Sprint duels highlight county championships
Cox brothers help Monmouth win team title
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Track and field fans got all they wanted in a little over 30 seconds. That's how much time it took Monmouth Regional's Charles Cox and Red Bank Regional's Kerone Rhoden to run their 100- and 200-meter dashes at the Monmouth County Track and Field Championships at Neptune High School.

Sprinting had been the domain of Charles and his twin brother, Chris. But make room for one more after Rhoden edged Charles Cox in the 100 final and closed strong to finish second to Charles in the 200.

"It was two great races," said Rhoden. "It was a great experience to beat him. I had to run my race."

In the 100, it meant getting out ahead of Cox, the state's No. 1 400-meter runner. Rhoden did just that and had just enough left in the final strides to hold off the stronger Cox. Both recorded personal automatic time bests - Rhoden 10.72 and Cox 10.73.

"I was happy I got that time," said Cox, who still had two more races to run.

Charles Cox would come back and take the 400, catching his brother in the final 50 meters and winning with a 48.10, while Chris had a 48.31.

A rematch with Rhoden in the 200 was on Charles Cox's mind.

"I had to pace myself in the race to save something for the 200," he pointed out.

In the highly anticipated 200, Cox blasted out of the block and was clear of the field coming off the turn. Just as it looked like a runaway for the state champion, Rhoden started closing fast. But Cox did not tie up, and stopped the clock in 21.27 with Rhoden at 21.35.

Round two will come this weekend at the Shore Conference Championships, where they should meet up again in the 200 final. They are both in the state sectional, which means further match-ups between these stars.

Yes, the Monmouth Regional Falcons have Charles and Chris Cox and their ability to score big in several events. But it takes more than their considerable talents to win a team championship. The Falcons demonstrated the depth of their talent in turning back Colts Neck, 86-76, in a clash of the two best teams in Monmouth County.

Colts Neck had Craig Forys, who won three races over the two-day event (800, 1,600 and 3,200) and was named the meet's Most Outstanding Track Performer. But Charles and Chris Cox canceled that out by winning the 200- and 400-meter dashes and the 400 intermediate hurdles between them. Add a second in the 200 and 400 hurdles, and they had the Falcons flying high.

However, it took championship performances from Brandon Catley, Edrick Alleyene and Kelly Fisher to seal it for the Falcons.

Catley won the shot put (54-9), Alleyene the discus (163-5), and Fisher the long jump (22-3 1/2). Catley also took fifth in the discus, while Alleyene was third in the shot put.

Rashon Verrett was fifth in the 400 (49.97) as all three Falcon finalists ran under 50 seconds.

Chris Cox, battling a bout of bronchitis, won the 400 hurdles with a dramatic come-from-behind surge in the homestretch.

"I was looking to conserve energy," he pointed out. "I just wanted to see what [Red Bank Catholic's Sean] Curry was doing. With 100 meters left, I just took off.

"I knew I was stronger at the end," he added. "I'm still at the drawing board. This is all knew to me."

Certainly, his competitors believe the Falcon senior has learned enough, thank you very much. Cox, who ran a 54.25 in qualifying, ran Curry down with a 55.41 in the final, which was run into a strong headwind going into the third turn.

Curry took third in that 400 hurdles race with Christian Brothers Academy's Christian Yuskevich catching him at the line (56.35-56.39). The Casey was second in the 110-meter high hurdles.

Red Bank Regional's Dennie Waite, the indoor 1,600-meter state champion, took on the state's best runner in Forys in the 1,600 and, to his credit, ran an aggressive race. He led through 1,000 meters. But when Forys struck with 600 to go, Waite couldn't find that extra gear. Forys would win in 4:13.88 while Waite held off Holmdel's Galasso, 4:17.67-4:17.78. It was a personal best for the Buc.

That was Thursday. Waite came back on Saturday and ran a 9:52.35 to take fifth in the 3,200. Teammate Mike Kolodziej, was fourth (9:49.43).

Rhoden, Waite and Kolodziej helped the Bucs finished fourth with 32 points.

Ocean Township produced a pair of champions in the field events. Dan Hitman won the javelin, throwing the spear 184-0. Teammate Nick Moyle won the triple jump, traveling 43-4 1/4.

Rumson-Fair Haven's Alex Smith won the high jump in a jump-off with Red Bank Catholic's J.T. Walsh at 6-3.

Shore Regional tied Ocean for seventh place with 25 points. Sprinter Derek Schultz led the Blue Devils, taking fourth in both the 200 (22.16) and 400 (49.97), and anchoring Shore to a sixth place in the 4x400 (3:30.94). Michael Hendricks, Demitri Alicakos and Trevor Hewitt ran the first three legs of the relay.

As if that weren't enough, Schultz was second in the long jump behind Fisher (21-8 1/4).

Matt Bersterman was third in the high jump (6-0) for the Blue Devils.

Neptune will be hosting the Shore Conference meet today and tomorrow. Then, it's on to next weekend's NJSIAA State Sectionals.