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NJ All-Group
All Group Championships
results by Elite Timing
Ed Grant's Report
Netters: The New jersey all-group high school meet on Sunday at Jadwin Gym was a day principally devoted to "resurrection" stories and some memorable performances by our younger athletes.
There were three major comeback stories: Anthony Davis of Plainfield in the boys' 55M, brian Boyett of Parsippany Hills in the boys' 3200 and Shannon Hawrylo of Hunterdon central in the girls' 1600.
Davis has been potentially the top sprinter in the state since his sohomore year, but has been held back by a injuries and a propensity for false starts when he was healthy, so this was his first AG victory. And he almost missed thius race, slipping at the start of his Gr. III event a week earlier, but recovering to win that race as well.
On Sunday, it was no sweat as he was out like a rocket and sone by a clear yard from junior Danny Johnson of Rahway in 6.42, excllent time without spikes on the hard Jadwin rubber surface.
Boyett had cone into high school two years much heralded for his junior running career, but a series of injuries, beginning with the Gr. III CC race in his sophomore year, had almost destroyed his career. He had been running well this winter, however, and was among the favorites for either the 1600 or 3200 going into the state meet.
However, on Sunday, the pick for the race was Walton Kingsbery of red Bank, who had the fastest qualifying time for the group meet and had run some 30 seconds faster than Brian two weeks ago. As it turned out, this was not Walton's day and it was CC AG champ Brian kerwin of CBA who would give Brian the most trouble. Miday through the race, though, Boyett broke away from the pack and stayed well ahead until the finish in 9:22.99. (Brian was coached in grammar school by Charlie Kane, who a generation ago, had produced some excellent distance runners at little Bayley-Ellard HS, the best being two-time AG champ Ann Gladue.)
Hawrylo had had a great freshman campaign two years ago, but slumped off last year and was up and down this winter. She is, like the missing Erin Donohue, a sturdily built young lady who was touted to me as an excellent pole vault prospect last winter (her school is No. 1 in the girls' event). Thankfully, she has stayed with ruinning and it paid off Sunday with a 5:11.07 win over Kim pereira of Parsippany, another junior. Lindsey Gallo of Howell, our top active miler going into the winter season, had her best race since recovering from an early-season illness, placing 3rd in 5:15.56.
The youth movement was led by our three soph phenoms, shot-putter Glen DiGiorgio of Bayonne, hurdler Alethia Jenkins of Pennsauken and 400-meter star Tawana Watkins of Paterson kennedy, and freshman sprinter Takara Wilks of Lincoln of Jersey City.
DiGiorgio raised his state indoor soph record to 60-5 1/2 as he turned back Dave O'Rourke of Freehold Boro and Dorian Scott of Seton Hall Prep. Glen is well ahead of brother Kevin at the same stage of his career and will have a clear shot at every SP and DT title once the present senior class graduates. No boy has ever won three AG titles in the SP in our state, either indoors or out.
Watkins demolished the 400 field with an indoor PR of 57.16, great time minus spikes at Jadwin. Her "real" event comes outdoors, the 400H, where she broke 1:00 as a frosh last year and where she should break an almost 20-year-old state record before she graduates in 2002.
Jenkins, who is about 6-0 tall, should get under 8.00 in the 55H once she laces spikes on for the Easterns and Nationals. She ran 8.21 on Sunday, but was still pressed by our great all-arounder, Amber Williams of Roxbury, and Kiera Underwood of Elizabeth, who tied for 2nd at 8.29. Alethia then came back within 10 minutes to placed 4th in a tough 55M in 7.36.
Wilks was totally unknown until she won the Gr. III 55 two weeks ago. On Sunday, she defeated another newcomer, junior Camille Campbell of Carteret, and the veteran Chantel Coppedge of Montclair (the 4th girl on those great 400R teams with the Barber twins and Aleah Williams) in 7.23. (She has a hand-time of 7.1 with spikes at the NY Armory, but will run her first AT race there at the Easterns).
Mohamed Kanu of Lenape was the lone double gold medalist of the meet, winning the boys' 400 in 50.18 and anchoring a 3:24.5 win over Camden in the 1600R. Josh Kauke of Ridgewood added the indoor 800 title to his 1999 outdoor crown in 1:57.42. Miguel Jones of Hillsboro, who barely qualified in the 1600 at the gr. IV meet (the race ws the 3rd in a triple that day) outlceaned Colin brown of Columbia in the 1600 in 4:23.01 and Chris Stephens gave Plainfield a second win when he just beat Herb Reid of Lenape as both clocked 7.61 in the 55H (Favored Nick Garrett of Saddle Brook was sidelined with a injury).
As already noted in another post, Paul Klemic of Mainland took the HJ at 6-10 to complete a bigf HS/college weekend for his family.
In the other girls' races, junior Courtney McCrudden of Eastern reversed a Gr. IV loss to Tara DeBrielle of Overbrook in the 800 in 2:17.5, junior Kris Meyer of Hillsboro took the 3200 in 11:08.50 and Trenton's young team came out of an unseeded section to win the 1600R in 4:01.08.
Nacole Moore of Bridgeton moved to No. 3 on the all-time indoor NJ list in the SP with a 45-3 effort and Patty Dudek of Bordentown scored a big upset in the HJ the hard way, clearing 5-6, but then enduring a long jumpoff with Jen White of Manalapan to cinch her gold medal.
Ed Grant
