New coach, renewed attitude at Morris Hills
Kayley Moran cleared the final hurdle and flung herself down on the track, legs and arms waving in the air. She ran back to the starting line and shouted to Morris Hills assistant coach Keith Lindsley, "I can do it!"
It was the first time Moran, a Scarlet Knights sophomore, had made it through 100 meters of hurdles. That was cause for her and some of her teammates to celebrate during practice last week.
"Usually, I get through half, and, 'Sorry, oops, I can't do it,’ ” said Moran, a hurdler, high jumper and sprinter.
"I really wanted to know I could do it. Now I have the confidence. Once you get that one moment that's good, it feels like you can rock it."
The reigning NJAC-American dual-meet champion, Morris Hills has been embracing new challenges this spring under new head coach Claire Lawrence. The girls now meet on the track and start warming up on their own right after school. Each coach has a workout already planned for his or her group: veteran Lindsley on hurdles and jumps, longtime Wallkill Valley cross country coach Sabrina Lucas with the sprinters, and Sandra Ostrowski on throws.
"It's nice to have that regular-season dual-meet plaque up there, but we want to add a little bit and make more of a name for ourselves," Lawrence said. "We're surrounded by great track and field. We want to make more noise and make more heads turn and have us be more of a contender around those bigger schools who do great things. We've had individual successes. We're trying to improve as a team and score more points as a team."
It's up to the Scarlet Knights to lead each other, particularly senior captains Frankie Perna, Melanie Wedermeier, Alex Molan and Emily Greuter.
Junior Chioma Eluemenor is coming off a solid indoor shot put season. Juniors Anjali Pai and Maggie Rogers will team with Perna on middle- and long-distance relays. Freshman sprinter Kiele Delgado also made a splash indoors. Freshman Ayla Lopez, a starter on Morris Hills' varsity soccer team last fall, has tons of potential.
Greuter and Eluemenor hope to break the two-person record in shot put, after falling three-quarters of an inch short indoors. The three-person javelin record could also be in jeopardy, with Greuter, Sarah Ramadan, Noelani Dock and Jasmine Rename all combining efforts.
The girls also have new team-building rituals, such as the throwers wearing pink on Wednesdays.
"The team is really new and fresh," said Perna, who hopes to break the school record in the 3,200 meters, which has stood since 1983. "We can only get better from here. A new coach and new girls, and even girls who are returning are trying different things. … You can always get better, and you don't want to plateau at any point."
Staff writer Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; jhavsy@gannettnj.com; www.dailyrecord.com/writerjane/
Athletes to watch
Eric Clay, Morristown junior: Steadily improving, Clay won the North 1 Group IV 1,600 meters and Morris County 3,200 last spring.
Sierra Castaneda, West Morris senior: Now Princeton-bound, can Castaneda defend her Morris County distance double?
Nickolette Dunbar, Whippany Park senior: After signing her National Letter of Intent with Louisiana State, Dunbar added NJSIAA shot put and New Balance Indoor national titles to her illustrious resume. A crowd will watch every throw she makes in her final outdoor season.
Anna George, Montville; Julia Herraiz, Roxbury; and Abby Loveys, Randolph: Welcome the new generation of Morris County distance dominance, a trio of freshmen already challenged during cross country season.
Tymia Joseph, Morris Knolls senior: The reigning Morris County long and triple jump champ qualified for the Meet of Champions in both events last spring.
Simone Kirton, Chatham junior and Elly Scherer, Randolph senior: Will Morris County’s dynamic hurdles duo reprise their rivalry outdoors?
Anna Lazur, Hanover Park senior: The two-time Morris County and three-time North 2 Group II intermediate hurdles champion, Lazur still has records to break.
Ian McNally and Jason Schweizer, Morris Hills seniors: Half of the Scarlet Knights’ national contender 4x800, the duo will contend in anything from the 400 to the 3,200.
Marcquis Smallwood, Mount Olive junior: One of the top returning sprinters in Morris County, Smallwood has to step up and lead a talented corps of Marauders speedsters.