2007 SPF Indoor UC Relays

It was a whirlwind week for the area’s winter track athletes with the county relays on Monday and Wednesday nights at Dunn Arena in Elizabeth and the state championship relays on Saturday and Sunday at Jersey City Armory.

Although none of the four local teams won any overall titles, the Scotch Plains Fanwood Boys and Girls Shot Put throwers continued their consistently strong efforts, winning three of the four possible titles.

The Raiders swept the Union County titles with Junior Mike Alleman, and Seniors John Badala and Jon Birnbaum pacing the boys while Junior Erin Rossi and Senior Lauryn Adams led the girls.

In the county meet, Rossi recorded a meet-best throw of 35 feet, 10 1/2 inches and Adams registered a 33-9 for the Raiders as they finished third overall. Sophomore Brittney Veeck also starred helping the team to place third in both the distance medley and 4x400.

In the Group 3 championships, Adams exploded for a personal best 36-07.25 as she and Rossi won with a combined 69-04.75 to outscore Bergenfield and win the first state indoor title in the history of the girls’ program.. With the foursome of Junior Cassy Valdes, Sophomore Kim Shelus, Senior Kim Appezzato and Veeck combining to run a school record time of 13:02.35 for sixth in the distance medley the Raiders wound up with 11 points for ninth overall in the team standings.

Alleman, Badala and Birnbaum combined for a meet-record 146-0¼ in winning the shot put. The former three-man mark of 142-3½ was set by Union in 1999. The shot put had been a four-man competition prior to 1996. The performance was also a school record.

Alleman, the county shot put champion last winter and spring, had the top throw of the meet with a 54-9¾. Badala had a 47-5¾ and Birnbaum a personal-best 43-8¾. The Raiders also placed well in the two Mile Relay, where
Junior Pat Doliber, Senior Tim Salisbury, Junior Dan Sapienza, and Junior Mike Ragan took second.

While many of the area’s indoor track competitors have gotten off to subdued starts, Alleman has quickly built on his fantastic spring 2006 finish when he finished second in the Meet of Champions.

Until last weekend Alleman was at the top of the State Shot Put performance list with his personal best 56’11 ½ achieved at Drew University...

The duo of Alleman and Badala tasted defeat for the first time at the state meet as the hot throwing duo Pat Park and Kyle Goodman from Toms River South exceeded their effort. Alleman threw 53-11.00 and Badala 47-10.00.

In the Group 3 distance medley the Raider foursome of Doliber
Senior Kyle Rowbotham, Ragan and Senior Adam Biner combined to finish fifth in 10:57.14.

The Westfield foursome of Junior Alex Tarlow, Senior Connor Davis,
Senior Brent Souders and Junior Evan Friedman finished fifth in the Distance Medley in 10:53.14.

Senior Shot Putter Erik Anderson had the sixth best performance with a throw of 47-11 as Westfield tied for sixth. Junior High Jumper Adam Bergo led the high jump duo to a fifth with a 6-04 leap, the fourth best in ultra competitive group 4, which featured a winning jump of 7-00.

Despite running in the last and slowest heat at the County Relays, the Westfield Girls’ 4 by 400 team nearly won the event, settling for second.

“I had timed the previous heats and I knew we could crack in for medals if we raced the watch. The girls listened and we ended up with a good result,” said Westfield Coach Jen Buccino...

Like others, Buccino is no fan of the unyielding surface of Dunn and planned her lineup to avoid injuries.

“We do not enjoy racing at Dunn Arena. I give a lot of consideration as to how I plan my line up when we race there. Some kids run very well there, and others really struggle on the surface and the tight turns,” said Buccino.

“No matter who you are, that track takes a lot out of your legs. I am hopeful that we find a new venue some day soon.”.

2007 Indoor MOC Alleman wins

Showing an innate ability to ascend as the level of competition toughened, Scotch Plains Fanwood Junior Mike Alleman completed his inexorable climb to become the state’s best shot putter by winning the Meet of Champions last Sunday at the John Bennett Complex in Toms River.

Alleman’s throw of 59-3 came on his final attempt in the trials and held up as the winning mark, which makes him the first indoor Meet of Champions winner for Scotch Plains since Renaldo Nehemiah captured the hurdles in 1977.

“I love the competition. There were a lot of great throwers there that could have beaten me if I didn't throw my best. I get excited and at the same time I get nervous because I know those guys can have a big throw at any time. I think being nervousness adds to the adrenaline,” said Alleman.

Pre meet favorite Steve DArcy of Hanover Park, the indoor and outdoor Meet of Champions winner last year, was second at 57-6¼, and Vinnie Elardo of Lacey was third at 57-1½.
Elardo, second to Alleman in the Group 3 meet the week before, had surpassed Alleman’s throw from the state Group 3 championships on February 18 when he threw 60-6.earkier last week.
But Alleman, who first burst on the state scene last June with a surprise second place finish in the Meet of Champions has been on a roll lately and surpassed 59 feet for the second straight week.

In a magical two hour period the week before, Alleman had ended a throwing slump, won his first state championship, broke a long time school record and uncorked the furthest throw in the state to that point.

Alleman unloaded a tremendous throw of 59-6¼ on his final attempt to win the shot put at the NJSIAA/Star-Ledger Group 3 Track and Field Championships. Alleman's previous best of 56-11¼ came at the Drew Invitational on Dec. 29 and he had struggled recently to exceed 56 feet.
“I didn't see 59 coming at all. I've been in a rut for a while, so I didn't know what was going to happen. I knew that I was going to have to throw my best or better if I wanted to win. It was a do or die situation,” said Alleman, whose series was 55ft 4 inches, 56ft 9 inches, 58ft 2 inches, foul, 59ft 1 inch, and 59ft 6 1/4inches
Alleman had been working hard to improve imperfections in his form.

“I have been working on my speed and timing, trying to get my body used to going fast while being able to keep my technique. I've been weightlifting a lot, trying to get my legs stronger and more explosive,” said Alleman.

And the record is icing on the cake.
“It’s a great feeling to know that I have left my mark in school history
With all of the good throwers that have gone to this school it’s an honor to have the record

2006 Scotch Plains Boys Cross Country Preview

For the past few years Scotch Plains Fanwood Cross Country Coach Jeff Koegel has been
attempting to build the deep type of lineup that can withstand the injuries that always seem to attack young runners who are pounding out heavy mileage for the first time.

While they are unlikely to approach the small army that Westfield features, the Raiders have a solid group of over fifteen runners with a strong core returning from last year’s 9-1 group that lost only to the Blue Devils.

But injuries to several key runners have put a huge question mark on the team and the Raiders will rely on their depth to help them through the early part of the season.

Luckily for the Raiders, their top runner, senior Adam Biner has remained healthy and should be one of the top runners in the county. Biner was the Raiders’ top miler last spring, running a personal best 4:27.

“Adam worked hard this summer and is ready for a very strong season,” said Koegel, who is 74-12 in nine seasons as coach.

Junior Dan Sapienza who matched Biner with a 17:07 time in the Verona 5K on Labor Day had elevated himself to the second spot but has been suffering from shin splints. While it has kept Sapienza out of practice the past few days it is far less serious than the stress fracture that Koegel had feared.

“Dan's condition has improved. His x-rays were clear and he is progressing every day He said he has a history of shin splints in his family. If he hasn't shown significant improvement by the middle of this week, he will schedule further tests,” said Koegel.

With Sapienza shelved, Junior Patrick Doliber, who had an excellent track season, moves up to second. Another of the likely top five, Sophomore Martin Sweeney, a sensation as a freshman last year, has been battling knee problems but has been cleared to run.

“Martin missed a lot of training time. He has been working on his base building. We need him back to where he should be,” said Koegel.

The injury bug also caught one of Koegel’s two prize freshmen; Brian Walsh rolled his ankle during the teams’ opening victory over Linden last Tuesday at Warinanco Park.
Walsh had to be carried off the course with what turned out to be an ankle sprain. Walsh is off crutches and wearing an air cast.

“He has some swelling in his ankle, but it's not the size of a softball or anything. He should be back to running in a week or so. He thought he heard a crack when he rolled his ankle, but apparently, it was the tree branch he stepped on breaking.” said a relieved Koegel.

“He's a good kid who works hard, and he has been showing massive improvements
lately. He took well over two minutes off his 5K time from Downtown Westfield to Verona,” added Koegel.

The other top freshman is Bobby Evans, who is injury free. With all the injuries Koegel will rely more heavily on three solid juniors, lettermen Adam Horowitz and Greg Bencivengo and newcomer Dan Ragan, who had a solid year on track last spring.

One additional runner not yet mentioned is three year letter winner, Senior Mike Miller, who at press time wasn’t certain if he would run this year.

The missing runners frustrate Koegel, who considers the county wide open this year with Westfield’s graduation losses. The Raiders have never won the county title although they have had numerous close calls.

“We need some things to happen before I would consider us contenders. That includes getting Sap, Sweeney, and Walsh back to health,” warned Koegel.

“If we get everything together. There is a lot more parity in the county this year. Westfield should have a good team together. Roselle Catholic looks pretty good, too, but I’m more concerned with getting our runners healthy.”

2006 Scotch Plains Boys Cross Country Preview

For the past few years Scotch Plains Fanwood Cross Country Coach Jeff Koegel has been
attempting to build the deep type of lineup that can withstand the injuries that always seem to attack young runners who are pounding out heavy mileage for the first time.

While they are unlikely to approach the small army that Westfield features, the Raiders have a solid group of over fifteen runners with a strong core returning from last year’s 9-1 group that lost only to the Blue Devils.

But injuries to several key runners have put a huge question mark on the team and the Raiders will rely on their depth to help them through the early part of the season.

Luckily for the Raiders, their top runner, senior Adam Biner has remained healthy and should be one of the top runners in the county. Biner was the Raiders’ top miler last spring, running a personal best 4:27.

“Adam worked hard this summer and is ready for a very strong season,” said Koegel, who is 74-12 in nine seasons as coach.

Junior Dan Sapienza who matched Biner with a 17:07 time in the Verona 5K on Labor Day had elevated himself to the second spot but has been suffering from shin splints. While it has kept Sapienza out of practice the past few days it is far less serious than the stress fracture that Koegel had feared.

“Dan's condition has improved. His x-rays were clear and he is progressing every day He said he has a history of shin splints in his family. If he hasn't shown significant improvement by the middle of this week, he will schedule further tests,” said Koegel.

With Sapienza shelved, Junior Patrick Doliber, who had an excellent track season, moves up to second. Another of the likely top five, Sophomore Martin Sweeney, a sensation as a freshman last year, has been battling knee problems but has been cleared to run.

“Martin missed a lot of training time. He has been working on his base building. We need him back to where he should be,” said Koegel.

The injury bug also caught one of Koegel’s two prize freshmen; Brian Walsh rolled his ankle during the teams’ opening victory over Linden last Tuesday at Warinanco Park.
Walsh had to be carried off the course with what turned out to be an ankle sprain. Walsh is off crutches and wearing an air cast.

“He has some swelling in his ankle, but it's not the size of a softball or anything. He should be back to running in a week or so. He thought he heard a crack when he rolled his ankle, but apparently, it was the tree branch he stepped on breaking.” said a relieved Koegel.

“He's a good kid who works hard, and he has been showing massive improvements
lately. He took well over two minutes off his 5K time from Downtown Westfield to Verona,” added Koegel.

The other top freshman is Bobby Evans, who is injury free. With all the injuries Koegel will rely more heavily on three solid juniors, lettermen Adam Horowitz and Greg Bencivengo and newcomer Dan Ragan, who had a solid year on track last spring.

One additional runner not yet mentioned is three year letter winner, Senior Mike Miller, who at press time wasn’t certain if he would run this year.

The missing runners frustrate Koegel, who considers the county wide open this year with Westfield’s graduation losses. The Raiders have never won the county title although they have had numerous close calls.

“We need some things to happen before I would consider us contenders. That includes getting Sap, Sweeney, and Walsh back to health,” warned Koegel.

“If we get everything together. There is a lot more parity in the county this year. Westfield should have a good team together. Roselle Catholic looks pretty good, too, but I’m more concerned with getting our runners healthy.”

2006 Scotch Plains Girls Cross Country Preview

The slender blonde teenager in the Scotch Plains Fanwood Track sweatshirt
watched the girl’s soccer game between the Raiders and Linden with more than a passing interest. Not only had she played on club and high school teams with many of the players but until this year she might have been kicking and heading the ball on the field, but Brittney Veeck is satisfied she made the correct choice when she switched sports.

Her early results have more than verified the decision which obviously thrilled
Cross Country Coach Jeff Koegel who coached her in indoor and outdoor track last year
and saw her put together a record setting freshman season.

Before ever running a cross country meet for the Raiders, Veeck already ran the fastest 5K time in school history when ran 19:17 in a road race on Labor Day in Verona. Her performance, which smashed Mary Shashaty’s school record of 19:36 set at the 2004 Watchung Conference championships, did not shock Koegel.

“She had a phenomenal spring and then a solid summer of training. She's a great kid and works hard. No one can accuse her of being a talented kid who doesn't work for things,” said Koegel.

Veeck already set the school record in the 1600, running 5:14 making her decision easier.

“I have played soccer my whole life and really enjoy it a lot but I have also grown to enjoy running and am very happy with my decision,” said Veeck as she exhorted former teammates.

In her first varsity meet against Linden on Tuesday September 12, Veeck and Valdes ran together and finished tied for first as the Raiders took the top six places in a 15-48 victory. This Tuesday they face their toughest challenge of the young season when they travel to Westfield to take on the always tough Blue Devils.

Koegel has a history of having girls on the team who played Junior Varsity soccer as freshmen and came out for cross country their sophomore year. Liz Elko, Laura Harrison, and Sam Gates all key members of the 2004 Union County Championship team switched to cross country after successful freshman track seasons. Last year’s top runner Junior Cassy Valdes preceded Veeck.

The advent of freshman soccer, initiated this year, may have cost Koegel a few runners as
his current team lists no freshmen among its ten members, but Koegel is hoping that
some of the new soccer players try out for indoor and outdoor track and eventually run cross country if soccer doesn't work out for them.

Veeck and Valdes, who might be known as the “Killer V’s”, give the Raiders one of the strongest 1-2 punches in the area. Valdes, in her first year of cross country, broke twenty minutes for the first time when she finished a surprising second at the Watchung Conference Championships last October.

“Cassy ran some very tough races for us last year. She showed no fear of more experienced runners and challenged them,” said Koegel.

Junior Cathy Harley, a two year letter winner, also had an impressive summer, bouncing back from injuries that hampered her in the spring. Koegel is hoping that Harley can join his top two runners in the sub 20 minute 5K club.

With such a strong threesome, the Raiders will be difficult to beat in dual meets, since a 1-2-3 finish guarantees a victory but Koegel is more cautious on how his team will perform in larger meets.

“We'll win most of our dual meets by going at least 1-2-3, but right now, we don't have the support for the bigger meets,” said Koegel.

Five finishers are needed to win championships and the Raiders have major questions with keeping enough healthy runners. Senior Allie Hoynes-O’Conner, a three year letter winner, has been battling knee problems and senior Sam Carow missed almost all of last season and is struggling to come back. Her sophomore sister Emily was a pleasant surprise as a freshman and is currently the number five runner.

“We need a healthy 4-5-6 for the championship meets,” said Koegel.

2006 Scotch Plains Outdoor Group 3 Championships

The spectators watching the Group III shot put gasped as the powerful Scotch Plains Fanwood sophomore threw the 16 pound metal ball further than anyone else, but the excitement quickly turned to groans as the officials ruled that Mike Alleman had just barely fouled.

The victory went to Lacey Junior Vinnie Elardo, who had trailed Alleman until his final throw of 56-01 nipped Alleman’s 55-05.75 effort.

“It was tough to lose after being ahead the whole way,” said Alleman.

“I thought the last throw was a winner.”

“Mike deserved to win the meet,” said Raider Coach Jeff Koegel.
“He had the most consistent series of throws of any athlete and his final throw was a winner, too.”

“Mike’s a tremendous competitor. He will definitely use the loss as motivation to beat that guy next time,” said Raider Weight Coach Ken Hernandez.

“Next time” was this past Wednesday at the Meet of Champions in South Plainfield where Alleman will begin as the fifth seed, pretty impressive for someone who threw 46
feet a year ago.

Alleman’s tough loss was emblematic of a snake bit two days for both the boys and girls teams. Alleman will be one of only two Raiders competing in the Meet of Champions, joined by senior Max Carow who finished fifth in the pole vault with a leap of 13 feet.

“Max had a good series of jumps. He just missed at 13'6", too. He was over the bar, but came down on it with his chest on the way down,” said Koegel.

The most surprising of the missing Raiders will undoubtedly be Junior Kyle Rowbotham,
who had qualified for the Group Championships in the Triple Jump, Long Jump, 110 Meter and 400 Meter Hurdles but failed to qualify in any of the events.

“He just had a sub-par meet and looked very tired out there. He fouled twice by less
than an inch in the triple jump trials. Both jumps would have been
good enough to make the finals, and probably place him high,” noted Koegel.

“He has been doing four events in pretty much every meet since the week before Christmas. That takes its toll on you,” added Koegel.

“Kyle did still qualify for nationals in the triple jump. We are giving him a few days
off to re-charge his legs and clear his mind and then (Head Coach) Rich (McGirff) will get back to basics with him. He only has one event to train for instead of four, so he will be able to get some good quality jumping in if the weather so permits.”

In addition to Alleman some of the top performances came from the strong girls’ weight team. Junior Lauryn Adams broke her personal best in the discus several times, ending with a 109'9" throw, finishing seventh in Group III and missed the last wild card qualifier for the Meet Of Champions by one foot with the seventh best throw of all of the
non-medal winners combined.

“This is a girl who we didn't even take to the state sectionals last year. She has improved a great deal this season, and I wish it was a few weeks longer, because I don't think
she's done developing yet,” said Hernandez.

Carlaya Jones just missed making the finals in the shot out and Hernandez was also
proud of her performance last weekend.

The third member of the Raider weight trio, Sophomore Erin Rossi, did not qualify in the weight events but had a personal best of nine feet in the pole vault.

“The silver lining was she got to do a lot of vaulting this week. We
were hoping for 10' (she cleared 9'6" in practice a few days prior),
but the conditions didn't really cooperate. It was near impossible to
keep their pole grips dry in that weather, and just as difficult to get
warm and stay loose,” said Koegel.

Freshman Brittney Veeck once again lowered her school record in the 1600 to 5:14.06, which placed her fourteenth in the ultra competitive Group III race. Veeck’s time would have won Group II... Veeck’s next race will be at the freshman mile at The Nike Outdoor Nationals. .

“She is really starting to learn how to run the race. Unfortunately for
her, we have a loaded group. She’s done very well for someone who has only been running the event since January. Her splits were a lot better this week than last,” said Koegel.

Summarizing the current state of Scotch Plains Track and Field Koegel said,
“Doing well at this level is about having stars. We think a lot of our young athletes made progress towards reaching that level next year .”

2006 Scotch Plains Boys Sections

Fresh from completing their season against county competition with dominating victories in the Union County championships last Saturday at Hub Stine Field in Plainfield, the best team, Scotch Plains and the top distance runner,Westfield’s Jeffrey Perrella expand their horizons when they compete in the New Jersey State Group III Section II meet that begins today at Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield.

After romping through the dual meet portion of their season with a 5-0 record, the Raiders won their third team title in three weeks by scoring 96.5 points to outscore Rahway with 75. Their total is expected to grow when the final event, the long jump was completed earlier this week. A problem with the runway forced the cancellation.

With a jump of 20-5 in the trials, Raider junior Kyle Rowbotham is expected to add a fourth gold medal in the long jump to the trio he won Saturday. Rowbotham won the 110 high hurdles (14.6), 400 intermediate hurdles (56.5) and broke his own meet record in the triple jump (46-0.5).

The Raiders’ other superstar Mike Alleman added a first in the shot put and a second in the discus and the Raiders also swept the first two places in the pole vault to help erase the bad taste that their close loss to Union last year left.

“It feels great to win this meet. I’m very happy to be a triple winner,” said Rowbotham.
“I’m very tired. I did a lot today but that’s why we have long practices. It gets you ready for these type of meets.”

“We expected to win this meet but they don’t give you the title on paper. You have to go out and earn it and that’s what we did ,” said Coach Rich McGriff.

“We think we have enough top performers to continue to do well in the state meets the next two weekends.”

Rowbotham will face his toughest opponent this year in the sections when he faces Ben Copeland of Montgomery in the 400 meter hurdles. Copeland has run 53.4, while Rowbotham’s best is 55.3.

“I made a few mistakes in the intermediates, “said Rowbotham.

“I have been working on using thirteen steps between hurdles. It takes some getting used to but it will pay off with faster times.”

Rowbotham's high hurdles victory was followed by a third from Nehemiah Burney-Porter (14.8) and a fourth from Tom Pennella (15.2) giving the Raiders twenty points/

Max Carow (13-0) and Pennella (12-6) added eighteen more in the pole vault and Pennella added a sixth in the high jump. Burney-Porter added a fourth in the triple jump with a 42-5 ¾ effort

Alleman had a terrific meet throwing the shot put (55-8) and taking second in the discus in a personal best (148-9).

“This was easily the best discus series I have ever had ,” added Alleman.

“It was a shame to just come up short but I put four throws out over 148, which I had never done before.”

“The difference in Mike this year is he now comes to the big meets ready to compete. Mike gets up for the competition,” said weights coach Ken Hernandez..

John Badala added a fourth in the shot put with a 48-4 and Greg Brand and Joe Jacobi finished fourth and sixth in the javelin. The Raiders other points came from JZ Zinman fifth in the 3200 (10:07) and Adam Biner fourth in the mile (4:34.2).

Perrella and Tyler Maccubbin combined for 36 of Westfield’s 45 points as the Blue Devils finished tied for third. Maccubbin was second in the high jump(5-10) and Adam Bergo (5-8) added a fourth. Maccubbin was also second to Rowbotham in the 400 intermediate hurdles (57.2).

Perrella’s titles were his first two outdoors. A year ago he skipped the 3200 because of an ailing hamstring and finished second in the mile. Perrella’s 4:22.2 mile and 9:34.6 3200 were well off his best but Perrella is looking ahead to the next eleven days where he hopes to win five races.

“Compared with last year, I am in much better shape and better spirits. I have been strong and getting even stronger. In the mile at counties I had a plan and stuck to it, I was extremely pleased,” said Perrella.

“ In the 3200, it was entirely too windy to try and push the pace alone so I relaxed and tried to maintain a gap I was confident enough in my finish to rely on it to pull away.”

2006 Scotch Plains Girls Sections

A remarkable performance by Ridge Sophomore Josefine Kvist proved too much for the balance of Scotch Plains Fanwood in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group III girls meet held Friday and Saturday at Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield.

Kvist won four events and distance runner Nicol Trainor added another 18 as Ridge outscored the Raiders 74-61, who also trailed defending champ Montgomery, second with 64.33

Raiders’ Head Coach Jeff Koegel was aware of Kvist’s prowess before the meet and was not surprised by her achievement.

“Kvist is an animal. I knew she would score 40 points. We're lucky
that they only let you do four events in high school, because I'm sure
she could have won another three or four events,” said Koegel.

“There’s no way to counteract that unless you have a few very strong stars. Trainor added quite a bit of support in her three events.”

The Raiders used their “nickel and dime” modus operandi to stay in contention and like last year took their only gold medal in the concluding event, the four by 400 relay.

The quartet of Danielle Vena, Tina Olsson, Kate Johnson and Meaghan Kelly edged Montgomery by less than a second in 4:08.90, a time that was almost topped by Matawan from the second heat. Kelly had to hold off a determined effort by Montgomery anchor Kandi Givner, who defeated Kelly in the open 400. Kelly was passed at the 200 mark but came back to win with a strong kick in the final straight away for the second straight year.

“She ran it in strong, which is what we needed because the winning time in the unseeded section was very fast,” said Koegel.

Despite the victory the team’s time will only get them in the second heat, with nine other teams posting faster times.

“We'll be much faster this weekend We're going to hold Tina out of the 200 so she is fresh for the 4 x 400. That should knock at least two seconds off our time. We're
not ready to compete with the very top teams,” said Koegel...

As usual, the Raiders received tremendous efforts from their strong weight trio.
Sophomore Carlaya Jones advanced to her second straight state final by finishing second with a throw of 37-3. Junior Lauryn Adams uncorked a toss of 36-1 ¼ on her final chance to move up from seventh to third. Adams has added nine feet to her top throw a year ago. Adams added a fifth in the discus in a personal best 107-9.

The third of the Raiders’ excellent weight trio Erin Rossi did not qualify in either weight event but equaled her top pole vault this spring with a jump of 8-6 that tied her for third.

“She had been struggling with the pole vault and got it together quite a bit on Saturday. She'll be able to concentrate on that this week and get herself ready to go next weekend,” said Koegel.

Junior Natasha Celius, the school record holder, added a third in the triple jump with a 35-1 ¼ leap and Olsson added a third in the long jump with a 16-11 ¼ effort

Kelly was the top track performer, finishing third in the 400 meter intermediate hurdles (66.24) and sixth in the 400 meters (60.37).

“We won't be running her in the 400. She'll come back and anchor our 4 x 400 on Saturday. Ideally, I would like her to be in a situation where she can chase on her leg, which is how she runs best,” said Koegel.

Olsson added to her long jump and relay efforts with a fifth place 25.95 in the 200.”
“She has become one of our top athletes this year,” said Koegel.

Freshman Brittney Veeck and sophomore Bridget Cornwell both qualified in the 800 taking fifth and third respectively. Cornwell qualified for the second straight year and Veeck bounced back from the county meet to also qualify with a sixth place in a fast 1600 (5:16.83). Veeck, already the fastest freshman miler in school history has been making great strides this season under Koegel’s tutelage.

“She'll keep knocking time off as she gets more training under her belt and she gains more racing experience,” said Koegel.

Overall the Raiders will take ten girls to the state finals, while Ridge will only take four, but superstars frequently beat balanced teams at this level.

“I think we should have taken second. We had a number of disappointments as well. We are still young and will have everyone back except Meaghan,” said Koegel.

“Unfortunately, Ridge will have Kvist and Traynor back as well. “

2006 Scotch Plains Boys Union County Outdoor

Fresh from completing their season against county competition with dominating victories in the Union County championships last Saturday at Hub Stine Field in Plainfield, the best team, Scotch Plains and the top distance runner,Westfield’s Jeffrey Perrella expand their horizons when they compete in the New Jersey State Group III Section II meet that begins today at Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield.

After romping through the dual meet portion of their season with a 5-0 record, the Raiders won their third team title in three weeks by scoring 96.5 points to outscore Rahway with 75. Their total is expected to grow when the final event, the long jump was completed earlier this week. A problem with the runway forced the cancellation.

With a jump of 20-5 in the trials, Raider junior Kyle Rowbotham is expected to add a fourth gold medal in the long jump to the trio he won Saturday. Rowbotham won the 110 high hurdles (14.6), 400 intermediate hurdles (56.5) and broke his own meet record in the triple jump (46-0.5).

The Raiders’ other superstar Mike Alleman added a first in the shot put and a second in the discus and the Raiders also swept the first two places in the pole vault to help erase the bad taste that their close loss to Union last year left.

“It feels great to win this meet. I’m very happy to be a triple winner,” said Rowbotham.
“I’m very tired. I did a lot today but that’s why we have long practices. It gets you ready for these type of meets.”

“We expected to win this meet but they don’t give you the title on paper. You have to go out and earn it and that’s what we did ,” said Coach Rich McGriff.

“We think we have enough top performers to continue to do well in the state meets the next two weekends.”

Rowbotham will face his toughest opponent this year in the sections when he faces Ben Copeland of Montgomery in the 400 meter hurdles. Copeland has run 53.4, while Rowbotham’s best is 55.3.

“I made a few mistakes in the intermediates, “said Rowbotham.

“I have been working on using thirteen steps between hurdles. It takes some getting used to but it will pay off with faster times.”

Rowbotham's high hurdles victory was followed by a third from Nehemiah Burney-Porter (14.8) and a fourth from Tom Pennella (15.2) giving the Raiders twenty points/

Max Carow (13-0) and Pennella (12-6) added eighteen more in the pole vault and Pennella added a sixth in the high jump. Burney-Porter added a fourth in the triple jump with a 42-5 ¾ effort

Alleman had a terrific meet throwing the shot put (55-8) and taking second in the discus in a personal best (148-9).

“This was easily the best discus series I have ever had ,” added Alleman.

“It was a shame to just come up short but I put four throws out over 148, which I had never done before.”

“The difference in Mike this year is he now comes to the big meets ready to compete. Mike gets up for the competition,” said weights coach Ken Hernandez..

John Badala added a fourth in the shot put with a 48-4 and Greg Brand and Joe Jacobi finished fourth and sixth in the javelin. The Raiders other points came from JZ Zinman fifth in the 3200 (10:07) and Adam Biner fourth in the mile (4:34.2).

Perrella and Tyler Maccubbin combined for 36 of Westfield’s 45 points as the Blue Devils finished tied for third. Maccubbin was second in the high jump(5-10) and Adam Bergo (5-8) added a fourth. Maccubbin was also second to Rowbotham in the 400 intermediate hurdles (57.2).

Perrella’s titles were his first two outdoors. A year ago he skipped the 3200 because of an ailing hamstring and finished second in the mile. Perrella’s 4:22.2 mile and 9:34.6 3200 were well off his best but Perrella is looking ahead to the next eleven days where he hopes to win five races.

“Compared with last year, I am in much better shape and better spirits. I have been strong and getting even stronger. In the mile at counties I had a plan and stuck to it, I was extremely pleased,” said Perrella.

“ In the 3200, it was entirely too windy to try and push the pace alone so I relaxed and tried to maintain a gap I was confident enough in my finish to rely on it to pull away.”