| DyeStat |
| Track & Field |
| 1999 indoor |
New Jersey Millrose Trials
Boys: Camden 3:22.5, Lenape 3:23, Metuchen 3:23
Girls: Willingboro 3:59.8, Washington Twp 4:00.6
From: Edward J. Grant [[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 1999 7:18 PM
Subject: t-and-f: NJ Millrose Trials
Netters:
A funny thing happened on the way to the Millrose Games for some NJ
high school 1600R teams today at seton Hall. The trials, boys and girls, are held to qualify two teams each for
the races at madison Square Garden on Feb. 5. But, when the boys' action was over, we had three qualifiers--Camden at 3:22.5 and Lenape and Metuchen
both at 3:23.0. It remains to be seen how the dilemma will be resolved. The two(?) NJ teams go against similar duos from Long Island and the
Westchester-Rockland-Orange County area.
| Southern New Jersey scribe Reuben Frank reported on January 14 that Millrose Games director Howard Schmertz ruled that both Metuchen and Lenape will run in what will now be a 7-team boys final. |
The girls' trials anded on a more orthodox note.Willingboro won the seeded section in 3:59.8 with Washington Twp qualifying for the first time at 4:00.6.
The boys' trials have traditionally been run in an unseeded manner, a relic of the days when they were held on an outdoor track that was too narrow for more than two teams to run at a time. The system has never been changed and so the three contenders wound up in separate sections.
Lenape went first and got a 50.4 leadoff leg from Ali Cooper, a three-year veteran of the trials. Newcomers Harry Owens and Charles Nocera
ran 51.2 and 51.1 and veteran Mohamed Kanu---who is coming back this winter from a long injury bout, closed in 50.3.
Metuchen was next on the line. Dan Washington opened in 51.3 and freshman Dave Edgcomb ran 51.8. This put a lot of pressure on Jordan
Melograna---who occasionally ran with the Group I school's great 1997 team, which holds the state indoor record---and Steve Deppe. Melograna ran 50.9
and Deppe closed with a 49.1.
Camden, in the final section, had a 50.5 leadoff seon Sean brown and a 51.6 second leg from Tyree Jackson )(subbing for injured Anwar Moore). Then came frosh Jade Smith who clinched things with a 49.1 third leg. Veteran Danyne Brown closed in 51.4.
The other Camden school, Woodrow Wilson, didn't miss by much as it ran 3:24.2.
The girls, as noted, went head-to-head and it was a seesaw battle. Both teams ran with veteran lineups, in fact the same lineups which faced off in the AG race last spring. Latasha Taylor of Willingboro ran 59.1 to get the lead from Medea Ashton of WT on the first leg. Medea Ashton took the lead for WT on thesecond carre, but Takia Canty got it back by the passoff with a 60.5. It was the third leg that decided it as soph Danielle Myricks ran 60.6 to a 62.2 for Katie Connor of WT. Erin mcIntyre got some of this back with her 59.0 finale for WT, but Shakirah Rutherford's 59.7 was enough to give the 'Boro the win.
Buena was the third team in the race, but was too far back for Katrina Sye's 56.4 anchor to make any difference.
Newark Arts took third from the 2nd sction with a 4:05.6, ahead of
Buena's 4:06.0. Columbia, a regular in the Millrose meet for the past five years, finished last among the 10 entries at 4:12.6.
Ed Grant
