This morning we look at Tuesday’s running events which begin at 6 p.m. at Hackensack High School with trials with the first final set 40 minutes later. The big events of the night are the boys 800, where Pascack Valley star Ben Malone makes his last New Jersey high school appearance and races against fellow indoor All-American James Buser of Mahwah, and the sprints where Jabrill Peppers of Paramus Catholic takes aim at Bergen County records at 100 and 200 meters.
Here’s the outlook:BOYS
100 meters: First some explanation. The Bergen County record of 10.31 is held by Joe Dawkins of Hackensack, a two-time state champion who ran the time at the 1995 NNJIL league meet at Clifton. In the prior incarnation of FAT (Fully automatic time for the uninitiated) there were actual photos taken and read as opposed to the computer generated images in today’s technology. The photo was read correctly but both Dawkins and runner-up, then sophomore Cooper Rego of St. Joseph (10.78), ran times that they didn’t approach that year. Rego went to take second in the state at 100 metersin 1997 but neither ever ran as fast again. I was there but to this day I’m not sure what happened. And the integrity of the timer is without question. Dawkins was a starting defensive back at Penn State and Rego played running back at Notre Dame and West Virginia.
Then five years later, when FAT times had disappeared locally, Chris Charles of Park Ridge ran a hand-timed 10.2 at the state Group 1 sectionals at what I described was “the wind tunnel at Clifton Stadiumâ€. Charles was fast — really fast and recorded a wind-legal 10.53 in finishing third at t he State.
So the fastest non-controversial 100 time in Bergen history is the 10.46 run by former Don Bosco star Michael Ray Garvin in 2005. He went on to win the state championship that year and ran five FAT times under 10.60. He also went on to be an all-American sprinter at Florida State where he also played football.
That brings us to young Mr. Peppers who has already run FAT times of 10.59 and last Friday, a ridiculous 10.53 at the Non-Public A meet at Randolph. I say ridiculous because even if there was a favorable wind, the cold would more than cancel out any wind advantage. And Peppers has a worthy opponent in former Don Bosco teammate Benjamin Davis, now at Old Tappan, who has a 10.79 to his credit. Weather conditions look great and a record (at least in the non-controversial division) could happen.
200 meters: More explanation is necessary here. The 200 meters used to be run on a long straightaway and marks of 20.8 and 20.9 hand-timed were run by Bill Walker of Englewood in 1965 and Jack Mostyn of Bergen Catholic in 1958 respectively (And Mostyn once was clocked in 9.3 for the 100 yards (at the time a world record) with its own controversy behind it). But Garvin’s 21.31 in 2005 behind Passaic County record holder Shaquan Brown of Kennedy who ran 21.23 at the State Meet of Champs is the accepted Bergen record around a turn. Peppers is next with his own controversial 21.37 clocking at the Big North United league meet two weeks ago, that was initially misread at 20.79. But he’s backed that up with clockings of 21.41 and 21.47 the next two weeks and it could go Tuesday night. Let’s hope there’s no controversy attached here.
400 meters: It’s Malone’s junior teammate Jaleel Felton and Don Bosco senior Noah Lartigue here as both are multiple time sub-50 performers.
800 meters: It’s Malone’s farewell to Bergen County running and it could be a record setting one. The Villanova-bound star, who skipped the state meet cycle to compete in the Dream Mile in New York last weekend, is the nation’s second fastest all-time 800 meter runner indoors and ran 1:50.70 last year en route to winning the state 800 title. He’s fourth on the all-time Bergen list behind state champs Patrick Rono of Lyndhurst (1:50.10 in 2011), Josh Kauke of Ridgewood (1:50.19 in 2000) and Roger Jones of Ramsey (1:50.3 in the Paleozoic Era (1977). But Malone is a kicker and has never pushed the pace, usually running the second half of his race far faster than his first.
Enter Mahwah junior James Buser. He had an incredible winter while Malone was slowly recovering from injuries that marred his cross-country season, ultimately taking sixth in the New Balance Indoor Nationals in 1:52.21, second to Malone on the Bergen indoor list. Malone was fifth that day but they ran in separate heats. Buser is usually also a kicker but that day he set such a fast pace that the national champ, Nathan Kiley of Virginia, who the race from that unseeded heat, credited Buser with making Kiley the national champ.
Buser hasn’t cracked the outdoor top 50 yet, but appears ready and hopefully will push the pace early Tuesday. If the duo comes through in 55 or 56 seconds, it could be a magical night. There are five other sub-2:00 runners in the field, but none have shown the inclination to take the chance and run the first 400 quick enough to ensure a fast time.
1,600 meters: The field in this race and the 3,200 is sparse of big names because of the state group meet three days later. But Chris Mascetti of Hackensack and Rob Townsend of Don Bosco have each broken 4:25. One to watch is North Arlington junior Danny Cordeiro, who has a PR on 4:30.37 but has impressed as he has remained undefeated and pretty much untested so far this year.
3,200 meters: Everyone’s under 10 minutes but no one has run under 9:45 except Don Bosco frosh Patrick Sullivan, who leads the field with a 9:44.21 clocking. Blake Brancato of Rutherford is the only other runner under 9:50 so look for some personal bests here.
110 hurdles: A three-way showdown between Roland Gamez of Hasbrouck Heights, Kevin Chung of Ridgewood and defending champ Fernando Almonte of Lodi. Almonte has lost heartbreakers to Gamez at the Bergen C meet and to Brandon Ortiz of Lakeland at the Group 2 sectionals. Will the third time be the charm?
400 hurdles: Remarkably, in what appeared to be a lackluster year for the event, this meet brings together state top-seeds Jack Greuter of Northern Highlands (Group 3), Christian DeSanctis of River Dell (Group 2) and the Bergen leader, George Alexandris of Fair Lawn, who has had a magnificent spring in both this race and the triple jump. A race to savor.
4-x-400 relay: Teaneck, which recorded the fastest time in North Jersey this year, has chosen not to run, which leaves Pascack Valley, Ridgewood and Don Bosco to bang heads in what is always a treat to end the meet. (Hey, should I trademark that?)
I need a break. Later this morning, I’ll be back with the Girls track preview.