Track: Chatham’s Kirton shines at Racine-Drew meet
MADISON - Despite being one of the premier hurdlers in Morris County, Simone Kirton said she gets nervous when she gets to the starting blocks for a race, particularly if her good friend and chief rival Elly Scherer is standing nearby.
“I have to focus on myself,” said the Chatham junior. “I have to worry about my own race. Because if Elly’s ahead of me, I just break down. I have to have tunnel vision to just try to keep up with her. It does get frustrating sometimes, but that’s life, and I just have to keep pushing myself.”
Kirton has reluctantly had to settle for second-best behind Scherer, a Randolph senior who has already won three times in head-to-head battles with Kirton this indoor track season.
“I look at the meets as another opportunity to get my best time, even if I don’t beat Elly,” Kirton said.
Monday morning, at the Racine-Drew Invitational meet at Drew University, Kirton did both — beat her friend and set a new personal best.
Kirton blazed the trail by winning the 55-meter hurdles in a meet-record 8.33 seconds, breaking the old mark of 8.48 seconds set in 2012 by Fatimat Ayinde of Union.
In the process, Kirton also bested Scherer, who was second with a time of 8.57 seconds. Meghan O’Malley of Randolph was third.
“I’ve always felt it’s a good race until the first hurdle,” Kirton said. “Well, I got out of the blocks really well and was in much better position as I got to the first hurdle. From there, it was all tunnel vision. I blocked out everything else.”
Needless to say, Kirton was ecstatic over the victory.
“It feels pretty good,” Kirton said. “Elly’s a great friend, and I don’t feel there’s a point where the competition between us goes too far. But this feels good, because I worked pretty hard to get this PR (personal record). I’m really surprised with the time. I definitely always wanted to leave my mark.”
Kirton said the victory will help her mental approach moving forward.
“It definitely gives me a lot of confidence, because now I know I can do it,” Kirton said. “I can beat her. Maybe there’s a good feeling that I beat Elly, but not as much as you would think. I just know now I can keep the lead.”
Kirton also took third in the 55-meter dash, behind winner Emma Osborne of Summit and Osborne’s teammate Claudia Piron. Kirton ran the 55-meter dash in 7.69 seconds.
Open door
When Morristown’s Ben Edwards toed the line to start the 1,600-meter run Monday, he noticed there were two familiar faces missing — namely teammates Evan Quinn and Eric Clay. The trio of Colonial runners has been running 1-2-3 throughout the entire cross country season and now into the indoor campaign at Drew.
With Quinn at a family function and Clay concentrating on relays, it left the door wide open for the affable Edwards.
“It’s not as much fun when you don’t get to run with Eric and Evan,” Edwards said. “I guess it was just my turn to continue the tradition of Morristown milers.”
With his buddies elsewhere, Edwards rolled to victory in the 1,600-meter run in 4:30.89, some 10 seconds ahead of runner-up Steven Cassano of Randolph.
“I tried to break 4:30, and I just missed it,” Edwards said. “It was weird not having them run with me, but it’s nice to win one. Usually I just try to stay with them, so today I had to set my own pace. It was a little tougher. I always want the best competition, and the best competition is my teammates. Evan and Eric are fantastic runners. I have to say I enjoy it more when I’m running with them. I have more people to high-five with at the finish line.”
Angelina Tarabokija of Kinnelon, the fantastic freshman, won the girls’ 1,600-meter run in 5:31.30, three seconds ahead of Mikayla Cochrane of West Morris, with Katie Mayer of Roxbury third.
Freshman victory
Jefferson’s fine shot putter Jordan Wildermuth got to the circle and realized that there was someone important not competing — namely Whippany Park’s Nickolette Dunbar, the defending shot put champion at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions.
“She was there to support us, but she wasn’t competing,” Wildermuth said. “I thought, ‘Nice, now I have a shot.’ ”
If Dunbar was competing, Wildermuth would have to reluctantly settle for a second-place battle. Without Dunbar, the event was wide open.
Wildermuth thought she’d ruined her chances to win when she fouled on each of her first two attempts.
“I was nervous, but I’m always nervous,” Wildermuth said. “I psych myself out all the time. I’m my own worst enemy. I’m a spin thrower now. I don’t glide anymore. I’m still learning, and I’m trying not to foul.”
Wildermuth didn’t foul on her last throw and unleashed a toss of 39-9, two feet better than Chioma Eluemunor of Morris Hills.
“I was pretty happy with the throw,” Wildermuth said.
And if Dunbar comes back for the Pietrewicz Polar Bear Invitational Wednesday?
“Oh, well, it was fun,” Wildermuth said. “I love Nickolette. We’re like best friends. We train together. It helps me when she’s here, because she gives me something to shoot for. She’s great.”
Jaylon Jorge of Morristown continued his dominance in the shot put this season, winning once again with a throw of 56-1½, with John Burk of Parsippany second and Matthew Napoleon of Morristown third.
At the races
William Hayes of Morristown was the winner of the 55-meter dash, which was the featured event of the meet and enabled the junior to earn a trophy as well for his efforts.
“I knew what the competition was like, and I thought I had a good chance,” said Hayes, who was a standout football player for the Colonials in the fall. “I wanted to win here today, because I knew there was a trophy. I never won a trophy before, not even for football. Since I played football, it’s really helped me in track. It’s a good feeling getting the trophy.”
Roxbury junior Alexis Smith had a good day, winning two gold medals in the 400-meter run and the sprint medley relay.
“It’s a little tough doing three in one day,” said Smith, who also competed in the 4x400-meter relay. “I knew there was a lot of good competition here today. I was hoping to get the win. I knew I had a good shot once I accelerated over the final 55 (meters).”
The Drew indoor series doesn’t usually feature a 400-meter run, but Smith was glad it was an event yesterday.
“I mostly do the 300 (meters) here, but I’d rather run the 400,” Smith said.
Smith said she likes the way her team is shaping up, especially for the Morris County Relays last week, where the Gaels are the defending champions.
“We’re really excited,” Smith said. “The goal is to win it again. I like the way we’re training.”
Steven Bondurich of Chatham won the 400-meter dash among the boys, besting teammate Avery Brown.
Conor McLaughlin of West Morris won the boys’ 800-meter run in 2:07.79, just ahead of Liam Cadden of Chatham and Colin Logsdon, also of Chatham.
In the girls’ 800-meter run, Ally Schlosser of Parsippany thought she had the race in the bag, but Emma Alai came storming back in the final strides to defeat Schlosser at the wire, much to Schlosser’s surprise, because she never saw Alai, who crossed the line in 2:24.79.