Old Tappan sophomores lead the way at Season Opener relays by Paul Schwartz of The Record
ORADELL — Over the past five years, no North Jersey track team has dominated an event as much as Northern Valley/Old Tappan boys have dominated the 3 by 400 meter intermediate hurdles.
The trio of Andrew Schumacher, Will Rienas and Joe Jordan set the Bergen County record at 2:47.8 as juniors in 2015 and the Golden Knights ran four of the top 12 times in Bergen County history between 2012 and last spring.
Saturday, on a cold raw day at the Season Opener Relays at River Dell High School, a trio of sophomores showed that graduation hasn’t ended the domination just yet for the Golden Knights.
Sophomores Johnny Lohrer, Ryan Jordan and Luke Conmy won the varsity event by nearly four seconds over Montville and broke three minutes on a day most teams were content to break 3:10. The win helped propel NV/Old Tappan to a 68-45 win over Montville for the large schools title. Fort Lee won four events and scored 56 points to win the small schools division over host River Dell, which limited its varsity lineup to their throwers and little else.
“When I first got to Old Tappan eight years ago, we had a real difficult time getting kids to even try the event,” said girls head coach Antonio Marino, who coaches the hurdles at OT. “We used to try and take the high hurdlers and turn them into intermediate hurdlers. But now we’re just as likely to take kids who run the 400 or 800 — kids with stamina and teach them to hurdle.”
This year’s group is a combination of both. Lohrer, who ran 59.2 to lead the team, just a shade off of the day’s best time, made a name for himself last spring by breaking 60 seconds at the Jack Yockers Bergen Relays, when injuries to both Will Rienas and twin brother Tom forced him to join Schumacher and Joe Jordan on the county-winning team that clocked 2:49.5, fourth best in Bergen history,
“I didn’t want to let the team down,” said Lohrer. “And it gave me great experience.”
Ryan Jordan is the brother of Joe, now a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania and watching his brother and his classmates work to excel had its impact on the younger Jordan.
“When Andrew went down (as a sophomore) with an ACL tear, I watched my brother step up and become the leader,” said Ryan Jordan, who clocked 59.9, breaking a minute for the first time. “They continue to inspire us when they work out with us over Christmas and we want to be as good as they were.”
Conmy, whose 60.2 clocking was nearly three seconds faster than his previous best, says the success that others had before him, pushes him to get better and better.
“We want to strive to beat their records but we know if we work hard we’ll have a lot of success on our own.”
Fort Lee’s win was bolstered by triples by Michael Huertas and Tahj Martin who combined as part of the 4-x-100 (44.3) and 4-x-200 (1:32.7) teams that managed good times in tough conditions.
Hasbrouck Heights won three events and scored in 13 of the 16 events to easily win the overall and small school girls titles with 89 points. Paramus Catholic edged Holy Angels, 50-41 for the large school crown, led by an excellent early season long/triple jump double by soph Tiffany Bautista, who led all jumpers with jumps of 17-2 3/4 and 37-1 respectively.
Boys
Team Scoring
LARGE SCHOOLS: NV/Old Tappan 68, Montville 45, Indian Hills 36, Paramus Catholic 22, Hackensack 17, Wayne Valley 15, Bergen Tech and Fair Lawn 14, Memorial 13, Pope John 2, Passaic Valley and Cliffside Park 1.
SMALL SCHOOLS: Fort Lee 56, River Dell 25, Lakeland, Lodi and Lyndhurst 24, Hasbrouck Heights 23, Mahwah 22, Saddle Brook 20, Hawthorne 11, Dumont 10, Ramapo 8, Newton 4, New Milford 1.
4-x-100: 1. Fort Lee (Mike Huertas, Tahj Martin, Manny Montoya, Wesley Weingord). 44.3; 2. Paramus Catholic, 45.5; 3. NV/Old Tappan, 46.0; 4. Lakeland, 46.1; 5. Hasbrouck Heights, 46.3; 6. Lyndhurst, 46.7.
4-x-200: 1. Fort Lee (Mike Huertas, Tahj Martin, Jacob Im, Wesley Weingord), 1:32.7; 2. Paramus Catholic, 1:34.0; 3. Mahwah, 1:35.2; 4. Montville, 1:36.0; 5. Hackensack, 1:36.4; 6. Hawthorne, 1:37.2.
4-x-400: 1. Montville (Noman Sneed, Matt Santos, Jack Krase, Hoseph Desir), 3:30.4; 2. NV/Old Tappan, 3:34.6; 3. Fort Lee, 3:38.0; 4. Bergen Tech, 3:41.0; 5. Hawthorne, 3:43.6; 6. Lyndhurst, 3:46.0.
4-x-800: 1. Indian Hills (Corey Girard, Ara Araz, Dylan Pappas, Peter Petropolous), 8:30.8; 2. Ramapo, 8:41.9; 3. Fair Lawn, 8:52.8; 4. Memorial, 8:57.8; 5. Bergen Tech, 9:10.4; 6. Fort Lee, 9:13.5.
4-x-1,600: 1. Indian Hills (Bobby Corcoran, Richie Lascar, Jason Kelly, Bobby Ohrlein), 19:27.4; 2. Memorial, 19:36.5; 3. Bergen Tech, 19:56.5; 4. Hackensack, 20:16.6; 5. NV/Old Tappan, 20:26.2; 6. Cliffside Park, 20:37.4.
Sprint medley: 1. Montville (Matt Santos, Nick Ryan, Hoseph Desir, Fima Desir), 3:43.7; 2. Mahwah, 3:47.2; 3. Hawthorne, 3:52.3; 4. Paramus Catholic, 3:53.0; 5. Fort Lee, 3:54.3; 6. Newton, 3:56.2.
Distance medley: 1. Indian Hills (Steve Fiumefreddo, Ara Araz, Bobby Corcoran, Tom Holster), 11:15.2; 2. Fair Lawn, 11:35.9; 3. Hackensack, 11:40.7; 4. Montville, 11:42.0; 5. Hawthorne, 11:46.6; 6. Newton, 11:51.3.
Shuttle hurdles: 1. Lyndhurst (Jake Oyuela, Jared Gabriel, Jordan Sanders, Teslin Olunlade), 1:08.0; 2. NV/Old Tappan, 1:08.7; 3. Dumont, 1:09.7; 4. Indian Hills, 1:11.4; 5. Hasbrouck Heights, 1:15.3; 6. New Milford, 1:14.4.
3-x-400 IH: 1. NV/Old Tappan (Ryan Jordan, Johnny Lohrer, Luke Conmy), 2:59.3; 2. Montville, 3:03.2; 3. Lyndhurst, 3:05.8; 4. Dumont, 3:08.3; 5. Indian Hills, 3:13.4; 6. Wayne Valley, 3:15.4.
Shot put: 1. River Dell (Kyle Ziegler, Mike Rizik, Dante DeSimone), 132-6; 2. Saddle Brook, 128-8 3/4; 3. NV/Old Tappan, 122-0; 4. Hackensack, 120-9; 5. Pope John, 119-3; 6. Montville, 117-5 1/2.
Discus: 1. River Dell (Dante DeSimone, Mike Rizik, Kyle Ziegler), 363-4; 2. Saddle Brook, 358-3; 3. Wayne Valley, 348-1; 4. NV/Old Tappan, 340-8; 5. Paramus Catholic, 337-3; 6. Hackensack, 330-5.
Javelin: 1. NV/Old Tappan (James Kelly, Jackson Downey, Jason Santa Cruz), 401-9; 22. Wayne Valley, 397-4; 3. Lakeland, 378-0; 4. River Dell, 352-8; 5. Montville, 343-0; 6. Fort Lee, 342-4.
High jump: 1. Lodi (Carlos Pepin, Ramon Bermudez), 11-10; 2. Hasbrouck Heights, 11-6; 3. Fort Lee, 11-2; 4. NV/Old Tappan, 11-0; 5. Newton, 5-8; 6. Memorial, 5-6.
Long jump: 1. Fort Lee (Manny Montoya, Deloyd Miller, Tahj Martin), 54-11 1/2; 2. Lakeland, 53-6 3/4; 3. Lodi, 52-0; 4. Saddle Brook, 49-7 1/2; 5. Lyndhurst, 49-1 3/4; 6. Passaic Valley, 47-8 3/4.
Triple jump: 1. Fort Lee (Michael Huertas, Manny Montoya, Aarman Mehta), 120-7 1/2; 2. Lodi, 119-11 1/2; 3. Hasbrouck Heights, 117-4 1/2; 4. Lakeland, 116-2 1/2; 5. Bergen Tech, 112-4; 6. Lyndhurst, 112-3.
Pole vault: 1. NV/Old Tappan (Seth Kricheff, Jona Kim, Tyler Hrbek), 36-0; 2. Mahwah, 22-6; 3. Montville, 21-6; 4. tie between Lyndhurst and Hasbrouck Heights), 20-0; 6. River Dell, 19-0.
Girls
TEAM SCORING
LARGE SCHOOLS: Paramus Catholic 50, Holy Angels 41, NV/Old Tappan 30, Montville 22.Fair Lawn, Indian Hills and Bergen Tech 20, Hawthorne 16, Wayne Valley 11, Pope John 5.
SMALL SCHOOLS: Hasbrouck Heights 89, Newton 38, Lyndhurst 31 1/2, Lakeland 19 1/2, Park Ridge and Midland Park 14, River Dell 12, Englewood 10, Lodi 8 1/2, Saddle Brook 5 1/2, Mahwah 5, Fort Lee 4.
4-x-100: 1. Hasbrouck Heights (Ashley Quinn, Crystal Lichtenberg, Nyasia Fye, Haylle Thomas), 53.0; 2. Englewood, 54.0; 3. Bergen Tech, 54.7; 4. tie between Lakeland and Wayne Valley, 54.9; 6. NV/Old Tappan, 55.6.
4-x-200: 1. Holy Angels (Maris Rodriguez, Christina McCarthy, Nicole Barbero, Veronique Dhont), 1:53.2; 2. Hasbrouck Heights, 1:54.3; 3. Paramus Catholic, 1:55.3; 4. Park Ridge, 1:56.3; 5. Midland Park, 1:57.5; 6. Wayne Valley, 1:57.8.
4-x-400: 1. Park Ridge (Alli Uhl, Rachel Spagnola, DiCrlantonio, Megan Gasnick), 4:19.4; 2. Hasbrouck Heights, 4:19.6; 3. Montville, 4:23.6; 4. Lyndhurst, 4:26.1; 5. Holy Angels, 4:26.7; 6. Wayne Valley, 4:28.5.
4-x-800: 1. Lakeland (Sam Biss, Briel Diaz, Linnea Gilligan, Emma Gibson), 10:18.1; 2. Holy Angels, 10:24.9; 3. Hasbrouck Heights, 10:28.6; 4. Indian Hills, 10:33.2; 5. Paramus Catholic, 10:36.0; 6. Lyndhurst, 11:01.4.
4-x-1,600: 1. Indian Hills (Corinne Barney, Madeline Barney, Madeline Daly, Macy Kissel), 23:19.4; 2. Hackensack, 24:20.6; 3. Newton, 24:34.6; 4. Wayne Valley, 24:58.1; 5. Lyndhurst, 25:10.2; 6. Hasbrouck Heights, 25:20.9.
Shuttle hurdles:1. Hasbrouck Heights (Sydney Fontalvo, Monika Lucic, Serena Torres, Talia Ferguson), 1:13.0; 2. Paramus Catholic, 1:13.7; 3. Lyndhurst, 1:14.5; 4. Bergen Tech, 1:16.5; 5. Wayne Valley, 1:17.3; 6. Hawthorne, 1:17.6.
3-x-400 IH: 1. Hasbrouck Heights (Monika Lucic, Sydney Fontalvo, Serena Torres), 3:34.8; 2. Montville, 3:41.8; 3. Paramus Catholic, 3:45.6; 4. Hawthorne, 3:49.3; 5. NV/Old Tappan, 3:53.3; 6. Lakeland, 3:54.6.
Sprint medley: 1. Bergen Tech (Ruanna Small, Laura Zhang, Casey Martin, Sophia Wolmer), 4:31.1; 2. Hawthorne, 4:36.9; 3. Newton, 4:41.9; 4. Fair Lawn, 4:42.7; 5. Hasbrouck Heights, 4:44.3; 6. Mahwah, 4:57.8.
Distance medley: 1. Newton (Victoria Docherty, Kayleigh Furth, Kendra Berry, Ashley VanHoorabake), 14:00.8; 2. Montville, 14:05.1; 3. Indian Hills, 14:12.6; 4. Hasbrouck Heights, 14:53.4; 5. Lyndhurst, 15:00.7; 6. Hawthorne, 15:24.4.
Shot put: 1. Hasbrouck Heights (Kassie Ketcho, Catherine Castellanos, Victoria Vizzacherro), 90-10 3/4; 2. Paramus Catholic, 86-11 3/4; 3. Holy Angels, 86-7; 4. Lodi, 84-4; 5. River Dell, 82-6 1/2; 6. Lyndhurst, 82-3.
Discus: 1. Newton (Gigi Ziegler, Jade Luciana, Arianna Ziegler), 277-7; 2. NV/Old Tappan, 274-9; 3. River Dell, 264-11; 4. Pope John, 262-11; 5. Fair Lawn, 244-10; 6. Lyndhurst, 240-8.
Javelin: 1. Hasbrouck Heights (Ashley Quinn, Kassie Ketcho, Victoria Vizzacherro), 292-8; 2. Midland Park, 291-7; 3. Fair Lawn, 261-6; 4. River Dell, 246-10; 5. Hawthorne, 233-7; Pope John, 228-3.
High jump: 1. NV/Old Tappan (Grace Scott, Jamie Budge, Skylar Regan), 13-10; 2. Hasbrouck Heights, 13-4; 3. Holy Angels, 4-8; 4. Fort Lee, 4-6; 5. tie between Saddle Brook and Lodi), 4-4.
Long jump: 1. Paramus Catholic (Faith Sutton, Tiffany Bautista, Isabelle Dely), 47-1 3/4; 2. Fair Lawn, 43-5; 3. Lyndhurst, 41-9; 4. Midland Park, 41-7 1/2; 5. Englewood, 41-4 1/4; 6. Lodi, 40-3 1/4.
Triple jump: 1. Paramus Catholic (Tiffany Bautista, Isabelle Dely, Leilah Blain), 95-8 1/2; 2. Lyndhurst, 94-5 1/2; 3. Lakeland, 91-10; 4. Saddle Brook, 91-1; 5. Lodi, 89-2; 6. Holy Angels, 88-5.
Pole vault: 1. tie between NV/Old Tappan (Hanna Bernik, Arianna Cavalli, Taylor Dolan) and Holy Angels (Vanessa Quinn, Caroline McGann, Axa Borelli), 24-6; 3. Newton, 21-6; 4. Mahwah, 14-6; 5. Hasbrouck Heights, 13-6.