Jackson Memorial boys win county track title
Lacrosse teams garner mixed results
BY MIKE WHITE Staff Writer
What a difference a foot can make. That was the distance that proved to be the differential for the Jackson Memorial High School boys track and field team, as it captured the Ocean County Championship Saturday on the strength of ReinaldoAponte's win in the triple jump.

With Jackson tiedwithMonsignorDonovan heading into the final event, Aponte needed to defeat the Griffins' Kevin Carter in the triple jump in order for Jackson to lay claim to the title. Aponte did just that. Aponte posted a leap of 44 feet, 7 inches, a little more than a foot better than Carter as Jackson claimed the crownwith a 79-72win at Neptune High School.

Aponte also placed fourth in the high jump. Monroe Kearns won the 800 meters with a time of 1:54.15, was second in the 1,600 meters and placed third in the 400 (50.65).

In addition, Jackson Liberty's Josh Pagan captured a county title. Pagan won the 100meters in 11.23.He also finished second in the 200 meters. Emelio Aponte, Reinaldo's younger brother, was fourth in the 200 with a time of 23.24.

JacksonMemorial girls placed thirdwith a total of 76 points. Sophomore Tylia Gillon captured both the 100- and 200-meter events.Gillonwon the 100 in a time of 12.40 and later returned to win the 200 in 25.44.

Jax girls win, boys lose in the SCT

Alex Knueppel notched five goals and Elyse Fisher added fourmore, including her 100th career score, as Jackson rolled to a resounding 14-4win overOcean last Saturday in a Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal game.

The Lady Jaguars were scheduled to meet Rumson Monday in the semifinals. That game was postponed because of rain.

"We're excited," Jackson coach Lori Johnson said. "One of our goals every season is to qualify and do well in the postseason.We're playing well right now, but there is always room from improvement. We're going to have to remain focused aswe get deeper into this event. There are a lot of quality teams left." Nicole Necci made 14 saves in goal as Jackson darted out to a commanding 9-1 lead at intermission. The Jags now own an overall record of 15-1.

"Defensively, we have been playing extremely well all season," Johnson said. "We've got some experienced players in those positions and we expect them to step up against the better teams in big games. So far they have done that for us.Defense has been the cornerstone of our success this season."

In a 19-3 win over Toms River South, KierstynMabey scored six times and added six assists in a game thatwas decided before halftime.

The Jackson boys weren't so lucky. Red Bank hammered the Jags by a 20-4margin. Red Bank, which was the fourth seeded team, jumped out to a lopsided 16-1 lead by halftime.

Jackson fell to 7-9 overall.