Reebok Grand Prix

NJI NEWS 2009

Meet Highlights

By Megan Tursi

Right from the start, the 23rd annual New Jersey International Track and Field meet held a sense of excitement. With temperate weather, very little wind, and a great atmosphere, the conditions were ideal. Athletes came from all parts of the nation and the world to compete in such a quality track meet. To start off, Rhuben Williams broke the meet record in shot put with a throw of 66-05.25, a personal best. He shattered the former record of 63-9 set by Tony Harlan in 1992. In the future, Williams hopes to throw even farther at nationals and later make the world championships. For the women, Monique Riddick won shot put with a throw of 50-03.25. On the track the elite races began with the men’s 400 meter hurdles. Kelton Cumberbatch finished and won with a time of 52.24. In the 110 meter hurdles elite, Jacoby DuBose pulled away with a win in 13.60. DuBose has only lost two races so far this season and is continuing in his training for the USA championships, with hopes of making the world championships. Fatmata Fofanah won the women’s 100 meter hurdles elite with a time of 13.49. She states that while she has made significant improvement this season, her goal is to continue to improve throughout the rest of the season. The men’s 100 meter dash was won by Hank Palmer, who pulled away to win in 10.39. In a competitive 400 meter men’s elite race, Elvis Lewis of Villanova won in 46.40. He won the Big East both indoor and outdoor in the 400 meters earlier this year and plans to make the national team in the future. Esther Akinsulie pulled away with a win in the women’s elite 400 meter run with a time of 53.64. Kristin Anderson led the women’s elite mile right from the start, and won easily in a time of 4:53.24. Truly a 3K and steeplechase runner, Anderson used the race primarily for training. She qualified for the USA championships this year. Josh McDougal won the men’s elite mile with an effortless run in 4:08.88. Another meet record was broken, in the men’s 800 meter elite run. Jeffrey Zodda, a former TCNJ runner, won an extremely competitive race in 1:48.50, breaking Karl Paranya’s record set in 1998 of 1:48.56. After running such an impressive race, Zodda is now considering running in the club nationals. Neisha-Bernard Thomas, who placed 5th in the 800 meters at the Beijing Olympics, won the women’s 800 meters elite with a time of 2:04.95. It is only her second true race this season and she plans to get under 2:00 soon. Thomas will soon be racing in Europe in preparation for the world championships. The last race of the evening was the men’s 3000 meter elite run. Atilla Sabahoglu won easily in a time of 8:38.25. The night finished with Rory Quiller winning men’s pole vault with a vault of 17-00.00. Earlier in the meet Chelsea Hartigan won the women’s pole vault with an 11-03.00. The 23rd annual New Jersey International Track and Field meet delivered as promised, with two meet records as well as many competitive and exciting events.

All Star Teams

By Megan Tursi

Some of the highlights of the NJ international meet were the high school All Star races. For the first time in the 23 years that the New Jersey International Track and Field meet has been held, a 4x400 relay was created with runners from select counties in New Jersey for both boys and girls. Five girls teams and six boys teams competed in two of the most energized and exciting races of the night.
The girls race was met with cheers and applause right from the start, and ended just as thrilling as expected. Essex County, Monmouth County, Union County, Ocean County, and Somerset County all competed, with each team consisting of impressive runners from high schools within their respective counties. The Union County team led for most of the race, but in the last 100 meters was passed by the Monmouth County team, which pulled away with a win in 3:46.51. The team consisted of Jade Wilson, Ajee Wilson, and Ashley Porterfield, all of Neptune high school, and Melissa Bellin of Rumson-Fair Haven high school. All had competed in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions on Thursday, both individually and on their respective 4x400 teams. When asked about how the race went, they stated how nice it was to run with friends and how relaxed the race was, saying how they wished they could repeat it. For seniors Jade Wilson, Porterfield, and Bellin, it was the last race of their high school careers.
On the boy’s side, six teams competed in an impressive and fast paced race. Essex County, Monmouth County, Ocean County, and Bergen County were present, along with two separate teams representing Union County. The race was ceremoniously started by Kevin Young, world record holder and Olympic gold medalist in the 400 meter hurdles. Accompanied by deafening cheers, one of the two Union county teams led and won in an especially remarkable time of 3:13.81.
The All Star high school teams proved to be an exciting and worthwhile addition to the New Jersey International Track and Field meet. The two races held an astounding amount of energy and produced impressive 4x400 times as promised. The All Star races were strong and notable, and will assuredly only get better each year in the future as they are a permanent addition to the meet.