2009 Group II Championships

The record breaking Cranford High School girls’ track team ended a ten year drought in a big way Friday and Saturday May 29-30 in the NJSIAA/Star-Ledger group championships at Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield. Fresh off their first section title in history, the girls who had not had a state champion since 1999, earned three gold medals and tied Delaware Valley for second place in group II with 37 points. Powerful Camden easily won the title with 72 points but Coach Peter Kane was not the least bit disappointed.

“Of course we wanted to win, but we had such a great two days of competition that we were thrilled to have taken second. Del Val is a strong team and it was a battle last weekend to win over them at the Sectional Meet,” said Kane.

Junior Kelly Burke won the pole vault and triple jump, sophomore Natalie Englese won the 400 and placed third in the 200 and senior Julianne Grandal finished sixth in the javelin. The trio will compete in the Meet of Champions Wednesday June 3 at Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield.

Of the three victories, perhaps the most spectacular and surprising was Burke’s pole vault win as she cleared 12-0 to break her own Union County record and defeat Nicole Pompei of Hanover Park, the 2008 Meet of Champions winner, on misses.

“Nothing she does surprises us. She has been building up to making this height. Kelly works so hard every day to be the best. I'm really looking forward to the Meet of Champions to see her compete there. Beating the reigning champ this weekend helps the confidence going into the meet,” said Kane, a former pole vaulter, who is considered one of the state’s top pole vault coaches.

Her triple jump victory was no less dramatic although she came in the meet as the favorite. Burke, who established the county record in the triple jump at the sectional finals when she leaped 39’5, entered her final jump third in the competition but made a key adjustment and soared 38’6 for her second win.

“She had blasted a big jump on her third jump of the trials but fouled by two inches. We told her how great the jump was and reminded her of the importance of self confidence and composure. She took that and went with it. With the championship on the line we moved her back five inches and she went far enough to win,” said Kane.

“I have been doing 40 in practice, so before my last jump I just calmed down and relaxed and I was able to come up with my jump of the day,” said Burke.'

Despite competing with a broken nose, sophomore Natalie Englese, the other half of the teams’ 1-2 punch, took a first in the 400 and third in the 200. Englese won a stirring battle with favored Vickie Caruso of Walkill Valley in the 400. The runners were even until Englese broke away in the final 200 to win in a personal-best 56.18. Kane describes Englese as the type of runner who thrives on the best competition.

“Natalie is a fierce competitor and needs to compete with the best of the best. This is where she belongs. Nat has the confidence and ability to go out there and run something amazing. She really wants to get under 56.0 in the open 400,” said Kane.

Caruso and Assante Johnson of Camden edged Englese in the 200 and Kane is not certain whether she will compete in that event at the Meet of Champions.

“It’s a game time decision. The events are very close together, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Grandal put the icing on a solid career by qualifying for her first Meet of Champions.

“It was very important to us that she make it in her senior season. She has been such a positive leader for the team this year and has dedicated herself to perform at the highest level,” said Kane.

2009 Group II Central Jersey Sections

A week after sharing the Union County track title, the Cranford High School Girls’ track team grabbed an even bigger prize when they won their first ever state section title at the Central Jersey Group II Section 2 meet at Monmouth Regional in Tinton Falls May 22-23. Double victories by junior Kelly Burke and sophomore Natalie Englese propelled the Cougars to a 66-60 victory over Delaware Valley.

The meet was decided in the final event, the 4 by 400 relay. Tied with Delaware Valley at 58 points each, the Cougars rode a sizzling 55.7 anchor leg by Englese to move from fifth to second and capture eight points. Delaware Valley wound up fifth.

“It is very exciting to win the first State Sectional Title for the Girls in school history. The girls knew they could win the meet and they went after it. Having a talented team comes around once in a while, but to have a talented team that wants to win and leave their mark in the record books is unbelievable. We don’t take it for granted for one second,” said Coach Pete Kane, who in his third year has built the Cougars into a perennial power.

Burke had a remarkable meet, winning the triple jump with a prodigious leap of 39-5, smashing her school record and eclipsing the one week old county mark set last week by rival Emily Vargas of Johnson, who was second in the sections. The two had a memorable dual at the Union County meet, where Burke first set the county mark of 38-5, only to have Vargas take it back at 38-9. There was no such drama this time around as Burke took command and would have eclipsed 40 feet but fouled.

“She wants 40 feet now and I think she can get it this weekend. She has such a strong work ethic. She just wants to be the best. It's that attitude and her athleticism that will take her places,” said Kane.

Burke also took the pole vault with a jump of 11-0, a height matched by only one other Group 2 athlete. “Kelly is ready to jump as high as she needs to this weekend,” said Kane.

Burke ran third on the relay and also added six points with a third place in the long jump. Senior Clare Humen, who led off the relay also added a fifth in the triple jump.

Before anchoring the relay, Englese took the 200 and 400 meters. Englese, who battled through hamstring problems earlier in the season, competed with a broken nose, the result of a soccer game the previous weekend. Englese was a question mark going into the weekend. She had the nose snapped back into place, splinted and stitched. Then she had the splint taken off and she ran.

“She is a very tough kid. The kids respect her for it. I couldn't have a better example of a leader that leads by example than Natalie and what she did for us last weekend,” said Kane.

Englese had one of her most competitive 400 meter races but pulled away in the final 100 to prevailing in 56.63. Englese had an easier time in the 200, taking a large lead after the turn and increasing it on the straightaway, finishing in a time of 25.43.

“Her training allows her to hold her top speed when the other girls start to tire,” said Kane.

The Cougars also got key points from sophomore Bridget Miller, who finished third in the 3200 with a time of 11L40.01, sprinting past rival Cathy Goncalves of Johnson.

“She has never beaten the girl Goncalves from Johnson and she went out there and did it. I told her before the race that we were tied and she could do something big for us in her 3200. She gave me a look like, don't worry,” aid Kane.

Senior Julianne Grandal improved her final javelin throw to 117 and moved up from fifth to fourth, picking up four more crucial points. While Englese and Burke were the headliners, it was the points from Humen, Miller and Grandal that made the difference in the tight meet.


With Burke top seeded in her two events and Englese, seeded first and third, the Cougars are one of the favorites to win the Group 2 championship Friday and Saturday May 29-30 at South Plainfield.

2009 Union County Outdoor Individual

One measly point. One place higher in any event and the Cranford Girls’ track team would have been alone as Union County champions but the Cougars were more than pleased with sharing the crown with Union at the meet conducted Friday and Saturday May 15-16 at Hub Stine Field in Plainfield. It almost came down to Cranford’s three stars; senior Julianne Grandal, junior Kelly Burke and sophomore Natalie Englese against Union’s Ugonna Ndu and Cristina Vilsaint. The Cougars’ trio accounted for 55.5 points, while Union’s had 56. The Cougars led 69-61 after finishing third in the 4 by 400 relay but Vilsaint came up with a second in the final event, the discus, to create the tie.

“It feels great to be able to say we are county champs even if we have to share it This has been a very strong year for the county in track and it's nice to see our girls continue to work hard after being so close to winning in the relays and conferences,” added Kane.

Englese got the Cougars off to a fast start on Friday when she won the 400 by more than two seconds in 56.22, breaking her own meet record of 56.50 set last season. She came back on Saturday to edge Ndu 25.27 to 25.75. The times are pertinent because they inexplicitly ran in different heats, with each winning easily.

“It would have however been very exciting to see the two fastest girls in the county fight it out. The best runners run their fastest under toughest competition and Natalie could have run faster if she had to,” said Kane.

Englese’s outstanding meet allayed fears that she would be hampered by a sore hamstring, suffered at the Mountain Valley Conference (MVC) meet earlier in the week. Kane and his staff put Englese through an easier than normal week and she healed in time.

“She stayed off the hamstring for a few days and we worked her out during the week accordingly. Natalie is a natural competitor that will do what it takes to succeed. I'm very proud of her and her drive to be the best,” said Kane.

Englese finished up her outstanding meet by running 54.9 on her anchor leg in the 4 by 400 relay. Taking the baton in fifth place, Englese moved the team Claire Humen, Kate Evans, and Gillian Burke to third place in a season’s best 4:04.8.

Burke saved most of her heroics for late in the day on Saturday when she had to simultaneously compete in the triple jump and pole vault. In a memorable duel with Emily Vargas of Johnson, Burke broke the county and meet record with a leap of 38'5 1/4" in her first jump of finals, regaining the record she had lost to Vargas last week.
On her final jump Vargas took back the record with a 38’9 on her final jump. Burke just missed winning with a 38’10 that was ruled a foul. She then had to go to the pole vault for her starting height.

“It was not the ideal situation so we took it easy. Her step was a little off in the pole vault so her take off wasn’t working. I'm proud of her for doing what she had to do to help the team,” said Kane.
Burke won in a modest 10’0, well off her county record of 11’5. Senior Lilas Humen added two points with a fifth place finish. Burke also added six points on Friday with a third place in the long jump at 16-7.

Senior Julianne Grandal won as expected in the javelin, defending her title with a season best 116’7, but it was far from easy. Grandal’s steps were altered when the girls were forced to run on a shortened runway that backed them up to the tennis court fences. Going into the finals she was leading the field with a throw of 107', but fell to second when Emana Dent of Elizabeth unloaded personal best 113-7. In her final throw Grandal exceeded the leading throw.

“She came down the runway with a fierce look on her face and made her best throw of the season. We were proud of her ability to step up in the face of an obstacle,” said Kane.

Bridget Miller added six important points by finishing third in a strong 3200 meter field in a personal best 11:41.61.”Bridget ran awesome. She has been solid all year long and is waiting for another big breakthrough. She is in great shape and has her goals set for herself,” said Kane, who rued the loss of a few points Miller could have scored in the 1600.

“Bridget could have scored in the 1600, too, but for some reason she was put in the second heat and led the race from wire to wire. Had she been in the first heat she could have run faster.”

Although they finished well back in a strong boys meet, the Cougar boys got an individual victory of their own when senior Mike Scarfuto scored a surprise victory in the shot put, throwing a personal best 46’10.

“We are pumped about this. We knew he could do this and he deserves the win. We were excited about the Conference win and it helped him gain the confidence that he could be the best in the county. Scarf is a very hard worker and it's great to see him get the recognition he has deserved for some time now,” said Kane.

Next for the Cougar teams is the state Group II Section II section meet Friday and Saturday at Monmouth Regional High School.

2009 Union County Outdoor Individual

One measly point. One place higher in any event and the Cranford Girls’ track team would have been alone as Union County champions but the Cougars were more than pleased with sharing the crown with Union at the meet conducted Friday and Saturday May 15-16 at Hub Stine Field in Plainfield. It almost came down to Cranford’s three stars; senior Julianne Grandal, junior Kelly Burke and sophomore Natalie Englese against Union’s Ugonna Ndu and Cristina Vilsaint. The Cougars’ trio accounted for 55.5 points, while Union’s had 56. The Cougars led 69-61 after finishing third in the 4 by 400 relay but Vilsaint came up with a second in the final event, the discus, to create the tie.

“It feels great to be able to say we are county champs even if we have to share it This has been a very strong year for the county in track and it's nice to see our girls continue to work hard after being so close to winning in the relays and conferences,” added Kane.

Englese got the Cougars off to a fast start on Friday when she won the 400 by more than two seconds in 56.22, breaking her own meet record of 56.50 set last season. She came back on Saturday to edge Ndu 25.27 to 25.75. The times are pertinent because they inexplicitly ran in different heats, with each winning easily.

“It would have however been very exciting to see the two fastest girls in the county fight it out. The best runners run their fastest under toughest competition and Natalie could have run faster if she had to,” said Kane.

Englese’s outstanding meet allayed fears that she would be hampered by a sore hamstring, suffered at the Mountain Valley Conference (MVC) meet earlier in the week. Kane and his staff put Englese through an easier than normal week and she healed in time.

“She stayed off the hamstring for a few days and we worked her out during the week accordingly. Natalie is a natural competitor that will do what it takes to succeed. I'm very proud of her and her drive to be the best,” said Kane.

Englese finished up her outstanding meet by running 54.9 on her anchor leg in the 4 by 400 relay. Taking the baton in fifth place, Englese moved the team Claire Humen, Kate Evans, and Gillian Burke to third place in a season’s best 4:04.8.

Burke saved most of her heroics for late in the day on Saturday when she had to simultaneously compete in the triple jump and pole vault. In a memorable duel with Emily Vargas of Johnson, Burke broke the county and meet record with a leap of 38'5 1/4" in her first jump of finals, regaining the record she had lost to Vargas last week.
On her final jump Vargas took back the record with a 38’9 on her final jump. Burke just missed winning with a 38’10 that was ruled a foul. She then had to go to the pole vault for her starting height.

“It was not the ideal situation so we took it easy. Her step was a little off in the pole vault so her take off wasn’t working. I'm proud of her for doing what she had to do to help the team,” said Kane.
Burke won in a modest 10’0, well off her county record of 11’5. Senior Lilas Humen added two points with a fifth place finish. Burke also added six points on Friday with a third place in the long jump at 16-7.

Senior Julianne Grandal won as expected in the javelin, defending her title with a season best 116’7, but it was far from easy. Grandal’s steps were altered when the girls were forced to run on a shortened runway that backed them up to the tennis court fences. Going into the finals she was leading the field with a throw of 107', but fell to second when Emana Dent of Elizabeth unloaded personal best 113-7. In her final throw Grandal exceeded the leading throw.

“She came down the runway with a fierce look on her face and made her best throw of the season. We were proud of her ability to step up in the face of an obstacle,” said Kane.

Bridget Miller added six important points by finishing third in a strong 3200 meter field in a personal best 11:41.61.”Bridget ran awesome. She has been solid all year long and is waiting for another big breakthrough. She is in great shape and has her goals set for herself,” said Kane, who rued the loss of a few points Miller could have scored in the 1600.

“Bridget could have scored in the 1600, too, but for some reason she was put in the second heat and led the race from wire to wire. Had she been in the first heat she could have run faster.”

Although they finished well back in a strong boys meet, the Cougar boys got an individual victory of their own when senior Mike Scarfuto scored a surprise victory in the shot put, throwing a personal best 46’10.

“We are pumped about this. We knew he could do this and he deserves the win. We were excited about the Conference win and it helped him gain the confidence that he could be the best in the county. Scarf is a very hard worker and it's great to see him get the recognition he has deserved for some time now,” said Kane.

Next for the Cougar teams is the state Group II Section II section meet Friday and Saturday at Monmouth Regional High School.

2009 Cranford Relays

The weather was nasty on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter, a day earmarked for indoor activities and certainly not fit for most sporting events. But track meets rarely get canceled and the Cougar Relays held at Memorial Field in Cranford Saturday, April 11 went on as scheduled although in a modified state. Three events, deemed too dangerous for the rainy, windy and cold conditions, the triple jump, pole vault and high jump were all postponed. The omission of three of their strongest events probably cost the Cranford Girls the team title as they finished second behind Plainfield, but Coach Pete Kane was just happy to get though the day and never thought of canceling the entire meet.

“We had no intentions of canceling the meet. You can run in the rain. We only canceled certain events due to safety factors. The canceled events really need proper footing and the weather was not allowing for that. All the coaches were in agreement to cancel those events. I think this meet will make our kids appreciate the great weather when it hopefully gets here,” said Kane.

“The weather really was terrible on Saturday but the athletes came out and competed as hard as they could this weekend. Many of the kids came to me after their races or field events and told me they did horribly, .but also let me know that they placed top three in the event. It was very impressive because the conditions were cold and rainy for everyone but our athletes were able to overcome the conditions more than their competitors,” added Kane, who noted that his team has yet to compete in optimum conditions this spring.

The girls took first place in four events, two on the track and two in the field. The sprint medley relay of junior Kelly Burke, freshman Gillian Burke, sophomore Natalie Englese and senior Clare. Humen clocked 4:36.9 to outpace. Governor Livingston.

Gillian and Kelly Burke also combined with senior Julianne Grandal and freshman Rebecca Shiminov to finish the meet by sloshing the 4 by 400 in the same time as the sprint medley relay. Governor Livingston was also second in that race. Englese and Gillian Burke also combined for fourth in the long jump.

The Cougars also dominated the weight events as Nicole Somma combined with Grandal to defeat Plainfield with a combined throw of 55-5. Senior Tanara Zamorski combined with Grandal to easily take the javelin with a throw of 183.
The Cougars’ young and improving distance corps came through with three second places finishes against tough competition. The distance medley relay of Meaghan Monihan, Clare Human, Natalie Englese and Bridget Miller ran 13:56, 25 seconds behind winner Roselle Catholic. The 4 by 800 of Maria Guarisco, Ronnie Miller, Maggie Brown and Bridget Miller and the 4 by 1600 of Ronnie Miller, Rebecca Hanke, Megan Byrnes and Maggie Brown also finished second.

Although they did not finish first in any events the young boys team was competitive in most events and had numerous fine performances. .The team of John Powasnik, Tyler Ainge, Billy Haussner and Roy Colicchio were third in a strong distance medley relay field running 12:01

The 3 x 400 intermediate hurdles team of Dalber Perreira, Chris Witwick and Tom Folger was second to Plainfield in 3:19. The 4 x 800 team of Powasnik Haussner, Michael Cassidy and Jeff Sun, also finished second in 9:01.

The shot put relay of Mark Wills and Nolan Heineman were second in 66’1 and the discus duo of Wills and Heineman was also second in 184’8 while the javelin team of Wills and Mike Mullen was also second in 239’4.

“Of course I wish we could have triple jumped, pole vaulted and high jumped- and I definitely think those events could have helped our team scoring both on the boys and girls sides,” added Kane, who readies the team for its busiest two weeks of the season.

The Cougars’ next major competition is Saturday April 18 at the Blue Devils Relays in Westfield. On Monday April 20 and continuing the following day are the Mountain Valley conference (MVC) Relays in Berkeley Heights and after a day of rest, some of the team will depart for Philadelphia to compete in the Penn Relays. Grandal will compete in the javelin and Kelly Burke will be in the pole vault. The 4x400 relay of Englese, Humen, Gillian Burke, and Rebecca Shimonov will compete Friday and on Saturday April 25 the team will be splitting up to the Millburn Relays while the boys 4x400 of Sun, Cassidy, Ainge, and Pereira compete at the Penn Relays.

2009 Cranford Girls Track Preview

Nobody was happier to see the snow melt and the temperatures thaw than the Cranford High School Girls’ Track Team and their outstanding young coach Peter Kane. While they enjoyed a competitive indoor season, the typical meet did not contain events like the triple jump, pole vault and javelin, three events that the Cougars have dominated in recent years. For the Cougars’ two most accomplished athletes, junior Kelly Burke and sophomore Natalie Englese, the outdoor season provides a much different opportunity.

Englese, a sprinter, was not nearly as affected as Burke and used the indoor season to hone her skills as one of the state’s most talented 400 meter runners. Burke, who had little chance to show her pole vault and triple jump prowess, made the most of a rare opportunity at the Nationals Meet, March 14-15 in New York. In the pole vault on Saturday, Burke finished 16th setting a school and Union County Indoor record of 11'6. The height also qualifies her for the Penn Relays, one of the nation’s premier outdoor events held in April. She then came back on Sunday to triple jump 36'2 to place 14th and again qualified for the Penn Relays.

A Meet of Champions place winner as a freshman, Burke fought numerous ankle injuries last year, which curtailed her performances. Kane knows what a healthy Burke can achieve and is hopeful that she can continue to stay healthy outdoors through an arduous regimen which also includes hurdles and the high jump.

Englese burst on the scene last season in much the same way Burke had the prior year. Englese dominated Union County last season, doubling in the 200 and 400 at the county championships. She completed the same double at the state sectional meet and finished fifth in the Meet of Champions in her signature event the 400.

“Natalie's freshmen season was outstanding. She is a very talented young runner and doesn't take it for granted. She comes to practice everyday looking to get better and she works very hard,” said Kane,

Englese improved her outdoor performances this winter, including a personal best 58.01 in the 400. She also repeated as Mountain Valley conference (MVC) and Union County 400 champion.

While Burke and Englese are a devastating 1-2 punch, the Cougars also feature, the Humen twins, Clare and Lilas. The seniors were prominent members of the state championship volleyball team last fall and offer versatility and skill as well as senior leadership. Lilas Humen combined with Burke the past two years to give the Cougars a dominant pole vault relay team and has broken ten feet numerous times, with an outdoor best of 10’6. She also is a solid hurdler and can do a number of other events including the triple jump and hurdles. Clare is more of a middle distance runner, who will be an integral part of what will be a powerful 4 by 400 relay team, anchored by Englese. Clare Humen also competes in all the jumping events as the need presents itself.

“If it were possible I wouldn't let them graduate,” says Kane laughing. “Lilas has made such progress in the Pole Vault the past three years and Clare does so many things well in addition to her running.”

Senior Julianne Grandal rivals some of her teammates for versatility. A two time county javelin champion, she has also gained skill in the other weight events but is also a fine middle distance runner, excelling in the 400 and 800 and usually runs on the 4 by 400 relay, Like Burke, Grandal trained indoors to mostly prepare for the outdoor season. Despite limited opportunities, Grandal has already qualified for the Penn Relays in the javelin.

The indoor season also introduced two exciting freshmen, Kelly Burke’s sister Gillian and Rebecca Shimonov. Unlike her sister, Burke competed mostly on the track where her long stride makes her much more effective on the roomier outdoor tracks.

“She had a great debut this Indoor season and she is another girl who is dedicated to getting faster and she loves to compete with the girls on our team. She has a fierce competitive fire in her and that will prove to push her throughout her first season of Outdoor track,” said Kane.

Shimonov placed in several championship meets in the high jump and like others, is working at numerous events, trying to find where she can most help the team. The Cougars are traditionally strong in the distance events and sophomore Bridget Miller is hoping to build off excellent cross country and indoor seasons. Miller qualified through one of the state’s toughest sections, which included the state’s best runner, to make the state championships in the 3200.

“Bridget has had such a breakthrough year. She knows that she has the ability to run at a very high level this Outdoor season and she will continue to work hard to get there,” said Kane.

Adding depth is Miller’s twin sister, Veronica as well as the Hanke sisters, Joy an accomplished senior and Rebecca an exciting freshman.

Kane needs his team to maximize its performance if they are to beat the county and conference’s top team Arthur L Johnson of Clark. “They are a very solid team and cover almost every event. We like all teams have our strengths and weaknesses, but we are a very competitive team and our goal is to beat everyone,” said Kane, who paused and added rhetorically, “If that's not your goal how do you expect it to happen?”

2009 Cranford Girls Sections

A powerful performance by sophomore Natalie Englese combined with the inclusion of the pole vault to give the Cranford High School Girls’ Track Team their best performance of the indoor season at the New Jersey State Sectional Group II Meet Saturday February 7 at the Bennett Center in Toms River. Englese took her signature event, the 400 meters, finished second in the 55 meters and anchored the 1600 meter relay team to second place as the Cougars finished third in a very strong section with 48.5 points. Their score placed them ahead of Union County and Mountain Valley champion Johnson as well as Union County rival Rahway, the first time Cranford has finished ahead of either of those teams this winter.

“It feels good to finish ahead of Johnson and Rahway since they had been beating us all season. Of course you get help from the other teams that cancel some points out, but regardless we did it. We finished third overall by 1.63 points and I think that really says something about this team. We are here to compete and work hard and we will only get better as the spring season begins,” said Coach Peter Kane.
It was also the first major meet that the pole vault was included, a good omen towards the outdoor season when that event will be included in meets. Junior Kelly Burke and senior Lilas Humen each jumped 9-6 and finished 2-3 in the pole vault, providing the Cougars with 14 more points. Kane, a pole vault specialist, while pleased with the overall result, realizes that his pole vault duo has merely scratched the surface of what they can accomplish.

“Kelly and Lilas have the challenge of competing in an event that we cannot practice very often indoors. We address pole carries and approaches. We work on takeoff as best we can in the hallways but unless you have the facility to actually vault you are at a disadvantage. Lilas has worked on getting deeper into the pit, which she accomplished this past weekend and we look to work on her jump at the top of her pole and Kelly has a monster take off so she is in very deep on the pit but we have to also address the final phase of the vault where she is inverted and has to turn and push off. The two girls are both very talented and have a good shot of advancing to the Meet of Champs,” said Kane.
Englese continued to build on her outstanding freshman season, where she became the county’s top sprinter. Using her typically strong finish, she won the 400 meters with a personal best time of 58.91 and was edged in the 55 by Emily Vargas of Johnson, running 7.58, also a personal best.

”Natalie had a long weekend with the passing of her grandfather Friday, and instead of letting that hold her back she used it to push herself further. Her 400 time puts her in the mix on contenders with fast people to push her. Her 55m time is a result of her getting quicker out of the start to work on form and technique for high end sprinting,” said Kane.
Englese finished impressively in the 4 by 400 with a 59.3 anchor as she moved the team from fifth to second place in the race with a 4:15.28. The Cougars used two promising freshmen Gillian Burke and Rebecca Shimonov and senior Claire Humen on the first three legs.

Also advancing to the state finals was sophomore Bridget Miller, who ran 11:50.78 to finish fifth in a very tough 3200 meter race that included the state’s top runner, Melanie Thompson of Voorhees.
Junior Jeff Sun had a remarkable all around performance to lead the boys. He finished fourth in the pole vault with a personal best 11-0 jump, while simultaneously competing in the 800 where he was sixth in 2:06.66. While Sun was waiting in line for the start of the 800 the Pole Vault bar went to 11'0 and he had to jump and missed his first attempt. While waiting for the 800 to start, he ran back and made his second attempt. Junior Roy Colicchio also qualified with a fifth place finish in the 3200 with a 10:28.11.

Sophomore Chinonye Uka was Brearley’s only qualifier. She finished second in the 55 meter hurdles and fourth in the 55 meters in the Central Jersey Group I meet.

2005 Group III Girls Cross Country Sections

The Cranford Girls team faced its toughest opposition of the year last Saturday at the North Jersey Group III Section 2 meet at Warinanco Park and although the competition figures to be even tougher tomorrow in the Group championships at Holmdel, veteran coach Ray White has numerous reasons to be optimistic that his team will improve on its third place finish of last weekend.

The team spends much time in the summer practicing at Holmdel and White almost considers it their home away from home. White believes his team to be very adept at traversing the numerous hills at Holmdel, especially his lead runner Laura Gallo.

“We feel very comfortable there. We are confident that we can meet our goal of finishing in the top three and making the Meet of Champions.”

But it will not be easy as Cranford will not only have to outrun Ridge and Voorhees, both of which defeated them at the sections, but there is the addition of powerful Colts Neck with its terrific 1-2 punch of Ashley Higginson and freshman Brian Jackucewicz.

“We know we’re going to run a lot better at Holmdel than we did Saturday ,” said White.
“I don’t know if we were overconfident after our victories there, but we seemed to come out flat on Saturday.”

Cranford had scored dominating victories in the Watchung Conference and Union County meets at the same site the two previous weeks with Gallo finishing first by considerable margins in each race.

On Saturday, Gallo battled with eventual winner freshman Melanie Thompson of Voorhees, Nicole Trainor of Ridge and Eleonora Spinazzi of Montgomery through two fast miles. At the final hill that leads to the finishing quarter mile track, Thompson broke free of the other three. Gallo was out sprinted by the other two and finished fourth in 19:18.02 her second fastest time this fall.

“She didn’t run her best race ,” said White.

Ridge packed its next four runners before Cranford’s second runner,15th place finisher Jen Hanke in 20:42.76. Right behind Jen was her freshman sister Joy in 20:43.21.

“Joy ran great. she’s really been coming on lately ,” said White.

Hannah Van Why finished 22nd in 21:03.74, giving Cranford four finishers to three for Voorhees but the Hunterdon County school pushed their last two girls in two places before Caitlin Curtis was the final scoring Cougar, 36th in 21:46. The margin of victory was 83-86 for Voorhees but Cranford only needed to be in the top five to advance.

Kristen Ford finished 43rd in 22:04.05 and Erin Hannen was 46th in 22:09.74.

The Cougar Boys will have only Joe McKenney representing them this weekend as the Junior finished a strong second in 16:34.40 and appears to be peaking at the right time.

“He’s coming on very nicely ,” said White.

“Earlier in the season we controlled his speed work because we didn’t want to burn him out. We think he will do very well this weekend.”

Josh Hanke finished 20th in 17:43.50 to just miss joining McKenney.



An increase in enrollment this year was enough to move Cranford from Central Jersey Group 2 to North Jersey Group III and it