By Jeff Appelblatt
On April 1, Marlboro High School will be one of 15 schools represented at the Rocket Relays at Raritan High School — an annual kickoff to the spring track and field season.
At last year’s event, Marlboro’s Briana Mullan won the girls’ 400-meter hurdles race, Julien Hill finished No. 3 in the boys’ 400 hurdles, the boys’ 1,600 medley relay team and the girls’ 4×100 relay team each finished second and the 4×200 relay team finished fourth.
Overall, the female racers from Marlboro placed No. 6 out of the 15 competing schools, while Marlboro’s males finished No. 12 out of 16 teams.
This year’s squads still have their strong and weak spots, pointed out by coach Ray Sypniewski.
“Our top-end talent is very good, but we’re not deep at all,” the coach said. “We do all right. We got our fair share of county [championships], Shore Conference [championships], sectional [championships] — [and] our 4×100’s are pretty good, but it really depends.”
Thinking about all of Marlboro’s runners vs. the local competition, Sypniewski knows his team is a bit outmatched against some.
“Colts Neck [High School] has a lot of depth. Howell [High School has] some [talented] girls,” the coach said. “[But] we’ll be all right.
“As far as the district goes — the Freehold Regional High School District — we probably have the No. 1 800 boy, [Charles Maree], and top short sprinter, [Hill]. [Danielle Spano] is probably the No. 1 100 and 200 girl. And we’ve probably got the best 400 [squad] or close to it.”
Fellow coach Todd Leibman has high hopes for the spring.
“We have a pretty talented group of seniors that can score some points and do some good things,” he said. “And then we have a crop of sophomores that we’re expecting to produce a little bit for us.
“I’m optimistic.”
As for Marlboro’s run in the district, he’s not totally sure what to expect.
“I haven’t even looked to see what the other district schools have,” Leibman said. “But we’ll have the district meet this year, which is exciting. I think our girls could do really well. And then on the boys’ side, we have some guys that could score some points for us.
“Put it on paper, we could score some points in a lot of events. But are we going to get enough points to outscore a powerhouse like Colts Neck?”
Well when the regular season starts April 1 in Raritan, Marlboro will have a chance to see how it compares to Colts Neck High School. The Cougars, who are coming off their second consecutive New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group III indoor track championship, will also be at the event in Hazlet.
