Rockets’ Simone, Harmata star at county meet

CHRIS KELLY staff Above, Raritan’s Phil Simone races to a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles at the Monmouth County Track and Field Championships at Monmouth Regional High School in Tinton Falls on Thursday.

Seventh straight county title for CBA; South girls set record

BY TIM MORRIS

Staff Writer

After a fall nearly cost him participation in the Monmouth County Track and Field Championships, Raritan’s Phil Simone will restrict his hurdling to the track.

FARRAH MAFFAI staff Holmdel’s Mike Infantino gets set to launch the javelin at the county championships on Wednesday in Tinton Falls.

Right before the start of the 110-meter high hurdles final on Thursday, Simone decided to jump the fence that lines Monmouth Regional’s track to get his spikes for the race. What started off innocently enough became a major problem when his leg caught the top of the fence and he took a fall. He bruised and cut his shin, banged his knee and landed on his chest and face.

"It was not a good start to the day," recalled Simone.

Yet, Simone was in the blocks moments later for the start of the 110-meter high hurdles final. He would finish second to the favorite, Barry Bostick of Monmouth Regional, 14.81-15.14.

"We were running together until the fifth or sixth hurdle when he turned on the jets," said Simone.

FARRAH MAFFAI staff Matawan’s Matt Chris Keller competes in the shot put last Wednesday at Monmouth Regional High School.

The banged and bruised Simone, however, was just beginning his day. Three more races were on the docket.

The 400 meters would follow and an obviously struggling Simone ran sixth (52.04) behind Christian Brothers Academy’s Chris Vuono, who cranked out a fast 48.93.

"The last 100, I had nothing left," Simone said.

There was still one individual race left, the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, considered by some the toughest event in track. Thanks, Simone said, to ice, Ben Gay and Gatorade, he was able to take the track less than a half-hour after the 400-meter for the 400 intermediate hurdles, where he was the defending champion. The Rocket would somehow will his way to a big effort, muscles aching or not.

FARRAH MAFFAI staff CBA’s Elias Fontinos competes in the long jump during the Monmouth County Championships at Monmouth Regional last Wednesday.

His concern in intermediates was his rival of four years, CBA’s Dan McLeod.

"He’s so strong," said Simone. "We’ve been battling for four years. I beat him as a freshman and he got me as a sophomore; I was able to win last year.

"I knew he would come out strong," he added. "He beat me earlier in the season in a tri-meet running 56. I wanted to hang with him and kick in the last 200."

In contrast to McLeod, Simone likes to come from behind in the 400 hurdles, running the second 200 faster. It always makes for a fascinating race.

But this year, a third party, Bostick, joined the race, catching Simone and McLeod.

"I didn’t see Bostick until he was alongside me," recalled Simone.

It was a three-way race to the tape with all three going flat out.

"He who dies last was going to win," he said. "We were cooking."

It was Simone who died last, winning in 54.96 ahead of Bostick (55.32) and McLeod (55.63).

It wasn’t Simone’s prettiest effort in the 400 hurdles, but it was certainly his gutsiest.

Having gotten into the 54s in early May, Simone is looking to get a little bit quicker each week.

Simone would add a fourth medal to his county collection in the 1,600-meter relay, where he anchored the Rockets to a fourth place (3:27.7).The Rockets collected a second win when Matt Dahl out-leaned Red Bank Regional’s Joe Kingsbery at the line to win the 800, 1:57.11 to 1:57.12. Dahl controlled the race from the front and survived a pulsating stretch run duel with Kingsbery.

McLeod and the CBA Colts would have the final word at the two-day meet held on April 5 and 6, winning their seventh straight title with 64 points. Raritan was fifth with 37.

The Colts, who have traditionally relied on their distance runners, rode their sprinters and balance at Monmouth Regional, led by Vuono.

Vuono ran a powerful and relaxed 400. Having discovered the best way for him to run the one-lap sprint, Vuono has become one of the best in the state.

"Last year I tried different ways to run the 400 and found the best way," he said. "I go out pretty hard [on the curve], settle in on the back straight, and go with 150 left."

Vuono left the best of the county’s best 400 sprinters in the dust Thursday with his sub-49. He also anchored the Colts to their only other win, the 1,600-meter relay. McLeod ran the lead-off leg with Peter Glackin and Brett Fiorovanti running the middle 400s. Vuono then took it home.

Middletown South picked up a pair of wins from Steve Dowens in the javelin (172-3) and Knowshon Moreno in the long jump (21-7 1/2).

The Eagles were fourth (39).

Keyport had two individual winners in the jumps. Kevin Spears took the high jump (6-4) while Pete Czech was first in the triple jump (45-6 1/2).

The girls were equally successful at Monmouth Regional, led by Raritan’s Amanda Harmata, the dominant thrower in the Shore area.

Harmata was the meet’s Most Outstanding Field Performer after setting a meet record in the javelin (114-11) and winning the shot put (30-0 1/4). She was also third in the discus (114-11).

In setting the javelin meet record, she erased her graduated teammate Kelly Robinson from the record book. Robinson threw 143-5 in capturing the county championship in 2002.

Middletown South’s Julianne Toto and Laura Flath, who have been setting relay records all year, now share the meet record for the girls’ pole vault. Each shattered the old mark (8-6 by Freehold Township’s Jenn Jeffries last year) doing 11-0. Toto got the gold on fewer misses.

St. John Vianney’s Jen Therkorn hadn’t run a serious 800 meters this spring and didn’t know what to expect.

"I just wanted to go out and do my best," she said. "I wasn’t expecting to feel confident."

Therkorn seized control of the race in the first 400 meters, building up a margin too large for anyone to catch her.

"If I felt comfortable, I was going to see what I could do," she pointed out.

Therkorn held form throughout the last lap as the county’s best runners took their best shot at her. She still won comfortably in 2:18.88.

Therkorn’s front-running was a change in strategy, and the result on an incident during the indoor season when she was running in the chase pack.

"After I fell at the [indoor] states, I had to rethink about coming from behind," she said. "I wanted to see what I could do front running."

The debut may be enough to change her way of running.

In the team competition, Harmata’s double helped the Rockets (44) finish second to Ocean (48). Middletown South was in the hunt for the team title as well, finishing third with 43 points.

This week, the county’s best will go up against each other once again and the finest from Ocean County at the Shore Conference Championships at Brick Township High School. The meet will be held over two days like the county was, on Friday and Saturday.