Abney goes out on top in 400

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. - Antonio Abney was close to tears. The Willingboro senior had never envisioned winning the Meet of Champions boys' 400-meter title.

It even had taken a couple of days for his Group 3 championship, which he earned Friday, to sink in.

"Just to see myself doing stuff like this is just crazy," Abney said. "I never thought that I would be somebody good. I thought I was an underdog just [growing] up."

He was wrong. Last night at South Plainfield's Frank Jost Field, Abney became the state's top 400-meter runner regardless of classification.

The 17-year-old won the event in the Meet of Champions with a time of 47.35 seconds. Monmouth's Charles Cox nipped Seton Hall Prep's Clayton Parras for second place. Both runners were timed in 47.50.

"Now I can actually say that I'm the state champ," Abney said. "I beat everybody. I beat the best of the best. It just showed the hard work just paid off."

Abney was one of six champions from South Jersey.

Eastern freshman English Gardner won the girls' 100 title. Haddon Heights senior Jamie Walker took the girls' long jump. Eastern senior Sabli Gonnet was the boys' 200 winner.

Paul VI senior Priscilla Frederick won the girls' high jump. And West Deptford's Dan Batdorf was the boys' pole-vault champion.

"Two days ago, the state [championship] just hit me," Abney said. "I was driving around with my mom. I was like, 'Mom, I'm one of the best in the state.' I was like, 'Mom, there's a lot of people in New Jersey.' "

Now he can tell his mother that he's the best in the state.

In addition to winning the open 400, the 5-foot-11, 145-pounder anchored the Chimeras' second-place 4x400 relay team. Marco Biersinger, Jusson Boyd, Daquan Brown and Abney ran a season-best time of 3 minutes, 15.31 seconds. Seton Hall won the event in 3:13.83.

While yesterday's meet marked the end of Abney's prep career, it was just the beginning for Gardner.

After an explosive start, the freshman held on to win the 100 in 11.62. Lakewood senior Shavon Greaves, the favorite, was second in 11.68.

The two sprinters traded places in the 200, with Greaves winning in 23.89. Gardner was second in 24.11.

"This feels good knowing that I'm new and winning [the 100]," said Gardner, who won the Meet of the Champions indoor title in the 55 and 400 races.

Walker won the girls' long jump with an 18-foot, 21/4-inch effort, while Frederick cleared 5-8 to take the girls' high-jump crown.

The boys' 400 hurdles was one of the most exciting races of the meet.

Lakewood's Emmanuel Mayers won in 52.44. Delsea standout Aaron Younger was second in 52.66.

The duo posted two of the fastest times in the nation, according to Dyestat.com.

The Results

GIRLS

100 meters: 1, English Gardner, Eastern, 11.62 seconds. 2, Shavon Greaves, Lakewood, 11.68. 3, Porshe Giddings, East Orange, 11.87. 4, Ogechi Nwaneri, Chatham, 11.88. 5, Audrey Wilson, Deptford, 11.98. 6, Jamie Walker, Haddon Heights, 12:09.

200: 1, Shavon Greaves, Lakewood, 23.89. 2, English Gardner, Eastern, 24.11. 3, Georgina Nembhard, Ocean Township, 24.35. 4, Ogechi Nwaneri, Chatham, 24.84. 5, Audrey Wilson, Deptford, 24.85. 6, Vicky Caruso, Wallkill Valley, 24.89.

400: 1, Symore O'Connor, Franklin, 54.91. 2, Kristen Mahon, Notre Dame, 55.18. 3, Vicky Caruso, Wallkill Valley, 55.55. 4, Jackie Dim, Washington Township, 56.52. 5, Ryisha Boyd, Brick Township, 56.64. 6, Nicole Ragucci, Monroe Township, 56.66.

800: 1, Jillian Smith, Southern Regional, 2 minutes, 8.80 seconds. 2, Kimberly Standridge, Randolph, 2:10.62. 3, Kesley Ramsey, Ramapo, 2;12.43. 4, Bry Bonavita, River Dell, 2:13.15. 5, Susan Martinez, Clifton, 2:13.81. 6, Libby Bliss, Princeton, 2:13.95.

1,600: 1, Danielle Tauro, Southern Regional, 4:49.51. 2, Melanie Thompson, Voorhees, 4:58.12. 3, Ashley Cromartie, Roxbury, 5:01.08. 4, Marie Walsh, Mater Dei, 5:04.26. 5, Janel Parker, Freehold Township, 5:04.59. 6, Sarah Cariati, Pope John XXIII, 5:05.01.

3,200: 1, Ashley Higginson, Colts Neck, 10:23. 2, Nicol Traynor, Ridge, 10:32.86. 3, Theresa Cattuna, Cherry Hill East, 10:34.79. 4, Amanda Goetschius, Delsea, 10:35.59. 5, Lara Heigis, Pope John XXIII, 10:40.57. 6, Chelsea Ley, Kingsway, 10:41.41.

100 hurdles: 1, Racquel Vassell, East Orange, 14.07. 2, Janica Austin, Trenton Central, 14.19. 3, Georgina Nembhard, Ocean Township, 14.33. 4, Evana Edwards, Hackensack, 14.34. 5, Holland Thomas, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, 14.49. 6, Brittany Clybourn, Oakcrest, 14.65.

400 hurdles: 1, Kristen Mahon, Notre Dame, 1:00.11. 2, Leslie Njoku, McNair Academic, 1:00.34. 3, Kamice Smalls, Camden, 1:03.07. 4, Alexandra Hehn, Toms River North, 1:03.14. 5, Holland Thomas, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, 1:03.62. 6, Shelley Gibney, Seneca, 1:03.62.

High jump: 1, Priscilla Frederick, Paul VI, 5-8. 2, Anna Cook, Florence, 5-8. 3, Lynn Mayer, Sayreville, 5-6. 4, Sara Allen, Ridge, 5-6. 5, Brigita Baranauskaite, Ewing, 5-6. 6, Jazmin Waller, Winslow Township, 5-4.

Long jump: 1, Jamie Walker, Haddon Heights, 18-21/4. 2, Ashley Newby, Columbia, 17-83/4. 3, Stephanie McIntyre, South Brunswick, 17-6. 4, Michelle Carrocino, Kingsway, 17-4. 5, Evana Edwards, Hackensack, 17-31/2. 6, Megan Wiseman, Princeton, 17-11/2.

Triple jump: 1, Stephanie McIntyre, South Brunswick, 39-9. 2, Donna Alexander, Matawan, 37-10. 3, Kelly Burke, Cranford, 36-93/4. 4, Ashley Thompson, Woodrow Wilson, 36-7. 5, Lataya Dixon, J.P. Stevens, 36-2. 6, Absatu Mustapha, Franklin, 35-81/2.

Shot put: 1, DeAnne Hahn, Brick Township, 47-6 (meet record; old record of 47-23/4 was set by Plainfield's Kim Hicks in 1992). 2, Taryn O'Connor, Hillsborough, 46-01/2. 3, Shamira Rothmiller, Glassboro, 42-101/2. 4, Sarah Bella, West Morris Mendham, 42-4. 5, Kristen Batts, Marlboro, 42-4. 5, Maureen Laffan, Toms River North, 42-3.

Discus: 1, Elena Faaga, Monmouth, 122-9. 2, DeAnne Hahn, Brick Township, 122-1. 3, Gabriella Galvez, Parsippany Hills, 121-4. 4, Alana Pantale, Wayne Valley, 120-1. 5, Shannon Watt, Jackson Memorial, 118-4. 6, Stephanie Scaramella, Bishop Eustace, 115-4.

Javelin: 1, Tara Miluszewski, Hightstown, 134-2. 2, Alex Kelly, Hanover Park, 133-8. 3, Jaclyn Wypler, Ridgewood, 133-4. 4, Indira Morton, South Brunswick, 132-8. 5, Caitlin Lupo, Pitman 125-11. 6, Mary Wilks, Bridgeton, 123-0.

Pole vault: 1, Jennifer Holly, Barnegat, 12-0. 2, Ashley Furlong, Southern Regional, 11-6. 3, Nicole Pompei, Hanover Park, 11-6. 4, Ashley Aquilante, Manasquan, 11-0. 5, Bianca Reo, Parsippany, 11-0. 6, Chrissy Finkel, Montville, and Ann Polcari, Ridgewood, 10-6.

4x400: 1, East Orange (Tiffany Carter, Porshe Giddings, Shadha Canzater, Racquel Vassell), 3:48.07. 2, Pope John XXIII, 3:49.28. 3, Southern Regional, 3:51.14. 4, Woodrow Wilson, 3:51.51. 5, Rumson-Fair Haven, 3:51.91. 6, Columbia, 3:52.98.

BOYS

100: 1, Mason Robinson, Somerville, 10.51. 2, Kashif Moore, Burlington Township, 10.62. 3, Sabli Gonnet, Eastern, 10.67. 4, Dean McCleese, Trenton Central, 10.67. 5, Robert Page, Kingsway, 10.67. 6, Marquis Bonds, Millville, 10.71.

200: 1, Sablie Gonnet, Eastern, 21.46. 2, Charles Cox, Monmouth, 21.61. 3, Mason Robinson, Somerville, 21.66. 4, Dean McCleese, Trenton Central, 21.71. 5, Robert Page, Kingsway, 21.74. 6, Dejaun Miller, Metuchen, 21.77.

400: 1, Antonio Abney, Willingboro, 47.35. 2, Charles Cox, Monmouth, 47.50. 3, Clayton Parras, Seton Hall Prep, 47.50. 4, Da'man Merkerson, St. Mary's-Ruther, 47.89. 5, Allan Lunkenheimer, Old Bridge, 48.19. 6, Yadid Chaniz-Rico, Vineland, 48.35.

800: 1, Sharif Webb, Don Bosco, 1:51.07. 2, Jason Apwah, Roxbury, 1:51.71. 3, Matt Poskus, Cinnaminson, 1:52.37. 4, Robby Andrews, Manalapan, 1:52.56. 5, Christian Gonzalez, Franklin, 1:52.97. 6, Gigi Gibilisco, Notre Dame, 1:53.77.

1,600: 1, Craig Forys, Colts Neck, 4:09.59. 2, Dennie Waite, Red Bank Regional, 4:15.48. 3, Andrew Brodeur, Brick Memorial, 4:15.82. 4, Brian Gaterl, Union Catholic, 4:16.16. 5, Christian Gonzalez, Franklin, 4:16.62. 6, Brian Tertreault, Cinnaminson, 4:17.44.

3,200: 1, Craig Forys, Colts Neck, 8:52.58 (meet record; old record of 8:56.14 was set by Forys in 2006). 2, Andrew Hanko, Trinity Christian, 9:00.50. 3, Kyle Soloff, Morris Hills, 9:01.76. 4, Doug Smith, Gill St. Bernard's, 9:04.52. 5, Daniel Emont, Ridgewood, 9:08.82. 6, Tom Poland, Delbarton, 9:13.13.

110 hurdles: 1, Mike Cuppari, Hanover Park, 14.05. 2, Tykeen Fulton, Trenton Central, 14.06. 3, Emanuel Mayers, Lakewood, 14.09. 4, Gerkins Senesca, Abraham Clark, 14.34. 5, Joshua Evans, Irvington, 14.48. 6, Raimundo Leach, Oakcrest, 14.50.

400 hurdles: 1, Emanuel Mayers, Lakewood, 52.44. 2, Aaron Younger, Delsea, 52.66. 3, Kyle Rowbotham, Scotch Plains-Fa., 53.83. 4, Jeremy Simpkins, Schalick, 54.36. 5, Reggie Perry, Bound Brook, 55.20. 6, Malcolm Freeman, Rahway, 55.42.

High jump: 1, Devon Bond, Trenton Central, 6-8. 2, Anthony Gregory, Salem, 6-6. Joe Martinek, Hopatcong, 6-6. 4. Adam Bergo, Westfield, 6-4. Alex Maurer, Voorhees, 6-4. 6, Scott McCullough, Chatham, and Ricardo Kennedy, Hunterdon Central, 6-4.

Long jump: 1, Hanif Kendrick, Franklin, 23-9. 2, Aaron King, Morris Hills, 23-31/2. 3, Rahdel Savage, Abraham Clark, 23-13/4. 4, Chris Phipps, Lodi, 22-91/2. 5, Chris Steliga, Cherokee, 22-0. 6, Anthony Chisholm, Wayne Hills, 21-101/4.

Triple jump: 1, Devon Bond, Trenton Central, 48-10. 2, Aaron King, Morris Hills, 48-01/2. 3, Rahdel Savage, Abraham Clark, 47-4. 4, Anthony Chisholm, Wayne Hills, 46-8. 5, Chris Phipps, Lodi, 46-01/2. 6, Mitchell Bennett, Paramus Catholic, 46-0.

Shot put: 1, Mike Alleman, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 59-4. 2, Michael Daniels, Highland, 58-91/4. 3. Steve D'Arcy, Hanover Park, 58-51/2. 4, John Clark, Pennsville, 58-11/4. 5, Geoff Goidell, Pascack Hills, 57-53/4. 6, Oliver Haney, Arthur Johnson, 57-2.

Discus: 1, Patrick Park, Toms River North, 176-7. 2, Pennsville, 170-0. 3, Steve Hague, Buena, 167-9. 4, George Abyad, Passaic Valley, 165-11. 5, Nick Britt, Secaucus, 163-0. 6, Donnell Hayden, Bordentown, 160-5.

Javelin: 1, Brian Florek, Old Bridge, 202-9. 2, Joe Martinek, Hopatcong, 190-1. 3, Kyle Elliott, Cresskill, 186-2. 4, Cody Unger, Jefferson, 185-3. 5, Felix Roman, Pennsauken, 185-3. 6, Joe Gingerelli, Wood-Ridge, 182-9.

Pole vault: 1, Dan Batdorf, West Deptford, 14-6. 2, Matt Steeg, Don Bosco, 14-6. 3, Tim Biashford, Ramapo, 14-0. 4, Greg Stripe, Mahwah, 14-0. 5, Eddie Zubryzcki, Highland, 14-0. 6, Ryan Caimi, Pennsville, 14-0.

4x400: 1, Seton Hall Prep (Grant Mayes, Corey Alexander, Patrick Blackie, Clayton Parros), 3:13.83. 2, Willingboro, 3:15.31. 3, Old Bridge, 3:17.01. 4, Don Bosco, 3:17.56. 5, Delsea, 3:18.80. 6, Vineland, 3:18.87.