43 |
| 4 | Steve Butenewicz | DELSEA | 01:56.06 |
| 5 | Greg Caldwell | JACKSON ME | 01:56.14 |
| 6 | Bradley Paternostro | RAMAPO | 01:56.33 |
| 7 | Cullen Davis | 01:56.65 | |
| 8 | Miles Schoedler | 01:57.59 | |
| 9 | Jose Veras | 01:58.31 | |
| 10 | Shawn Burke | 01:58.56 | |
| 11 | Conrad Lippert | CHRISTIAN B | 01:58.58 |
| 12 | Ben Potts | HADDONFIEL | 01:59.11 |
| 13 | Jeremy Antivo | 01:59.15 | |
| 14 | Chris Marco | TOMS RIVER | 01:59.45 |
| 15 | Tyler Somers | CHEROKEE | 01:59.46 |
| 16 | Edwin Young | 01:59.60 | |
This one alone is worth the price of admission. How good is this field? 6th seed Brad Paternostro of Ramapo has a PR if 1:51.84 from last spring. 9th seed Jose Veras of Dickinson set his PR ealier this season - 1:55.9. Up front, Justin Hill and Alan Eke ran a very tight race last week with the Seton Hall senior edging the junior from Union Catholic by 0.08 seconds. That's close and the addition of a such a high quality group seede behind them assures another close race and probably a fast one, although we have witnessed tactical (and costly) races in the 800 at this meet in the past. Mason has run 1:54.5 this season, Butenewicz PRed at 1:56.06 in his win over Paternostro in the group meet, Caldwell and Davis ran 1:56.14 and 1:56.65 respectively last week. If this goes out slowly, expect to see a brutal closing 400, especially the last 200. If it goes out fast expect a very high quality time - probably near 1:53 and maybe even faster. Either way, this one is fascinating.
| 3200 Meter Run | |||
| 1 | Robert Rawls | TRITON | 09:20.33 |
| 2 | Matthew McDonald | NORTH HUNT | 09:20.57 |
| 3 | Joe Rosa | 09:21.27 | |
| 4 | Paul Szulewski | WILLIAMSTO | 09:22.46 |
| 5 | Anthony Dentino | 09:23.34 | |
| 6 | Matthew Nelson | BARNEGAT | 09:26.56 |
| 7 | Peter Murray | 09:26.95 | |
| 8 | Andrew Goelz | BRICK MEMOR | 09:27.20 |
| 9 | John Dugan | RAMSEY | 09:28.45 |
| 10 | Kyle Davis | 09:28.64 | |
| 11 | Michael O'Dowd | COLTS NECK | 09:29.64 |
| 12 | Khari Bowen | MONROE | 09:29.73 |
| 13 | Andrew Kirna | 09:30.29 | |
| 14 | Zaid Smart | 09:31.52 | |
| 15 | Noah Jacobs | LACEY | 09:31.56 |
| 16 | Collin Frost | 09:32.08 | |
| 17 | Mike Mazzaccaro | CHRISTIAN B | 09:32.69 |
12 runners packed between 9:20 and 9:30. Mike Mazzacaro with a PR of 9:02.46 seeded 17th. Mike O'Dowd, who was knocked down in last week's group 3 race seeded 11th at 9:29.64. Joe Rosa sitting third at 9:21.57. Wow, the world is a little bit upside down. Expect Mazz to not fool around here and go after it pretty early. Guys like Szulewski (outdoor PR of 9:13.93), McDonald, Rawls, Nelson, O'Dowd (PR 9:13.58 from last spring) dare not let him get away or he won't be caught. And what about Rosa? Again, he showed flashes last week in his duel with Rawls, taking the race over mid-way, losing it back to Rawls and looking for all the world like he was done but then storming with less than 150 to go back and just falling short. Does he even run this and if he does, will he force the pace with another mid-race move?
One thing we know for sure: if the race is run at 9:20 pce there are going to be a lot of guys in it at the end. You'd have to think that Mazz is not going to allow that to happen.
| 4x400 Meter Relay | ||
| 1 | 03:26.07 | |
| 2 | CHRISTIAN BROS | 03:26.44 |
| 3 | UNION CATHOLIC | 03:26.70 |
| 4 | CHERRY HILL EAST | 03:26.98 |
| 5 | OAKCREST | 03:27.23 |
| 6 | 03:27.38 | |
| 7 | 03:28.96 | |
| 8 | WEST ORANGE | 03:29.29 |
| 9 | BERGEN CATHOLIC | 03:29.35 |
| 10 | SETON HALL | 03:29.37 |
| 11 | 03:30.03 | |
| 12 | LENAPE | 03:30.06 |
| 13 | 03:30.18 | |
| 14 | UNION | 03:30.30 |
| 15 | DELSEA | 03:30.51 |
| 16 | JACKSON LIBERTY | 03:31.02 |
While many of these teams had run faster races at the Armory, the difference was only a second or two. Putting them all in one race at the end of the meet ought to produce even fastger times. East Brunswick of course has the advantage of Leonard Robbins-Lockhart on the anchor, but CBA is good throughout, Union Catholic has Eke, Cherry Hill has Reber, etc. This is anybody's race and getting the stick around the track cleanly (no triple-clutch handoffs when you're this tight) could be the difference.
By the way, at least half of the teams seeded in the second 8 have legs runners that have run sub-50 open or on a leg.
| High Jump | |||
| 1 | Andrew Athias | CHERRY HILL | 6-09.00 |
| 2 | Mark Jones | SUMMIT | 6-06.00 |
| 3 | Justin Bailey | TRENTON CEN | 6-04.00 |
| 3 | James O'Connor | 6-04.00 | |
| 3 | Jose Veras | 6-04.00 | |
| 3 | David Benjamin | FREEHOLD TW | 6-04.00 |
| 3 | Timothy Miller | PINELANDS | 6-04.00 |
| 8 | Pete Toso | HOLY CROSS | 6-02.00 |
| 8 | Ryan Walsh | DON BOSCO | 6-02.00 |
| 8 | Brandon Grayson | TIMBER CREE | 6-02.00 |
| 8 | Michael Stankus | HUNTERDON | 6-02.00 |
| 8 | Alex Sarkodie | UNION CATHO | 6-02.00 |
| 8 | Kyle Connors | CHRISTIAN B | 6-02.00 |
| 8 | Sherron Thomas | DELSEA | 6-02.00 |
| 8 | Isaac Williams | WILLINGBOR | 6-02.00 |
| 8 | John Pangborn | JACKSON LIB | 6-02.00 |
| 8 | Matt Herb | MOUNT OLIVE | 6-02.00 |
| 8 | Tony Pacheco | 6-02.00 | |
| 8 | Kweku Sapara-Grant | 6-02.00 | |
| 8 | Derek Forthun | SOUTH BRUN | 6-02.00 |
| 8 | Jason Poppe | JACKSON ME | 6-02.00 |
| 8 | Rob Weimer | MONTGOMER | 6-02.00 |
No one is ever a lock, especially in an event like the high jump but Mark Jones has a huge leg up on the field. I'm not even sure that anyone else in the field has ever even attempted 7-0. Athias' 6-9 at the group meet was a PR by 3 inches. Bailey has cleared 6-8. Williams, Veras, Miller and Weimer have all gone 6-6.
| Shot Put | |||
| 1 | Nicholas Vena | 70-04.50 | |
| 2 | Dontaye Rivera | PLEASANTVIL | 56-06.50 |
| 3 | Sam Snyder | HOPEWELL V | 56-04.50 |
| 4 | Stephen Mozia | 56-00.75 | |
| 5 | Braheeme Days JR | 55-06.50 | |
| 6 | Samuel Mattis | 55-03.00 | |
| 7 | Andrew Rohan | CHRISTIAN B | 54-10.00 |
| 8 | Patrick Cole | HASBROUCK H | 54-08.50 |
| 9 | Dominick Padovano | SOUTH BRUN | 54-00.75 |
| 10 | Travis Gallardo | 52-08.75 | |
| 11 | Thomas Buffone | MANALAPAN | 52-02.50 |
| 12 | Andre Davis | 51-08.00 | |
| 13 | Cary Jones | 51-06.75 | |
| 14 | Khalil Kates | 50-11.00 | |
| 15 | Traven Mable | WILLINGBOR | 50-10.00 |
| 16 | Lavon Hall | 50-09.00 |
Vena goes for his 4th straight indoor MOC title, throwing in the buble where he seems to like it a lot better than the middle school gym. A lot better? He threw 70-4.5 there last week; look for a big series from him this Saturday. (really going out on a limb, aren't I?). Mozia threw a two and a half foot PR at the Garfield Classic on Wednesday night, thrusing himself into the lead for the silver. Snyder, Cole, Rivera and Mattis have all thrown over 56 feet this winter although none of them have been consistent over that number.
| Pole Vault | |||
| 1 | Jonathan Brinkerhoff | VERITAS | 14-06.00 |
| 1 | Michael Oberg | 14-06.00 | |
| 3 | Christopher Steele | POMPTON LA | 14-00.00 |
| 3 | Dylan Spadaccini | MATAWAN | 14-00.00 |
| 3 | Brad Hoey | RIVER DELL | 14-00.00 |
| 3 | Brian Banks | 14-00.00 | |
| 3 | Patrick Rynearson | WHIPPANY | 14-00.00 |
| 8 | Dan Callahan | W WIND-PL S | 13-06.00 |
| 8 | Ryan Potter | NORTH HUNT | 13-06.00 |
| 8 | Algeron Johnson | HIGHLAND RE | 13-06.00 |
| 8 | Aidan Sokolov | 13-06.00 | |
| 8 | Remy Kahn | CHERRY HILL | 13-06.00 |
| 13 | Marc D'Esposito | MSGR. DONO | 13-00.00 |
| 13 | Michael Baselice | DON BOSCO | 13-00.00 |
| 13 | Charles Durkin | W MORRIS M | 13-00.00 |
| 13 | tom dill | 13-00.00 | |
| 13 | John Engels | CHRISTIAN B | 13-00.00 |
| 13 | Skylar Johnson | PT PLEASANT | 13-00.00 |
| 13 | Andy Jung | 13-00.00 | |
| 13 | Craig Hunter | ROBBINSVILL | 13-00.00 |
| 13 | Ryan Barrera | FREEHOLD TW | 13-00.00 |
| 13 | Tarou Seki | PASCACK HIL | 13-00.00 |
Brinkerhoff has cleared 15-0 this winter and is the favorite but this event is so fickle that literally nothing should surprise anyone. New Jersey's second highest vaulter, Tom Jeffers of Triton will not be at MOC because he no-heighted at the group 3 meet, then went to the USATF meet at the bubble a few days later and jumped 14-11.25. It's a very tough event in which to be consistent. Brian Banks, seeded at 14-0 has the next highest PR in the field after Brinkerhoff and has been over 14-0 two other times this winter. Oberg next with 14-6 had a big PR last week.