Shore rides sprinting prowess to relay title
Blue Devils win two events on way to title
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Mel Ullmeyer knew that his Shore Regional boys track and field team was in good shape heading into the final event of the NJSIAA State Group Relays.

The Blue Devils were up a point, 27-26, on Haddon Heights going into the 4x400 relay. It’s a tribute to Shore Regional, which has developed a deserved reputation for distance running, and how formidable its sprinters have come, that the Blue Devils were favored in the event.

“We’ve had a good nucleus and we’ve ridden it the last couple of years,” said Ullmeyer.

Taylor Kirk, Matt Reidy and Matt Villane are the trio of seniors who have been that “good nucleus.” This year, they teamed up with Derek Schultz to win both the 4x200 (1:35.02) and 4x400 (3:32.32) relays and pave the way for Shore Regional’s State Group I Relay championship at Princeton University on Sunday. The Blue Devils beat Haddon Heights by 11 points, 37-26, in bringing another state track and field title home to West Long Branch.

The quartet was especially impressive in the 4x200, where they turned in the fourth fastest time of all four State groups. Schultz, a junior, was the key to victory and the fast time because he had the Blue Devils in the lead on the first baton exchange on the 200-meter Jadwin Gymnasium track.

“We had perfect handoffs,” said Ullmeyer. “In the lead you don’t have to worry about all the banging around.”

The 4x400 is a team effort on the part of the Blue Devils. They have no one standout who can bring the team from behind to victory. At their best, they slowly but surely grind teams down.

“We have four guys who are running 51 seconds,” said Ullmeyer. “They are a great group of people, work hard, and they pull for each other.”

They also have two other things going for them: experience and confidence. Villane, Reidy and Kirk have been running together since they were freshman. And along with the experience comes confidence. It started with success last year and carried over to this winter, where they broke the meet record at the Monmouth County Championships held at the Jersey City Armory running 3:29.5.

“They have the confidence they can do it,” noted Ullmeyer.

Villane and Reidy had busy days, starting it off by helping Shore take second place in the 4x55 shuttle hurdle relay. They teamed up with Mike Oshetsky and Chris Santorelli, who are also seniors. With Santorelli anchoring the squad, they ran a 33.74 behind Palmyra’s 33.37.

The Blue Devils picked up a point in the 4x800 with Jason Siegel, Trevor Hewitt, Zach Collier and Justin Palamor clocking 8:44.98.

Shore didn’t leave all the scoring to the track. The Blue Devils got a big second-place finish in the high jump. Villane, who was going back and forth from the track to the high jump pit, cleared 6-0, and teammate Ryan Dwyer did 5-8; their 11-8 total matched Roselle Catholic’s, but the Lions won via a tiebreaker (fewer misses).

Shore’s girls finished tied for sixth in Group I (16) with Ramsey. Haddon Heights got a measure of revenge winning with 47.

The Blue Devils did pick up a relay state title, capturing the 1,600-meter sprint medley, which consists of legs of 400-200-200-800. Kristen Pierce ran the leadoff 400 leg with Alicia Baldo and Kaylee Mikolon running the 200s. Laura Embrey polished the 4:25.81 win off with her anchor 800. The Blue Devils won by almost five seconds over runner-up Bishop Eustace Prep (4:29.35).

Shore picked up a third place in the 4x200 with Baldo, Mikolon, Kristina Bristol and Pierce turning in a 1:54.33.

This weekend, individual state titles and tickets to the Meet of Champions are on the line at the NJSIAA State Group Championships in Princeton. Tomorrow, groups I (8 a.m.) and IV (3 p.m.) are in action, while on Sunday, Groups II (8 a.m.) and III (3 p.m.) take to the track.

The top six finishers from each event automatically qualify for the Indoor Meet of Champions in Princeton on Feb. 12.

On Jan. 15, Kirk, Schultz, Villane and Reidy provided the highlight of the Monmouth County Indoor Track and Field Championship with their meet record 3:29.5 at the Jersey City Armory.

Ocean Township’s girls got their expected wins from Tiffany Grant and Georgina Nembhard; however, it wasn’t enough to bring the Spartans the team championship. They were overwhelmed, as was the rest of the county, by Colts Neck. The Cougars, relying on more than their nationally ranked cross country runners, racked up 86 points to top Ocean, which had 52. Freehold Township was third (28).

Ocean, which had won the Monmouth County Relays, was looking to add this title to their trophy case this winter.

Grant, the outdoor state champion at 400 meters, showed that she is in fine form, winning the 400 meters in a fast 58.6. The senior, who is looking to win the indoor MOC 400 this winter, was the only sprinter to break 1:00 on the newly resurfaced Armory track.

Nembhard won the 55 hurdles in 8.4.

Nembhard and Grant were both surprised in the 55-meter dash by the newcomer of the meet, Marlboro freshman Ada Unachukwu. She stunned the Spartan teammates with a 7.0. Nembard was second and Grant third, with both receiving the same time, 7.6.

In the 400, Nembhard took fourth (1:01.5).