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. “