Brian Kopnicki

There must be something about the number three for Brian Kopnicki. In addition
to the number of syllables in his last name, many of the talented Scotch Plains
senior’s accomplishments have come in threes.

Two weeks ago he completed the county long distance Triple Crown when he won
3200 meters at the Union County championships, adding to the titles he won in
indoor track and cross country. This past week he set personal bests in three
distance events, running 1:57.0 for the 800, 4:17.51 in the 1600 and 9:32.39 in
the 3200. The latter two were done at the State Sectionals where Kopnicki
qualified in, you guessed it, three events for the state championships, which
start today. The third event was appropriately the triple jump, where Kopnicki
may be the only runner in the state to have qualified in such disparate events,
adding a fifth place last weekend to a first in the 3200 meters and a second in the 1600 meters.

Kopnicki’s performance helped the Raider boys to a fourth place finish in a reconstructed section that has added Central New Jersey powers like Phillipsburg, Franklin and Middletown South which grabbed the top three spots. The only other multiple event qualifier was junior Sean Smith who was third in the 400-meter hurdles and 6th in the 110-meter hurdles. Other Raider qualifiers included Iceberg Bryant(Long Jump), Tim Karis (Discus) and Max Karow (Pole Vault).

Always a talented distance runner, Kopnicki added the triple jump to his
repertoire last year.” I was watching some of the guys on the team do it and I
thought I could do it just as well or even better, “ recalled Kopnicki,
“ This year at the Westfield dual meet I think we were down by a few points
going into the last three events one of which being the triple jump, and I saw
(Had TrackCoach) Rich McGriff trying to teach a kid how to triple jump so I
offered to do it. I ended up winning that day so I kept with it..”

Kopnicki’s coach, Jeff Koegel, an elite distance runner in high school and
college, is mixed about the third event. “Overall I'm not that big on it. I
don't know if I will let him do it this weekend, as he is only seeded 18th. He
is very good at it however. We're not looking to win Group III, so we need to
make sure the focus is on the 1600 and 3200 ,” said Koegel.

Kopnicki’s 800 was as anchor for a sprint medley team at the Eastern Relays on
Monday at Morristown where he brought the team from far back to nearly
medalling. In the 1600 last Friday he pushed Phillipsburg’s Josh Davis to a new sectional record, which Kopnicki also was under.

“Unfortunately, Brian gave Davis too much respect on the third lap. Brian came after
him hard on the last lap, running 62.6 to Davis' 63.6. Brian missed him by 0.25
seconds (4:17.26 to 4:17.51). It may have been a different outcome had Brian
stayed on him on the third 400 , “ said Koegel.


On Saturday Kopnicki exacted revenge on Davis, pulling away in the final 800 to easily win the 3200. Kopnicki was fresher than Davis who had run the 800 earlier in the day. “We knew then that the 3200 was Brian's to win, but that Davis would still give him a good run. Brian and Davis separated themselves again, going through 1600 in 4:46.3. They slowed down drastically after that, as neither one wanted to take the lead. They started running a few 75 second quarters, which is way too slow. I think Davis' plan was to try to turn it into a kicking duel,” said Koegel.

“ Brian forced the pace a little bit with two laps to go, and with about 275 meters to go, he took off on Davis, running the last 400 in 63.0. He ran the last 275 about nine seconds faster that Davis. He finished in 9:32.39, a nine second PR. He has the potential to run at least 10 seconds faster if he pushes laps 5-6-7 ,” added Koegel.

“I definitely think I can get into the low 9:20s in the 3200., “ said Kopnicki.
“Qualifying for the Outdoor Meet of Champions would be great.” Kopnicki added that he is most proud of his 1600 time because he can go much faster in the 3200.

His triple jumping ability may make Kopnicki a natural for an event that combines long distance endurance with jumping agility, the 3000 meter steeplechase. “He definitely has a future in the steeplechase,” said Koegel.
“ He has gone over hurdles in practice while we were running
cooldowns and recoveries, and he has excellent form. “

“Yeah I actually have it looks like a lot of fun, and a good challenge. It would definitely be interesting to try it out ,” said Kopnicki. And it starts with the right number,3.