Seraph runners attain Penn Relays qualifier
BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer
Time was of the essence for Curtis Jensen. He and his Mater Dei teammates were chasing a qualifying mark in the 4x800 meters for the Penn Relays at Saturday's Colts Neck Relays. They needed to run under 8:15 to have a chance of making it to Penn (April 24-26) for the first time in school history.

Running the anchor leg, Jensen saw the finish line clock ticking past 8:00. He knew he had to hurry up.

"I ran as hard as I could," he said.

He threw everything he had into the final meters of the race, stopping the clock in 8:14.48. The Seraphs had done it.

"It was real important," said Jensen. "No team has been to Penn in the 4x800."

The week before at the Rebel Relays, Patrick O'Boyle, Ryan Lundy, Mike Amato and Jensen had won their division with an 8:28. They knew they had their work cut out for them in what would be their last chance to get a qualifying mark (deadline was Sunday). They rose to the occasion, however, with each running a personal best. O'Boyle started it off with a 2:01 opening leg with Lundy following with a 2:06 and Amato a 2:07. Jensen's 2:00 brought them in just under the required 8:15.

"I ran my race," said Jensen. "I wanted to see if I could catch runners in front of me."

Having someone to chase helped him run his 2:00 and get the Seraphs to Penn. It also helped the other Seraphs competing against teams like Westfield (first in 8:04.58) and Red Bank Catholic (8:08.72).

Earlier in the meet, the quartet had set a school record in the Distance Medley Relay, clocking 10:45.82.

 

There was a 40-minute lightning delay midway through the meet, and it was perfect for the Seraphs, since it gave them extra time to recover from the DMR.

It was a big week for the Seraphs, because onWednesday, the seniors got to celebrate a first: a home dual meet victory.

This springMater Dei officially opened its new eight-lane, 400-meter track. The paved polyurethane surface replaced the old cinder track that had limited the program to just a couple of home meets over the last 20 years. Boys coach Mike Tursi could only recall three home meets in his 18 years (all against St. Rose of Belmar) and the last one was seven years ago. The project had been talked about for several years, Tursi remarked, but it only became serious in the last year.U

nder the supervision of St. Mary ParishAthletic Council and with a lot of financial support from alumni and fundraising events like the Blue Denim Dinner and Spring Into Summer 5K race, the ball got rolling seriously last year, and by the fall, the new state-ofthe art track was completed.

Mater Dei officially opened the track onApril 2, with a boys and girls dual meet against Rumson-Fair Haven.

Wednesday, the Seraphs hosted Shore Regional and the boys scored a thrilling 72-68 win, their first over the Blue Devils in eight years. The winning points were provided by the 4x400 relay team of Amato, Patrick McGee, Jervin Mendonca and Jensen with a come-from-behind win.

"It was really exciting," Jensen said of the home track meet.

Jensen said the new track was much better for training, and now people can come out and see them in dual meets.

"It felt nice to have a home meet," said Tursi.

The new track would make Mater Dei track more visible, and consequently would attract more people to the sport. The homemeets, said Tursi, will help St. Mary Elementary School students see that track is strong at the school, and current Mater Dei students might be encouraged to give track a go.

Down the road, the new track could help the Seraphs host invitationals or relays if they were inclined to do it.