BY JIM LAMBERT

May 29, 2009 - Kevin Steimle of Mahwah got the state record he had been chasing all season in the javelin and Vicky Caruso of Wallkill Valley continued her remarkable comeback by scoring a victory on the first day of the NJSIAA/Star-Ledger group championships yesterday at Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield.

Steimle’s day did not start off as if it would be anything special, but it sure ended that way when the Mawah senior came up with a mammoth launch of 209-5 on his first attempt in the Group 2 final to break the meet and state records.

Steimle’s record toss of 209-5 is No. 9 in the nation this season and broke the meet and state records with the new javelin (it has been used since 2003). The former state mark of 206-11 was set in 2005 by Erik Heymann of Westwood.

``All season I’ve been thinking about 207 and getting that record,’’ the Lehigh-bound Steimle said. ``And when I let it go I knew it was out there. It just kept going and going. It was an incredible feeling when they paused and then said 209-5.’’

Steimle, who came into the meet as the state’s leader this season with the 200-6 he threw at last Tuesday’s Bergen County Meet of Champions, was struggling to find his technique in the trials as he had a 179-4, a foul and a 179-0.

But in the warmups before the final, that all changed.

``I threw a warmup 190, so I knew I was ready for something pretty big,’’ Steimle said.

Caruso, a senior, thought there was a chance she might not run again after rupturing an Achilles tendon and breaking her collarbone while running in the 100 dash at the North Jersey, Section 1 meet in Mahwah last May.

But she worked through a long and difficult rehabilitation and returned to the track this year and was understandably excited after winning the Group 2 100 in 12.32. She also finished second in the 400 in 56.18.

Caruso won the 200 and 400 at the state Group 2 meet as sophomore.

``There was a time when I first got hurt that I wondered if I could make it back,’’ said Caruso, who had to hustle after the meet to get to her prom. ``But I worked hard to prove people wrong.’’

Caruso did not get a good start in the 100.

``I was behind right away, but I told myself I had to catch up and that I just had to win,’’ Caruso said. ``I can’t tell you the feeling I had crossing the line and being a state champion again. It was an incredible moment for me.’’

There were a number of other remarkable performances turned in.

The Cranford girls' program, which had not had a state champion since 1999, earned two titles.

Junior Kelly Burke won the pole vault when she cleared 12-0 to break her own Union County record and defeat Nicole Pompei of Hanover Park, the 2008 Meet of Champions winner, on misses. Then, sophomore Natalie Englese used a big burst at the 200 mark to break away from Caruso and the rest of the 400 field to win in a personal-best 56.18.

Englese was expecting a duel to the finish with Caruso.

``There were a bunch of us{} together at 200 and then I really tried to start kicking hard and then at 300 there was no one there anymore,’’ Englese said. ``I’m kind of shocked by how the race went, but I’m obviously very happy.’’

Englese will be running the 200 and 4x400 today as she and Burke try to lead Cranford to its first state team title.

In the girls' Group 3 1,600, Lanie Thompson of  Voorhees passed Ajee’ Wilson of Neptune with 60 meters left to win her third straight group title in the event with a meet-record 4:50.40. Wilson was second in 4:52.03, just off the state freshman record (4:51.4 by Southern’s Jill Smith in 2006) as six girls broke 4:59.

Wilson grabbed the lead with 300 to go and Thompson went right with her.

``She made a gutsy move and I stayed right with her and waited as long as I could before going by her,’’ Thompson said. ``I’m glad I’m graduating this year so I don’t have to race her anymore. You don’t see talented freshman like that very often.’’

Thompson, the M of C winner in the 3,200 last year, is skipping that race in hopes of running a fast 800 today.

In the Group 3 boys’ 1,600, Liam Tansey of Morris Hills in Rockaway ripped a 58.1 last 400 to run away with the four-lap race in 4:14.66 and a record eight runners dropped below 4:20.

Nick Vena of Morristown, known for his shot put dominace (he owns the state record of 72-2½), is now a major threat to win the discus at the M of C as well after he unloaded a 180-11 on his final attempt to take the Group 3 title. Vena defeated the state season leader, Matt Huckabee of Timber Creek, second with a 161-10. Huckabee won the Penn Relays title with a 182-11.

``This opens up lots of options,’’ said Vena, whose previous best was 173-0. ``Since I only work on the discus once a week, there’s room for lots of improvement.’’

Azudei DuBois of Irvington came with the most clutch performance of her career when the senior soared a personal-best 18-0 on her final attempt to win the Group 3 long jump.

DuBois, in fourth place before her last attempt, is just the second girl from Irvington to win a state title. Tosca Blandford won the Group 4 100 hurdles in 1982.

``To win a state title on my last try is pretty awesome,’’ DuBois said. ``My coach told me not to look down at the board and just get up and that’s what I did. Then when I heard them say 18-0, I just screamed as loud as I could. This is something I’ll never forget.’’