Delsea takes Group 3 title despite no first-place finishers

Melton Diggs knew that Delsea's hopes of winning a second straight NJSIAA Group 3 boys' sectional track and field championship rested with him as he came down the final straightaway in yesterday's 200-meter race at Buena.

"I had to step up big in the 200 and take at least a second," said the Crusaders senior. "I came down the straightaway and with 40 meters to go I was in fourth. I knew I had to get at least a second, so I dug deep."

Diggs placed second in the race in 22.10 seconds to help Delsea (75 points) edge out Camden (73) for the team title. After the 200, Delsea needed to place one position behind Camden in the 4x400 relay to clinch the championship, and the Crusaders' team of Terrence Burns, Udochi Okoro, Ryan Doyle and Aaron Younger responded with a second-place finish behind the Panthers, who won in 3 minutes, 20.75 seconds. Delsea ran a 3:24.03.

The Crusaders did not win any events yesterday, but their depth paid off. Freddie Lavan placed second in the javelin (169 feet, 3 inches), and teammate Colton Gemenden followed in third (160-5). Younger, who won the 400 meters and 400 hurdles on Friday, had a fourth in the 110 hurdles (15.24) while Randy Staub added a fourth in the discus (136-2).

"Coach [Ron Flaim] told us two weeks before sectionals that the seniors that want it the most will win it," Diggs said. "We got that in our mind. We felt if we took this into our [hands], we could win this thing, and we did that both days."

Diggs said the Delsea 4x400 team members did not know how close the standings were when they ran the final race.

"Coach told me, 'If we take second we can win,' " Diggs said. "But he told me not to tell them anything because they wouldn't relax."

In Group 2, Pleasantville (87 points) won its first crown since 1999, holding off Cinnaminson and Bridgeton (each with 72). Kenneth Davis led the Greyhounds with a gold in the 110 hurdles (14.77) and a leg on the second-place 4x400 relay team. Alan Laws Jr. (800) and Na'Im Lyons (high jump) added seconds. Laws, Alex Best and Duke Mack joined Davis on the relay squad.

"Everybody worked real hard for this, and we did what we had to do," Davis said. "We're shooting for the state crown next week. It's just going to take us staying focused and working hard."

Kingsway's girls, who had 85 points to outdistance pre-meet favorite Woodrow Wilson (68), won their first crown in Group 3. The Dragons last won a Group 2 title in 1992.

The key points yesterday came in a surprise 1-2 finish in the long jump by senior Michelle Carrocino (17-5) and sophomore Jessica Gerald (16-2). Overall, Kingsway's top scorer was senior thrower Tessie Allan, who won the shot put with a heave of 41-103/4. Allan also won the discus on Friday.

"We knew we were good," said Allan who is headed to Brown University. "We were kind of upset we weren't getting any recognition. We've been undefeated, and this just adds to it.

"We did everything we had to in the field. Jessica Gerald got a key second in the long jump, and our runners always do a great job. It just all came together."

Haddonfield claimed its second straight Group 2 girls' title and its fifth in seven years by scoring 108 points. Rival Haddon Heights was second with 87, getting 30 individual points from senior Jamie Walker (golds in long jump and 200 yesterday and 100 meters Friday as well as leg on third-place 4x400 relay).

Haddonfield dominated most in the distance events as Jackie Sikkema (11:56.35) and Lizzy Sikkema (11:57.15) went 1-2 in the 3,200, and Marielle Hall won the 800 (2:21.68). Hall, Greta Feldman, Kathleen Jordan and Kirsten King teamed to win the 4x400 relay in 4:04.47.

"This team really deserved to win the championships," said senior King, who on Friday won the 400 meters. "Especially after the [Colonial Conference] all-star meet, when Haddon Heights beat us in the 4x400.

"We came back strong and showed them that this is a team you're going to have to work to beat. This gold in the 4x400 sealed it. It boosts our morale going into states."

The Results

Boys

Group 2

Team Scoring: 1, Pleasantville 87 points. 2, Cinnaminson & Bridgeton 72. 4, Schalick 61. 5, Burlington Township 48. 6, Manchester Township 22. 7, Stering 21. 8, Point Pleasant Boro & Delran 15. 10, Haddon Heights 12.

200 meters: 1, Kashif Moore, Burlington Township, 22.02.

2, Stephen Fourtune, Bridgeton, 22.33. 3, Andrew Dunbar, Manchester Township, 22.78. 4, Calif Crawford, Burlington Township, 23.0. 5, Jeremy Simkins, Schalick, 23.10. 6, Kerry Dunbar, Pleasantville, 23.15.

800: 1, Matt Poskus, Cinnaminson, 1:54.92. 2, Alan Laws, Jr., Pleasantville, 1:55.43. 3, Duke Mack, Pleasantville, 1:56.07.

4, Brian Tetreault, Cinnaminson, 1:56.61. 5, Jamar Mack, Bridgeton, 1:57.35. 6, Alex Best, Pleasantville, 1:58.89.

3,200: 1, Matt Poskus, Cinnaminson, 9:54.07. 2, Christopher Poss, Manchester Township, 9:57.01. 3, Josh Black, Haddon Heights, 9:58.01. 4, Erik Hinrichsen, Haddonfield, 10:3.83.

5, Colin Baker, Haddonfield, 10:05.53. 6, Jonathan Vitez, Haddonfield, 10:07.62.

4x400 relay: 1, Burlington Township (Justin Morris, David Lindabury, Will Martin, Kashif Moore) 3:23.19. 2. Pleasantville, 3:23.70 3, Sterling, 3:26.36. 4, Bridgeton, 3:31.58. 5, Haddon Heights, 3:32.31. 6, Cinnaminson, 3:32.83.

110 hurdles: 1, Kenneth Davis, Pleasantville, 14.77. 2, Jeremy Simkins, Schalick, 14.80. 3, Justin Brown, Sterling, 14.88.

4, Joseph Bunton, Bridgeton, 15.54. 5, Dan Cintron, Barnegat, 15.56. 6, Adrian Campbell, Pleasantville, 15.65.

High jump: 1, Joseph Bunton, Bridgeton, 6-6. 2, Na'Im Lyons, Pleasantville, 6-4. 3, Matt Kates, Schalick, 6-4. 4, Kevin Knox, Glassboro, 6-2. 5, Ken Wise, Haddon Township, 6-2. 6, Cameron Aregood, Gateway, 6-2.

Triple jump: 1, Matt Kates, Schalick, 41-101/4. 2, Andrew Badger, Schalick, 41-71/4. 3, Raymond Wilson, Pleasantville, 41-4.

4, Richard Gregory, Pleasantville, 40-4 1/2. 5, Brandon Bourne, Delran, 40-41/4. 6, Robert Stowe, Point Pleasant Boro, 40-31/2.

Pole vault: 1, Brady Halligan, Delran, 12-6. 2, Jay Minchak, Gateway, 12-0. 3, William Lees, Sterling, 11-6. 4, Adam Diekewicz, Glassboro, 11-6. 5 (tie), Brian Lohan, Haddon Township, & Jay Miller, Haddon Heights, & Walter Kuzma, Haddon Heights, 11-0.

Discus: 1, Steve Hague, Buena, 164-7. 2, Justin Embler, Cinnaminson, 143-7. 3, Arnett Pointer, Overbrook, 142-11.4, Michael Sperduti, Point Pleasant Boro, 141-7. 5, Matt Hoffman, Burlington Township, 135-11. 6, Ryan Gaven, Delran, 133-11.

Javelin: 1, Elisio DePrinzio, Audubon, 175-2. 2, Dan Ennis, Cinnaminson, 167-4. 3, Edward Cisrow, Bridgeton, 163-6. 4, Tim Hagerty, Glassboro, 162-4. 5, James Kennedy, Delran, 161-4. 6, Andrew Badger, Schalick, 154-0.

Group 3

Team Scoring: 1, Delsea 75 ponts. 2, Camden 73. 3, Highland 53. 4, Kingsway 48. 5, Ocean City 30. 6, West Deptford 28. 7, Seneca 24. 8, Woodrow Wilson 22. 9, Central Regional & Shawnee & Cumberland & Clearview 19.

200 meters: 1, Robert Page, Kingsway, 21.81. 2, Melton Diggs, Delsea, 22.10. 3, Charles Waugh, Camden, 22.11. 4, Sherman Goree, Camden, 22.13. 5, Jimmy Owens, West Deptford, 22.25. 6, Freddie Lavan, Delsea, 22.50.

800: 1, Casey Pinckney, Camden, 1:57.43. 2, Ryan Birchmeier, Ocean City, 1:58.90. 3, Josh Clark, Seneca, 1:59.81. 4, Jonathan McFaul, Deptford, 2:00.95. 5, Ian Boyle, Shawnee, 2:01.05. 6, Tom Starner, Triton, 2:01.97.

3,200: 1, Brett Johnson, Ocean City, 9:51. 2, Mark Hopely, Kingsway, 9:57.52. 3, Dave Forward, Shawnee, 10:00.30. 4, Kyle Gorczynski, Highland, 10:05.16. 5, John Fennekohl, Ocean City, 10:07.97. 6, John Caffarelli, Highland, 10:15.26.

4x400 relay: 1, Camden (Casey Pinckney Sherman Goree, Kadeer Lone, Terry Alston) 3:20.75. 2, Delsea, 3:24.03. 3, Woodrow Wilson, 3:31.75. 4, Seneca, 3:32.65. 5, Timber Creek, 3:32.65. 6, Kngsway, 3:36.14.

110 hurdles: 1, Jamelle Ross, Clearview, 14.86. 2, Matt Marshall, Camden, 14.88. 3, Ryan Zanca, Seneca, 15.19. 4, Aaron Younger, Delsea, 15.24. 5, Steve Mitchell, West Deptford, 15.41. 6, Gregory Sapp, Cumberland, 15.43.

High jump: 1, Mitch Witcher, Highland, 6-4. 2, Tyree Leonard, Pemberton, 6-2. 3, RJ Holmes, Kingsway, 6-0. 4, Terry Pratt, Kingsway, 5-10. 5, Patrick Dolan, Clearview, 5-10. 6, Harold Scott, Lower Cape May, 5-10

Triple jump: 1, Rhodnei Spence, Woodrow Wilson, 43-2. 2, Anthony Brown, Highland, 42-4¼. 3, Robert Page, Kingsway, 42-2¼. 4, Ameer Waugh, Camden, 41-11. 5, Eric Smth, Timber Creek, 41-2. 6, Alexis Alfonzo, Lower Cape May, 40-10¼.

Pole vault: 1, Dan Batdorf, West Deptford, 14-0. 2, Eddie Zubryzcki, Highland, 12-6. 3, Jake Arnold, Timber Creek, 12-6. 4, Matt Rawlik, Triton, 12-0. 5, Ethan Robinson, Timber Creek, 12-0. 6, Robert Kirsten, Shawnee, 12-0.

Discus: 1, James Plummer, Central Regional, 154-9. 2, Michael Daniels, Highland, 140-8. 3, Ryan Wirth, Shawnee, 139-6. 4, Randy Staub, Delsea, 136-2. 5, Kevin Hebron, Middle Township, 135-4. 6, Kyle Shepherd, Central Regional, 135-0.

Javelin: 1, Andrew Pierce, Cumberland, 181-7. 2, Freddie Lavan, Delsea, 169-3. 3, Colton Gemenden, Delsea, 160-5. 4, Thgomas Wright, Deptford, 159-2. 5, Andrew Waer, Highland, 158-4. 6, Chris Johnston, Triton, 155-9.

Girls

Group 2

Team Scoring: 1, Haddonfield 108 points. 2, Haddon Heights 87. 3, Pleasantville 42. 4, Burlington Township 39. 5, Bridgeton 37.

6, Buena 32. 7, Glassboro 25. 8, Barnegat 24. 9, Schalick 22. 10, Cinnaminson 18.

200 meters: 1, Jamie Walker, Haddon Heights, 25.52 seconds 2, Sylvia Mosley, Buena, 26.18. 3, Ashley Dunbar, Manchester Township, 26.20. 4, Kirsten King, Haddonfield, 26.38. 5, Dionna Martin, Burlington Township, 26.67. 6, Maurissa Miller, Pleasantville, 26.85.

800: 1, Marielle Hall, Haddonfield, 2:21.68. 2, Devin Seelman, Buena, 2:25.48. 3, Angela Curry, Delran, 2:26.16. 4, Lindsay Ray, Barnegat, 2:26.17. 5, Bria Altieri, Haddonfield, 2:26.74. 6, Jacky Sikkema, Haddonfield, 2:27.03.

3,200: 1, Jackie Sikkema, Haddonfield, 11:56.35. 2, Lizzy Sikkema, Haddonfield, 11:57.15. 3, Jennifer Nelson, Barnegat, 12;03.42. 4, Emily Bresnahan, Cinnaminson, 12:06.02. 5, Eileen O'Mara, Haddon Township, 12:14.41. 6, Lisa Borsellino, Haddon Heights, 12:19.34.

4x400 relay: 1, Haddonfield (Greta Feldman, Marielle Hall, Kathleen Jordan, Kirsten King) 4:04.47. 2, Pleasantville, 4:08.64. 3, Haddon Heights, 4:10.86. 4, Buena, 4:12.05. 5, Burlington Township, 4:18.98. 6, Sterling, 4:20.48.

100 hurdles: 1, Alyssa Collazo, Burlington Township, 15.28.

2, Erica Bell, Haddon Heights, 15.65. 3, Dominique Best, Pleasantville, 15.81. 4, Melissa Dunckley, Schalick, 15.86. 5, Nyazia Davis, Burlington Township, 15.98. 6, Linda Williams, Schalick, 15.99.

Long jump: 1, Jamie Walker, Haddon Heights, 17-61/2.

2, Dominique Best, Pleasantville, 17-2. 3, Jenna Niedermayer, Cinnaminson, 15-10. 4, Lashawn Redding, Bridgeton, 15-71/4.

5, Tiana Cuttino, Delran, 15-61/2. 6, Nicolette Stratton, Sterling, 14-8.

Shot put: 1, Shamira Rothmiller, Glassboro, 41-11/2. 2, Sophia Coleburn, Haddon Heights, 39-4 3/4. 3, Adrian Mobley, Pleasantville, 38-2. 4, Jacquanda Pierce, Bridgeton, 36-5.

5, Simohn Miller, Glassboro, 34-103/4. 6, Cailin Mahan, Delran, 34-41/2.

Group 3

Team Scoring: 1, Kingsway 85 points. 2, Woodrow Wilson 68.

3, Delsea & Seneca 65. 5, Camden 56. 6, Deptford 30. 7, Central Regional 21. 8, Ocean City 19. 9, Pemberton & Shawnee 14.

200: 1, Audrey Wilson, Deptford, 24.24 seconds. 2, Famatta Lewis, Woodrow Wilson, 24.91. 3, Assante Johnson, Camden, 25.06. 4, Tamara Jones, Woodrow Wilson, 25.60. 5, Michelle Brown, Seneca, 25.66. 6, Jamie Jones, Camden, 25.72.

800: 1, Keri Brown, Seneca, 2:19.22. 2, Mary Bohi, Seneca, 2:19.43. 3, Ashley Deckert, Delsea, 2:21.43. 4, Brittney Bisceglia, Delsea, 2:22.49. 5, Anna Ceniccola, Ocean City, 2:22.83.

6, Elizabeth Locke, Kingsway, 2:24.36.

3,200: 1, Amanda Goetschius, Delsea, 10:50.14. 2, Chelsea Ley, Kingsway, 10:58.73. 3, Morgan Panzenhagen, Shawnee, 11:53.31. 4, Megan Short, Timber Creek, 11:55.99. 5, Gabi Prendergast, Highland, 11:56.83. 6, Meghan Gauntt, Kingsway, 12:05.49.

4x400 relay: 1, Camden (Miriam Boyd, Jamie Jones, Assante Johnson, Kamice Smalls) 3:56.88. 2, Woodrow Wilson, 4:03.60. 3, Seneca, 4:07.46. 4, Ocean City, 4:07.61. 5, Kinsway, 4:09.01. 6, Clearview, 4:09.18.

100 hurdles: 1, Samantha Sharper, Woodrow Wilson, 14.92.

2, Kamice Smalls, Camden, 14.94. 3, Gabbie Ciampoli, Central Regional, 15.43. 4, Melanie Lawson, Kingsway, 15.52. 5, Melissa Terwilliger, Ocean City, 16.62. 6, Jessica Donoghue, Seneca, 16.73.

Long jump: 1, Michelle Carrocino, Kingsway, 17-5. 2, Jessica Gerald, Kingsway, 16-2. 3, Brittney, Central Regional, 16-1.

4, Chandra Barr, Delsea, 15-8. 5, Lauren Kilson, Clearview, 15-73/4. 6, Shaquanda Gainey, Camden, 15-33/4.

Shot put: 1, Tessie Allan, Kingsway, 41-103/4. 2, Shanna Campbell, Pemberton, 40-3. 3, Jessica Lamonaco, Triton, 33-21/2. 4, Jessica Acholonu, Timber Creek, 32-101/2. 5, Gabby Whalen, Lower Cape May, 32-6. 6, Janel Kessleski, Pinelands, 32-4.