Lady Jags overcome slow start at Group IV meet
Slew of local athletes earn spots in yesterday’s Meet of Champions
BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

EGG HARBOR — Following the first day of competition at last weekend’s NJSIAA Group IV championships, the Jackson High School girls track and field team was sitting in ninth place.

The Jags put up just 10 points through the first eight events of the two-day competition.

The Lady Jaguars, however, recovered on day two and finished in third place overall with a total of 38 points. Winslow Township won the title with a total of 52 points, followed by Southern, which just nipped Jackson with 39.

"A competition like this is full of the best teams and the best athletes," Jackson coach Alton Johnson said. "We knew going in that we could be competitive with these teams. We ran into a couple of teams that were hot. But we had a good meet. The other teams were just better on that particular day. I was proud of the way our kids performed. Each time we come to a big stage like this we seem to rise up."

Lauren Blake and Amanda Marino got the Jags off to a good start on day one. Blake finished third in the 400 meters with a time of 55.96 seconds. Marino, who has been Jackson’s top distance runner this spring, was sixth in the 1,600 meters with a time of 5:08.71.

"Both of these athletes have been outstanding this season," Johnson said. "They are full of potential. They competed against the best of the best and put forth solid efforts. Anytime you can place kids in events, you know that you are on your way. They got us off to a good start."

Jackson also excelled in the shot put, taking fifth and sixth places, respectively. Vanessa Michel placed fifth with a toss of 39-8.25, while teammate Asha Stokes was sixth with a best effort of 38.75.

"All season these two girls having been pushing each other," Johnson said. "One week one girl steps up, the next week the other rises to the occasion. We have been solid in this event all year. Getting both of them to place was huge."

Depth has been Jackson’s strength all season. Yet on day one of the competition, East Orange and Winslow Township were the two teams showing superior depth, placing more than one athlete in more than one event to be deadlocked for the lead at 24-all.

Nicole Castranova started the second day of competition with a second place finish in the 200 meters. Castranova, who just began running track this spring, posted a time of 24.96 to finish runner-up to Piscataway’s Tramaine Shaw (24.77).

"It was a great race," Johnson said. "She has come on really strong. She doesn’t know how talented she is. For a kid who has really just begun competing in the sport, she is tremendous. If she keeps with it, there is no telling how good she could be."

Johnson’s daughter, Bryanna, finished third in the 100 high hurdles with a time of 14.43, while Marino returned to place fourth in the 3,200 in 11:02.13.

The quartet of Castranova, Blake, Savannah Knox and Ashley Mlotkiewicz posted a time of 3:56.63 to capture fourth place in the 4 x 400 relay.

Johnson had been waiting for this group to finish in under 3:57.

"I knew that we could get in under that time," Johnson said. "We still may be able to bring that time down a little bit. We ran a solid race. I was pleased with the performance."

Notes ... While a slew of Lady Jags qualified for yesterday’s Meet of Champions at South Plainfield, several other local athletes also made the trip north following solid showings at the group meets.

The top six qualifiers in each event (including ties) at the Group meets advanced to last night’s MOC.

The Jackson boys were represented by Eric Dufresne, who took fifth in the 100-meter hurdles (15.00) on Saturday in Egg Harbor, and Joseph Cella, who was sixth in the Group IV javelin (168-11).

Lakewood’s Shavon Greaves qualified in two events after a strong showing at the Group III meet on Saturday. Graves took second (12.08) in the 100, finishing just behind Camden Wilson’s Jamilah Nock (12.06), and then came back to finish third in the 200 (25.43), which was also won by Nock (24.95).

The Piners’ Jan-Noi Jackson also qualified for the MOC with her sixth-place finish in the 100 hurdles (14.90), while Cameron Craig was the only Lakewood boy to advance following his sixth-place finish in the 200 (22.30).

Howell’s Devin Barnett punched her ticket to South Plainfield with a third place in the Group IV triple jump (34-10 1/2).