2005 Scotch Plains Girls Outdoor Track Preview

On a cold and blustery early March Sunday afternoon a solitary figure was on the far side of the Scotch Plains Fanwood High School track with a snow shovel, chipping away the ice so his team could practice the next day. Girls Track coach Jeff Koegel was just doing what was necessary to ensure a good practice the next day.

“I don't do those kinds of things for attention- they're just things that need
to get done ,” said Koegel.

“We were doing long intervals that Monday, and we needed to be able
to get all the way around the track. We run consistent pace efforts in
practice, so I couldn't be dealing with having to slow down and tip-toe
for 50 meters because there were three inches of ice on the track.”

Like their coach the Raider Girls continue to chip away at becoming a consistent power and with almost all of their key talent returning , Koegel is hoping they can break the ice and win the Union County title that barely eluded them last year. The team also finished second in the conference behind powerful Westfield. The Blue Devils also handed the Raiders their only dual meet loss in three contests.

While they have good team balance, the Raiders’ greatest strength appears to be in the jumps where they return defending champions senior Michelle Regg in the triple jump and sophomore Amanda Bobyack in the long jump and Kate Zaleski who was second in the pole vault.

The Raiders are also deep in the middle distance events led by versatile sophomore Samantha Gates and senior distance runner Mary Shashaty. While Gates can excel at any event from the 100 through the 1600, Koegel has enough distance depth from his undefeated cross country team to move Gates to the shorter races, where she will join versatile junior Meaghan Kelly, Bobyack and Danielle Vena to form a strong group.

In addition to Shashaty, whose best event is the 3200, the Raiders also feature seniors Laura Harrison and Liz Elko, sophomores Sam Carow and Allie Hoynes-O’Connor in the longer races and freshmen Kate Johnson and Cassie Valdes in the 800. Koegel is hopeful that last year’s freshman sensation Kim Appezzato can return from an injury to contribute in the 400 and 800. Appezzato along with Harrison and Shashaty ran on a four by 800 relay team that broke the school record last year and qualified for the Penn Relays. Shashaty was second in the county in the 3200 last year and Koegel expects her to qualify for the Meet of Champions. Shashaty, Elko ,Harrison, Gates, Hoynes-O’Connor and Carow were all key performers when the SPF cross country team broke through to win the 2004 Union County title.

Kelly and Regg will continue to be two of the most valuable athletes on the team, competing in the hurdles and relays as well as the jumps. Carly Wells and Kat Berka are the leaders in the shot put, discus and javelin. Regg also throws the javelin when needed as a third person on relay teams.

Koegel and McGriff are enthusiastic about a good turnout but say it is too early to tell who will contribute. It should be noted that a year ago at this time Bobyack barely surfaced on the long jump depth chart but exceeded her personal best by over a foot in winning the county meet.

“The key to the success of our girls' team this season is getting them to realize what it takes to be great ,” said Koegel.
“It isn't just showing up at practice and going through the workouts. It is an everyday commitment to doing what it takes to succeed .

“We have more talent on the girls' team probably than we ever have had, but having all of the talent in the world isn't enough if you don't do anything with it.”

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2005 Scotch Plains Boys Outdoor Track Preview

The ability of coaches Jeff Koegel and Rich McGriff to develop new talent to replace graduation losses goes a long way to explain why the Scotch Plains Boy’s track team begins the 2005 season with a gaudy 22 year unbeaten streak in dual meets.

Sean Smith, one half of the Raiders’ dynamic duo last year returns to lead the team where the biggest challenge will be how to replace graduated distance star Brian Kopnicki.

Kopnicki was the top runner in the distance events and in an unusual twist, the triple jump, where he was conference champion and placed in almost every meet. Smith was the county champ in the high jump, second in the 400 intermediate hurdles and was also the Raiders’ best high hurdler, javelin thrower and 400 meter runner. They won six events between them, pacing the Raiders to their 13th conference title in the last 14 years.

“You can't just replace someone who has run 1:57 and 4:17. He was the fastest kid I have ever coached from 800 through 3200,” said Koegel of Kopnicki , who now runs for college of New Jersey. Koegel is hoping that junior Josh (JZ) Zinman can follow through on a strong indoor season.

“JZ really started to develop this winter, running 4:44 indoors, which was a PR
for him ,” said Koegel. Sophomore Adam Biner, currently injured, and sophomore swimming star Mike Miller should give the Raiders a strong threesome. Miller was the top cross country runner last fall and Koegel is hoping he can run under 2:00 in the 800 and 4:30 in the 1600.

Koegel is hoping that sophomore middle distance runner Kyle Rowbotham
can duplicate Kopnicki’s triple jump success this year.

“Rich (McGriff) taught Kyle how to triple jump this winter, and he has already jumped as far as Kopnicki,” said Koegel.

“The triple jump is a place we feel we can get a lot of points, as most teams don't have a
coach who is as knowledgeable in the event.”

Smith, while again specializing in the hurdles, high jump and javelin, will have his relay schedule curtailed by injuries to hurdler James Alfano and jumper Iceberg Bryant.

In addition to Smith in the javelin, the Raiders will also be deep and talented in the other weight events with senior Ted Acosta, sophomore John Badala and freshman Mike Alleman, who combined to win the Union County Shot Put Relay title indoors. The trio will compete with football and wrestling standout Marc Fabiano, who returns to defend his conference title in the discus.

The Raiders should excel in the pole vault with junior Max Carow and sophomore Tom Pennella ,who both jumped over 12 feet last spring and should both comfortably clear 13 feet.

“I think our pole vault program has come a long way in the past year, and Pete Kane (SPFHS '98, 15'0" vaulter at TCNJ) has done a phenomenal job with them ,” said Koegel.

The four by 400 relay should also be improved with Rowbotham, Smith and twins Tom and Rob Ventura, who are also the leading sprinters.

Koegel is hoping there is enough depth to enable the Raiders to extend the dual meet streak another year.

“Westfield and Cranford are strong teams, and we have a crossover meet at home against Union this year. It will be a test, but our boys have a lot of pride,” said Koegel.

“It has always been important to the boys that have been on the team in the past that they have graduated without ending the streak. “.


“He is, however, very competitive in the conference in that event, so if we're going to take him out of the javelin, we have to find someone else who can fill the points we'll lose there in the dual meets and the conference meet. We know he'll definitely be hurdling and high jumping, but everything else is up in the air ,” added Koegel.