Down to the wire

Salem’s Parker, Woodstown’s Crawford, Pennsville’s Morris all win state track titles, Parker on last jump of the day, Crawford at the tape, Morris in tiebreaker

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SOMERSET – Talk about cutting it close.

Salem senior Anthony Parker has known the disappointment of being a No. 1 seed and not being able to get the job done too many times. It looked like it was going to happen to him again in Friday’s Group I state meet at Franklin High School here, but on his last jump of the night, literally the last jump of the event, he reached back and delivered a gold-medal winning effort.

Parker, the No. 1 seed in the Group I boys long jump, won the event with a last-chance leap of 22-feet, 5-inches, passing the two jumpers who left him in danger of not even qualifying for the Meet of Champions on their final jumps.

“It feels great,” Parker said. “All the other times I’ve been seeded first for states throughout my four years and my track career I’ve never won state. This is the first time. It feels great. I’m blessed.”

Actually, all three Salem County Group I state champions Friday took their wins down to the wire. In addition to Parker winning on his final jump, Woodstown’s Josh Crawford held off Metuchen’s Eric Schleif at the wire to win the boys 800 and Pennsville’s Megan Morris won a tiebreaker over New Providence’s Ilana Kornacki to take the girls pole vault for the second year in a row.

Crawford ran a 1:53.44 and beat Schleif by 16-hundreths of a second. Teammate Cole Lucas was third.

Morris and Kornacki both cleared 10-6 and missed at 11-0, but Morris won the gold when Kornacki missed her first jump way back at 9-0.

Parker, who is still undecided on where he’ll run in college next year, has been seeded No. 1 in his specialties entering the state meet at least four times in his Salem career.

The first time was last year in the outdoor 110 hurdles and he didn’t make it to the finals. In this year’s indoor championships he was listed first in the 55 hurdles and finished second. He’s also seeded No. 1 in the 110 hurdles here Saturday, but a right hamstring injury that affects his ability to pull over the hurdle (but not the long jump) will keep him from competing.

“It feels great (to finally deliver),” he said. “When I’m seeded first and I’ve got that mindset I’m first, I’m going to go win it and then I don’t, I get down on myself. I’m pretty hard on myself. All the coaches were telling me the whole meet to get out of my head and go jump, go have fun, remember why you came here and why you’re doing it.”

It still wasn’t easy. Glassboro freshman Alex Adeleye bumped Parker’s 21-9 from the lead with a 21-11 on his final jump. After waiting all day to compete, Parker had just one more attempt to get it back. He rose about the pressure and the noise and nailed it.

“This is his first moment where he definitely rose as the favorite, kind of just controlled it almost 90 percent of the time where in most cases he’s had to work his way up,” Rams coach David Hunt said. “It’s hard to perform when everyone expects you to win. When people don’t have that pressure on them it’s like they’re playing with house money. Everyone was coming after him. So to be able to hold that spot, to win it as the favorite for him was a big step. That is the first time he’s been able to do it.”

“It’s a lot of pressure, but, honestly, I think it’s better for me that way,” Parker said. “When I jumped my PR, 23-9, it was also my last jump. I think I jump better under pressure.”

Pennsville’s Morris successfully defended the pole vault title she won last year but conceded it was harder the second time around.

For starters, there was the stress of meeting the expectations she had for herself. And the field was so close any of the top five could have won it. It was so stressful she almost didn’t watch Kornacki’s last attempt at 11 feet that would have determined the champion.

As it was, Morris won because Kornacki had missed her first attempt at 9 feet, a height Morris passed to start at 9-6.

“All three of my jumps were pretty clean, but that 11 I’m just missing it,” she said. “This was honestly one of my stronger days. I wouldn’t say it’s my best, I think the Salem County Meet was my best, but this is probably top two.

“Leading up to it I thought I was going to be really nervous at the actual meet because I was nervous these two weeks leading up to it, and then when I got there all the nerves kind of went away.”

Truth be told, through all the stress and intense competition she did have a little extra incentive to repeat.

“My brother made a bet with me that if I won again he’d get us all Texas Roadhouse,” she said. “Right when I won I went to him and said I guess you owe me Texas Roadhouse.” 

The top two finishers in each event are guaranteed a spot in next week’s Meet of Champions at Pennsauken, although several Salem County athletes are in contention for wildcard spots to complete the field.

Pennsville’s Connor Ayars finished fourth in the boys javelin, but his 172-10 is expected to earn a wildcard spot.

Schalick’s 4×100 relay team along with Cougars David Stewart (400 hurdles) and Jordan Hadfield (girls 3200) and Woodstown’s Lucas (800) all finished third and will be contenders for wildcards.

NJSIAA GROUP I CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Franklin H.S., Somerset
(Event winners and Salem County scorers)
(Top 2 qualify for Meet of Champions, top 6 score meet points)

BOYS
TEAM SCORES (Top 10): Glassboro 31.5, Camden 30, Hasbrouck Heights 24, Woodstown 16, Kinnelon 12, Manville 12, Schalick 12, Clayton 12, Dayton 10, Boonton 10, Metuchen 10, Salem 10, Palmyra 10. 
4×100 Relay: 1. Camden 42.50; 3. Schalick (Reggie Allen, Michael Eberl, Zaeshawn Mills, David Stewart) 42.82
800: 1. Josh Crawford, Woodstown 1:53.44; 3. Cole Lucas, Woodstown 1:55.01
400 Hurdles: 1. Alexander Osayemi, Clayton 52.79; 3. David Stewart, Schalick 55:04; 6. Bryan Garlic, Penns Grove 56.45
100: 1. Jaiden Steele, Camden 10.86
3200: 1. Matthew Ware, Dayton 9:32.39
Shot Put: 1. Oscar Solis, Hasbrouck Heights 52-10.25
Javelin: 1. Walter Hedblom-Green, Boonton 178-5; 4. Connor Ayars, Pennsville 172-10
Long Jump: 1. Anthony Parker, Salem 22-5
High Jump: 1. Jaleel Latimore, Palmyra 6-6

GIRLS
TEAM SCORES (Top 10): Metuchen 24, Glassboro 18, Hasbrouck Heights 15, Clayton 15, Hawthorne 14, Haddon Twp. 12, Woodbury 11, Verona 11, Riverside 10, Audubon 10, Burlington City 10, Pennsville 10
4×100 Relay: 1. Woodbury 49.33
800: 1. Gwendolyn Neale, Verona 2:10.93
400 Hurdles: 1. Gina Minichiello, Hasbrouck Heights 1:04.56
100: 1. Sydney Greenidge, Riverside 12.31
3200: 1. Kaitlyn Connors, Metuchen 10:52.42; 3. Jordan Hadfield, Schalick 10:59.56
Discus: 1. Sunny Moore, Glassboro 142-6
Triple Jump: 1. Nyima Burley, Burlington City 35-9
Pole Vault: 1. Megan Morris, Pennsville 10-6