Coach Ubl & Coach Clark's Team Announcements Archive

Girls Earn 3rd in One of NVOT's Best Sectional Performances — May 28, 2018 1:57:56 PM

Sometimes the score doesn't demonstrate how good a team is. NVOT placed third to Northern Highlands and Ramapo after two great days of track & field in which the Golden Knights tallied 88 points and 14 qualified for the State Group Championship. Between Taylor Newman, Taylor Thornton, and Taylor Dolan, cheering for the Golden Knights in the 100m has been easy this year...all you have to do is yell "Go Taylor." Taylor N. and Taylor D. both made it to finals in the 100m dash on Friday, and Taylor N. ran 12.49 for 4th, which is .01 seconds from Maxine McConnell's 2014 school record. She doubled back on Day 1 with a personal best of 60 flat (auto) in the 400m. Senior Caroline O'Sullivan won her first event of the weekend in the 1600m, cruising to the finish in 5:08.49. In the other heat, freshman Ally Meeks had a great race, nearly winning. By the Long Jump pits, junior Julia Powell had a great day, leaping 16 feet 8.5 inches. Senior Sophie Downey got the first points on the board for the throwers, placing second in Shot Put. In Javelin, junior Jackie Kelly threw 111 feet 7 inches for 4th, hitting the New Balance Nationals standard. The final event on the track for Day 1 was the 4x800m, and this turned out to be particularly exciting. Senior Mary Scrivanich got out strong, splitting a 2:24 season best. She handed off ahead of Northern Highlands. Junior Serena DeBenedetto next split a personal best of 2:25 to hand off to sophomore Kayleen Bae, again ahead of the competition. Kayleen ALSO split a personal best of 2:34, handing of to Caroline, who brought it home beautifully. The team combined for 9:44.6, which was a season best for the relay. Field outlasted Track on Day 1, as the Pole Vault competition lasted a while. Senior Arianna Cavalli jumped 10 feet 6 inches for 5th. Sophomore Marisa DiGia cleared 11 feet 6 inches for the first time, coming in 2nd and tying Arianna's school record. She had great attempts at 12 feet too, which is thrilling for the future.

Day 2 also saw many great performances by Golden Knights. In the 800m, Caroline again ran away from the competition, basically from the beginning, clocking 2:13.69. Junior Gracie Scott may not have qualified for finals in the 100HH, but her 16.66 time was great. The 4x100m broke their school record from last year, as Taylor T., Taylor N., Taylor D., and Noelle Gonzalez ran 50.22 seconds. Marisa continued to have a fabulous meet, clearing 5 feet 2 inches in High Jump for the first time and placing 6th in the Triple Jump. In Discus, both Jackie (3rd) and Sophie (5th) placed. The last event on the track was the 4x400m and Gonzalez, Newman, DeBenedetto, and O'Sullivan hung on for 6th place with 4:03.43.

While the girls did not win the meet, the season isn't over just yet. Sectionals is usually the last full team meet of the season, but with so many girls earning Top 6 places this week, there will surely be a full bus down to Central Regional High School this Friday and Saturday.

Kayleen Bae - 4x800m

Arianna Cavalli -- Pole Vault

Serena DeBenedetto -- 4x800m, 4x400m

Marisa DiGia -- Pole Vault, High Jump, Triple Jump

Taylor Dolan -- 4x100m

Noelle Gonzalez -- 4x100m, 4x400m

Sophie Downey -- Shot Put, Discus

Jackie Kelly -- Javelin, Discus

Taylor Newman -- 100m, 4x100m, 4x400m

Caroline O'Sullivan -- 800m, 1600m, 4x400m

Julia Powell -- Long Jump

Mary Scrivanich -- 4x800m

Taylor Thornton -- 4x100m

-Coach Ubl

The boys are North 1 Group 3 Champs ! — May 28, 2018 1:26:09 PM

The boys did not only just win the North 1 Group 3 Sectional Championship this weekend; they beat the next best team by 27.25 points. It all started on the track with the 400 Hurdles. Coach Gregory always says that the 400IH team has the job of getting the meet off on a good note, as it is the first event, and that the 4x400m should wrap up the meet on a high note as the last event on the track. Well, the boys delivered: junior John Lohrer won the event in 55.51 seconds and fellow juniors Luke Conmy and Ryan Jordan finished 4th and 5th. The team had 16 points on the board just a few minutes into the meet. Day 1 continued to go well on the track as sophomore Mike Tcherchian earned 6th in the 400m and the 4x800m (junior Michael Pankauski, sophomore Jin Woo Song, senior Will Dippolito, senior Justin Kim) set a season best for 4th. Meanwhile in the field, senior Kyle Shine set a personal best and NVOT #3 All-Time mark at 6 feet 4 inches to win High Jump. Fellow senior Tyler Hrbek placed 6th. Sophomore Pat Passalacqua earned 3rd in Discus. After Day 1, the Golden Knights were ahead. 

Day 2 was also great. Ryan and Johnny made finals in the 110 High Hurdles, and Ryan grabbed a point, coming in 6th with a speedy 15.30 time. The 4x100m relay scored 5th. At the very end of the meet, loads of points came in from the field for NVOT. Sophomore Pat Passalacqua became the state sectional runner-up in Shot Put while junior Chris Bazela and sophomore Devin Policastro earned 4th and 5th. Juniors Jason Santa Cruz and Jackson Downey scored in Javelin, coming in 2nd and 5th, as Jackson threw a new personal best at 162 feet 8 inches. And then, of course, the Pole Vault squad tallied 22 points. Seth Kricheff and Tyler each cleared 14 feet, though Seth won the sectional title on misses, and Jona Kim placed 4th with 13 feet on misses. Finally, the 4x400m took the track and, in a duel with Teaneck, placed second. 

With all of that, the Golden Knights earned the school's 9th Sectional Title for outdoor track. Seniors on the team have now played a role in 3 championships (2015, 2016, this one), but it is great that they graduate on top. This meet was another full-team effort, which makes the victory even sweeter; 19 Golden Knights placed in the Top 6 scoring spots in their event, earning State Groups berth. Congrats to the team, Coach Dunn, and the rest of the coaching staff! Today's a great day to be a Golden Knight!

JC Barrata -- 4x100m

Chris Bazela -- Shot Put

Luke Conmy -- 400IH, 4x400m

Will Dippolito -- 4x800m

Jackson Downey -- Javelin

Tyler Hrbek -- Pole Vault, High Jump

Ryan Jordan -- 110HH, 400IH, 4x400m

Jona Kim -- Pole Vault

Justin Kim -- 4x800m

Seth Kricheff -- Pole Vault, 4x100m

Johnny Lohrer -- 400IH, 4x100m, 4x400m

Nick McNerney -- 4x100m

Mike Pankauski -- 4x800m

Pat Passalacqua -- Shot Put, Discus

Devin Policastro -- Shot Put

Jason Santa Cruz -- Javelin

Kyle Shine -- High Jump

Jin Woo Song -- 4x800m

Mike Tcherchian -- 400m, 4x400m

POLE VAULT SQUAD NOTCHES ANOTHER COUNTY RECORD — May 22, 2018 2:08:24 AM

The boys broke the Bergen County & East Coast Relays Pole Vault Records tonight, clearing 42 feet combined—Jona 12-6, Seth 14-0 (first meet back from injury), Tyler 15-6 (that’s the indiv school record too) ... a GREAT pit stop on the way to States.

Powell, Meeks have great day at Freshman Counties — May 19, 2018 5:51:52 PM

The Golden Knights had another great week. There's a lot to cover, so I'm going to break it up into a few recaps.

The first meet was the girls Freshman County Championship. Ally Meeks ran right around her personal best, which she set last week at the Bergen County Championship, coming through the finish in 12:32 for third. Carly Powell, whose previous best in high jump was 4 feet 10 inches, cleared 5 feet for the first time to become Freshman County Champion. The freshman girls closed out their season strong. 

2018 BMOC Qualifiers — May 16, 2018 1:04:55 PM

J.C. Baratta ('21) - 100m

Chris Bazela ('19) - Discus

Arianna Cavalli ('18) - Pole Vault

Luke Comny ('19) - 400 IH & 4x400m

Serena DeBenedetto ('19) - 400 IH

Marisa DiGia ('20) - High Jump & Pole Vault

Will Dippolito ('18) - 3200m

Jackson Downey ('19) - Javelin

Sophie Downey ('18) - Shot Put & Discus

Noelle Gonzalez ('19) - Long Jump & 4x400m

Tyler Hrbek ('18) - Pole Vault

Ryan Jordan ('19) - 100 HH & 4x400m

Jackie Kelly ('19) - Discus

Jona Kim ('18) - Pole Vault

John Lohrer ('19) - 400 IH & 4x400m

Taylor Newman ('19) - 100m & 4x400m

Caroline O'Sullivan ('18) - 1600m & 4x400m

Pat Passalacqua ('20) - Shot Put & Discus

Devin Policastro ('19) - Shot Put

Julia Powell ('19) - High Jump

Jason Santa Cruz ('19) - Javelin

Mary Scrivanich ('18) - 800m & 4x400m

Kyle Shine ('18) - High Jump

Mike Tcherchian ('20) - 4x400m

The Bergen Meet of Champions is on Friday 5/18 at Hackensack High School.

Bergen County Championships Recap — May 15, 2018 3:14:08 AM

Beyond dual meets, Old Tappan rarely hosts any large meets or invitationals. However, once a year, the entirety of Bergen County Track & Field descends on Central Avenue and, for a brief period of time, track & field is the biggest thing going on in the Northern Valley. It is at this meet that the seniors race at home for the last time. Organized by size and public/nonpublic, the Bergen Group Championships are contested over a Friday and a Saturday. For the past ten years, NVOT has been a member of the largest schools division, Group A.

The boys placed second to Ridgewood but posted a great effort in the process. Freshman JC Baratta qualified for the finals in the 100m dash at his very first outdoor county championship. In the 400, sophomore Michael Tcherchian placed 6th. Junior Michael Pankauski missed placing in the 800m but ran a great race and lowered his best to 2:02.71. Senior Will Dippolito had a good day in the 3200m, sticking with the lead pack until the last laps and striding to third in 10:02.24. Juniors John Lohrer and Ryan Jordan both made the finals in the 100 hurdles, John placing 3rd in 15.69 and Ryan placing 4th in 15.73. Both John and Ryan were also part of the intermediate hurdle squad which looked great on Friday and is clearly carrying on an almost decade-long tradition of fantastic Golden Knight intermediate hurdlers. John won on a lean while fellow junior Luke Conmy placed fourth and Ryan fifth. 

As for the relays, the 4x100 came in fourth, the 4x800 came in second, and the 4x400 came in 3rd. In the field, seniors Kyle Shine (2nd) and Tyler Hrbek (6th) placed in high jump. Tyler won pole vault with 14 feet 6 inches while classmate Jona Kim placed 3rd and sophomore Josh Choi came in 5th. Sophomore Patrick Passalacqua had a monster day in shot put and threw 53 feet 2.25 inches for NVOT #4 All-Time. He also placed 5th in discus to cap off a great weekend. School record-holder junior Jason Santa Cruz won javelin and junior Jackson Downey and sophomore Devin Policastro medaled as well.

The girls placed 3rd in the meet behind Ridgewood and Northern Highlands. Junior Taylor Newman cruised across the finish line first in the 100m dash trials and finals. In high jump, both sophomore Marisa DiGia and junior Julia Powell cleared 5 feet, Julia placing second and Marisa third on attempts. Marisa also came in third in pole vault, clearing 10 feet 6 inches. In long jump, junior Noelle Gonzalez looked great, jumping 16 feet 6 inches for 5th place. Julia and junior Grace Scott just missed placing, but both posted strong jumps as well. In triple jump, junior Gillian Gutschmidt placed 6th with 32 feet 11 inches. 

The meet resumed at 9AM on a cold, drizzly Saturday with the high hurdles. Junior Grace Scott raced tenaciously, qualifying for finals and narrowly missing a sub-17-second time. She placed 5th for Group A. 

Senior Caroline O'Sullivan took the track and won the 800m by 8 seconds, running a 2:11.6. This is her season best and the second fastest time ever run by a Golden Knight (Caroline's school record is just a couple hundreths of a second faster than this time), but it is significant that this week she was able to run so quickly leading from the gun through the finish. Also in distance, Kayleen Bae and Ally Meeks had great races in the 3200m--Ally PR'ed by over 10 seconds, running 12:31.88, the fastest freshman 3200 time since 2015. 

In shot put, Sophie Downey had a big throw of 35 feet 8 inches, enough for second. In disc, too, things went well for Sophie, as she threw 109 feet 8 inches for 9th. Junior Jackie Kelly also placed, throwing 103 feet 3 inches for fifth. Jackie placed fifth in jav as well while sophomore Gianna Saccoccio placed sixth and sophomore Samantha Belous came in 7th, narrowly missing placing. The girls 4x100m relay placed 3rd in 51.45 seconds which is essentially on par with how they've been racing all season, and the 4x400 had another sub 4:10 time, running 4:06.41 for second to Northern Highlands. Caroline split a 58 second lap on the anchor leg.

This week is a big for track & field with the Girls Freshman County Championship (at Ridgewood's BF Middle School) on Thursday, the Bergen County Meet of Champions (qualifiers only; Hackensack HS) on Friday, and the County Seat Invitational (Hackensack HS) on Saturday.

-Coach Ubl

Santa Cruz's School Record Headlines Notable Results from Regular Season — May 10, 2018 2:49:49 AM

As the team heads into the championship meet weekends of May, we look back on all that's been accomplished so far. 

All things considered, the  biggest individual accomplishment to date is Jason Santa Cruz's school-record-breaking 182 foot 3 inches javelin throw. Jason threw this distance at a dual meet, breaking Alex Berberian's record set in 2004. John Lohrer has been one of team's biggest leaders on the track so far this season. His best time in the intermediate hurdles to date is 55.24, which places him #6 on the NVOT All-Time List. Unsurprisingly, John has also led a great 3xintermediate hurdle relay this season. John, Luke Conmy, and Ryan Jordan combined for 2:51.3 and #4 NVOT All-Time at County Relays. At Leagues last week, senior Will Dippolito ran a personal best 4:37.88 1600m, which broke his old PR by almost 10 seconds. In the field, after a winter off, senior Kyle Shine is already back over 6 feet in high jump. Senior Tyler Hrbek broke 20 feet in long jump, leaping 20 feet 6.75 inches, but, of course, his most notable result so far comes in pole vault, where he cleared 15 feet 1 inch, placing him #2 on the NVOT All-Time List, 3.5 inches behind Luke Annichiarico ('14). Relay-wise, the boys 4x400m team (Luke Conmy, Michael Tcherchian, Ryan Jordan, John Lohrer) posted a strong effort at Penn Relays, placing 2nd in their heat by a lean. The shuttle hurdle team of Ryan Jordan, John Lohrer, Bryce Lukas, and Kevin Weis ran 63.6 seconds at County Relays for NVOT #3 All-Time. The pole vault relay team cleared 36 feet 6 inches for NVOT #3 All-Time. Clearly, the All-Time Lists are going to need some updating at the end of the season.

The girls have also seen one record go down so far this season, the pole vault relay record. Marisa DiGia, Arianna Cavalli, and Skye Lyons combined for 28 feet to break a record set just last year. Much of this is due to sophomore Marisa DiGia who is having a fantastic season in vault and just became the first sophomore in school history to clear 11 feet. Senior Sophie Downey is throwing great and threw 37 feet 3.25 inches for NVOT #2 All-Time. As for relays, the 4x100m of Taylor Thornton, Taylor Newman, Taylor Dolan, and Noelle Gonzalez is running great, so far posting a best of 50.81. Meanwhile, the Sprint Medley team of Taylor Newman, Taylor Dolan, Taylor Thornton, and Caroline O'Sullivan combined for 4:18.6 at County Relays and NVOT #2 All-Time as the Golden Knights  fought hard against the Ridgewood Maroons, earning second overall for the A Division. The distance medley performed similarly, running an NVOT #3 All-Time 12:54.5 with Mary Scrivanich, Jenny Fernandez, Serena DeBenedetto, and Caroline on the carry. Sophie, Jackie Kelly, and Gianna Saccoccio threw 274 feet 10 inches for NVOT #3 All-Time in Discus. The jumps looked good that weekend too as Gracie Scott, Marisa, and Noelle put together an NVOT #6 All-Time 45 feet 3 inches for Long Jump and Marisa, Noelle, and Gillian Gutschmidt jumped 97 feet 1 inch for #6 NVOT All-Time too. Excitingly enough, the girls 4x400m looks fantastic. Starting with the Holmdel Twilight Relays, an all-junior squad of Newman, Noelle, Kayla, and Serena split a 4:11. Then at Penn Relays, Newman, Serena, Mary, and Caroline earned 2nd place in their heat with 4:06. Finally, the girls, Noelle, Newman, Mary, and Caroline, all ran tired at the end of the League Meet but put together a speedy 4:04.72 for NVOT #5 All-Time. 

The teams' next meet is the Bergen County Group Championship, hosted by NV Old Tappan this Friday and Saturday. It is one of the largest local track & field meets of the year and the seniors' last meet at home. We encourage everyone to come watch the Golden Knights in action.

-Coach Ubl

All-County! — Mar 8, 2018 1:03:02 AM

The All-Bergen County Winter Track & Field teams are official. Fifteen Golden Knights were selected (see below). Congratulations to everyone on a great season!

First Team: Seth Kricheff & Tyler Hrbek, Pole Vault

Honorable Mention: Chris Bazela, Jona Kim, Johnny Lohrer, and Patrick Passalacqua

First Team: Caroline O'Sullivan, 1600m

Third Team: Taylor Newman, 55m Dash

Honorable Mention: Minseo Bae, Arianna Cavalli, Serena DeBenedetto, Aida de la Cruz, Marisa DiGia, Julia Powell, and Mary Scrivanich, as well as the 4x800m Relay

Meanwhile, Mary and Arianna put together a wonderful video to commemorate the winter season for the Sports Dinner last night. It's now on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJqRCOC0tnw&t=4s

Two State Champions, a SMOC Champion, and some NBIN Qualifiers — Mar 1, 2018 1:55:41 AM

OT Track had a fantastic February. 

Senior Caroline O'Sullivan won the State Group 3 Championship 1600m in a time of 4:55.94, which is Bergen County #4 All-Time and by far the best indoor 1600m ever run by a Golden Knight. Caroline finishes her high school indoor track career with six Big North titles (800m '16 '17, 1600m '16 '17' 18, 3200m '18), two Bergen County titles (400m '16, 1000m '17), seven State Sectional titles (400m '16 '18, 800m '16 '17 '18, 1600m '17 '18), four State Group titles (800m '16 '17, 1600m '17 '18 ), and two SMOC medals (800m '17, 1600m '18).

Junior Taylor Newman ran her way into the Meet of Champions with a new indoor 55m PR (OT #2 All-Time) of 7.48. Senior Arianna Cavalli and sophomore Marisa DiGia also earned spots at the Meet of Champions by placing 2nd (10-6) and 4th (10-0) respectively. The boys pole vault squad went 1-2-4 at the meet, senior Tyler Hrbek winning the title at 15 feet. Senior Seth Kricheff jumped 15 feet for second and senior Jona Kim cleared 13 feet for fourth. With a throw of 47 feet 9 inches, senior Chris Bazela placed 5th in shot put at the meet as well.

The Golden Knights took a break from competing at the Bubble and traveled to the Eastern States Championship. Some highlights included Tyler & Seth's jumps of 15 feet that earned them second and fourth. Senior Mary Scrivanich placed 8th, running a 5:18.58 full mile (OT #2 All-Time).

Three Golden Knights medaled at the Meet of Champions: Tyler jumped 15 feet at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions to earn the 2018 SMOC title. Seth came in third in the same event. Caroline also placed at the Meet of Champions, running for 7th in the 1600m.

Next week, the indoor season will officially be over, but first, the boys pole vault squad, Caroline, and the girls distance medley relay will be competing at New Balance Indoor Nationals at the Armory.

-Coach Ubl

STATE RECORD @ COUNTY RELAYS — Jan 25, 2018 2:27:51 PM

Last night at the New Balance Track & Field Center in NYC, seniors Seth Kricheff and Tyler Hrbek vaulted to history, setting a new NJ State Record in the Pole Vault Relay with combined jumps of 29 feet. Tyler reached 14 feet while Seth cleared 15 feet for the first time ever. 

On the girls side, sophomore Marisa DiGia and senior Arianna Cavalli broke the girls pole vault relay record from 2015 by each jumping 10 feet.

Other wins at the meet included in the large schools division boys shot put relay (junior Chris Bazela & sophomore Patrick Passalacqua), the large schools division girls 4x800 (senior Mary Scrivanich, junior Taylor Newman, senior Caroline O'Sullivan, and junior Serena DeBenedetto), The girls distance medley of Mary, Taylor, sophomore Kayleen Bae, and Caroline won overall. The boys placed 7th in the large schools division while the girls placed 3rd behind Ridgewood and NVD.

Lohrer Leads Golden Knights at Paul Schwartz Inviational — Jan 23, 2018 2:42:31 PM

On Monday night at FDU, some of the Golden Knights competed in the Paul Schwartz Invitational. Highlighting the night was junior John Lohrer’s win in varsity high hurdles in a time of 8.14, which ties no. 6 NVOT All-Time. Lohrer also won the novice 300m. Other medals for the Golden Knights included JC Baratta’s win in the freshman 55 dash and Daniel Kim’s 5th in the same event. Three freshman placed in high hurdles: John Rubano (2nd), Chris Fitzhugh (3rd), & Jeffrey Scott (6th). On the girls side, Ally Meeks and Giovanna DeLillo places 4th and 5th in the girls 800m. 

For his efforts, John Lohrer was quoted in the paper today (https://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/high-school/track/2018/01/22/indoor-track-lohrer-steps-up-his-game-and-hurdles-victory/1056439001/).

The Golden Knights are set to compete at Bergen County Relays at the Armory on Wednesday.

-Coach Ubl

Great Start to a New Year — Jan 6, 2018 4:58:07 PM

The Golden Knights competed in two meets this week and delivered great performances. On Tuesday January 2nd, the team traveled to Rockland Community College for the Big North North Frosh/Novice Meet. 

Sean Herlihy was the boys freshman pole vault champ at 8 feet. Freshman Jack Reneghan had a great night, winning the freshman shot put in 32-1, placing second in the freshman 200m in 25.54, and also coming in second in the freshman 55m dash in 7.14. Jeffrey Scott placed second in freshman high jump, clearing 5 feet. Two Golden Knights placed in freshman long jump: Tim Lee (17-0.5) and Eric Kim (15-8.5). Eric Kim was also the freshman triple jump champ, going 36-2.75. Both John Rubano and Chris Fitzhugh placed in the boys 55m hurdles finals, running 10.774 and 11.24 respectively. The freshman boys 4x400m came in second behind Ridgewood. In the novice division, sophomore Devin Policastro placed sixth in shot put at 38-10.25.

Freshman Ally Meeks placed third in the freshman 1600m at a PR of 6:04.4. She also competed in the 3200m for the first time, coming in second in the novice division at 13:16.2, a great first time. Sophomore Kayleen Bae continued a great start to her season, placing second in the novice 1600m at 5:57.7 and winning her first 3200m ever in 12:46.9. Sophomore Taylor Thornton ran 30.14 to place fourth in the novice 200m dash and also placed third in the 55m dash at 8.24. Junior Taylor Dolan won the 55m hurdles in 9.94 and placed 6th in the dash at 8.84. Finally, senior Hana Bernik placed 6th in shot put at 26-5.25.

Friday was the Tom Zaccone Invitational at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Freshman JC Baratta won the freshman 55m dash in 7.24 seconds and placed fourth in the 200 in 26.34 seconds. Sophomore Devin Usal placed second in the novice 200m in 26.04. Ally Meeks and Giovanna DeLillo both had a great night, placing third and fifth in the freshman 1000m in 3:41 and 3:44.2. Kayleen Bae won the novice 1000m by four seconds in 3:32.4. Sophomore Marisa DiGia had a great meet, placing second in the novice 200m, her first 200m ever. Sophomore Nia Watson also placed in the novice 200m. Sophomore Taylor Thornton won the novice 55m dash in 8.04. Junior Julia Powell ran her first high hurdles race of the season and placed second in 9.54 in the novice division. Junior Taylor Newman had an impressive meet, placing third in the varsity 200m in 28.74 and winning the varsity 55m dash in 7.64 (she's quoted in the paper here: http://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/high-school/track/2018/01/05/no-dartmouth-trip-no-problem-ramsey-hurdler-grubb/1009657001/). Finally, the varsity 4x800m of Serena DeBenedetto (jr.), Kayleen, Ally, and Aida de la Cruz (sr.) got good practice and placed fourth overall.

Some of the Golden Knights will competed in field meets this week, but the full team returns to the track at the Ocean Breeze Indoor Facility on Staten Island for the Big North National Division Championship on Wednesday January 17th.

-Coach Ubl

Great Start to a New Year — Jan 6, 2018 4:58:07 PM

The Golden Knights competed in two meets this week and delivered great performances. On Tuesday January 2nd, the team traveled to Rockland Community College for the Big North North Frosh/Novice Meet. 

Sean Herlihy was the boys freshman pole vault champ at 8 feet. Freshman Jack Reneghan had a great night, winning the freshman shot put in 32-1, placing second in the freshman 200m in 25.54, and also coming in second in the freshman 55m dash in 7.14. Jeffrey Scott placed second in freshman high jump, clearing 5 feet. Two Golden Knights placed in freshman long jump: Tim Lee (17-0.5) and Eric Kim (15-8.5). Eric Kim was also the freshman triple jump champ, going 36-2.75. Both John Rubano and Chris Fitzhugh placed in the boys 55m hurdles finals, running 10.774 and 11.24 respectively. The freshman boys 4x400m came in second behind Ridgewood. In the novice division, sophomore Devin Policastro placed sixth in shot put at 38-10.25.

Freshman Ally Meeks placed third in the freshman 1600m at a PR of 6:04.4. She also competed in the 3200m for the first time, coming in second in the novice division at 13:16.2, a great first time. Sophomore Kayleen Bae continued a great start to her season, placing second in the novice 1600m at 5:57.7 and winning her first 3200m ever in 12:46.9. Sophomore Taylor Thornton ran 30.14 to place fourth in the novice 200m dash and also placed third in the 55m dash at 8.24. Junior Taylor Dolan won the 55m hurdles in 9.94 and placed 6th in the dash at 8.84. Finally, senior Hana Bernik placed 6th in shot put at 26-5.25.

Friday was the Tom Zaccone Invitational at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Freshman JC Baratta won the freshman 55m dash in 7.24 seconds and placed fourth in the 200 in 26.34 seconds. Sophomore Devin Usal placed second in the novice 200m in 26.04. Ally Meeks and Giovanna DeLillo both had a great night, placing third and fifth in the freshman 1000m in 3:41 and 3:44.2. Kayleen Bae won the novice 1000m by four seconds in 3:32.4. Sophomore Marisa DiGia had a great meet, placing second in the novice 200m, her first 200m ever. Sophomore Nia Watson also placed in the novice 200m. Sophomore Taylor Thornton won the novice 55m dash in 8.04. Junior Julia Powell ran her first high hurdles race of the season and placed second in 9.54 in the novice division. Junior Taylor Newman had an impressive meet, placing third in the varsity 200m in 28.74 and winning the varsity 55m dash in 7.64 (she's quoted in the paper here: http://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/high-school/track/2018/01/05/no-dartmouth-trip-no-problem-ramsey-hurdler-grubb/1009657001/). Finally, the varsity 4x800m of Serena DeBenedetto (jr.), Kayleen, Ally, and Aida de la Cruz (sr.) got good practice and placed fourth overall.

Some of the Golden Knights will competed in field meets this week, but the full team returns to the track at the Ocean Breeze Indoor Facility on Staten Island for the Big North National Division Championship on Wednesday January 17th.

-Coach Ubl

Golden Knights Post 6th Place Finish at Bergen Meet of Champions — Nov 1, 2017 7:42:18 PM

The Golden Knights started off strong this past Saturday at the Bergen Meet of Champions. The freshman boys rolled up to Darlington Park fresh off their 3rd place finish last week and ended their season on a high note, winning the Bergen County Freshman Invitational. Meanwhile, Giovanna De Lillo, the sole freshman entrant on the girls side for the Golden Knights, set a PR and placed in the Top 10, completing a great first season in the navy and gold.

Led by senior Justin Kim who finished 7th in 16:18, the Golden Knights placed 6th overall, scoring 146 points, as the Ridgewood Maroons won their first title in over a decade. The OTXC team average time was 17:07.73. Senior Will Dippolito ran a 16:28 for a remarkable 14th place overall and and sophomore Jin Woo Song finished in 17:08 for 42nd. Senior co-captain Kyle Shine ran his final Darlington race in 17:43. Junior Andrew Harryman, sophomore Jonathan Carson, and sophomore Garrett Misa rounded out the Top 7 in 17:58, 18:00, and 18:39.

The girls continued to improve overall, coming in 6th, scoring 168 points, and beating NVD head-to-head for a second time this season. Northern Highlands cruised past Ridgewood and Indian Hills to take the overall title, but the battle for 4th through 8th was far closer, and the Golden Knights bested some strong teams. The team average of 20:59 was the best of the season, highlighted by Sari Abolafia who had an excellent race. Sari ran 19:44 for 12th, capping off what has been incredible improvement from the Season Opener Invitational in early September. Senior co-captain Mary Scrivanich was the next finisher for the team, running 20:58, sophomore Kayleen Bae set yet another impressive personal best in 21:20, and senior Aida de la Cruz crossed the line soon after Kayleen. Freshman Ally Meeks became the fastest OTXC freshman since 2012 as she finished in 21:30. Junior Jaimee Calabrese bounced back from a bad fall on the course last week, cutting over a minute off her time, and senior Erin Riley posted a strong finish in her last race at the Park.

The JV and Freshman cross country seasons are officially over, but the Varsity teams are set to compete at the NJSIAA North 1 Sectional Championships this Saturday (11/4) at Garret Mountain in the hopes of making it to State Groups and prolonging their season another week.

-Coach E.

Lady Knights Stay Golden at Big North Meet — Oct 11, 2017 3:00:06 AM

This evening, the Golden Knights again proved why they are golden. Specifically, they won the girls National Division race at the Big North Championship for the sixth consecutive year. Led by senior captains Sofie Kravitz and Mary Scrivanich, the girls multiple season bests and triumphed over a strong Northern Valley Demarest team that beat them twice before, scoring just 25 points in the process. 

Giovanna De Lillo won the entire freshman race, against teams from the National and Freedom Divisions, running 11:15 for the freshman course--over a minute of improvement on her previous time. In the junior varsity race, sophomore Ava Wohner had a great day, crossing the line in 23:29, and Kravitz ran minutes faster than the week before with 24:32. Sophomore Rosangelica Mancini-Lander (25:04; season best) and senior Liz Salerno (27:08) also competed in the race and performed very well. 

Scrivanich, after winning the Batch Meet two weeks ago, placed first individually in the varsity championship as well, running from the front and clocking a 20:10. Senior Sari Abolafia ran a season best in 20:50 for second overall. Scrivanich and Abolafia continue to cut down their times and have packed a strong 1-2 punch for the Golden Knights all season long. Fellow senior Aida de la Cruz placed fifth in the race with 21:22, holding off Demarest's third and fourth runners and hitting a new season best. Sophomore Kayleen Bae had a career day, running 21:45, which was around a 90 second personal best, and freshman Ally Meeks came in right behind her, running a fantastic 21:46 in just her fourth race ever. Bae and Meeks' big performances helped elevate the Golden Knights over the tight pack of Norsewomen where the team had trouble earlier in the season. Junior Jaimee Calabrese ran 22:22 as the team's sixth runner, within 15 seconds of her personal best, and senior and four year letter-winner Erin Riley ran 23:04 for a season best too. The team average time of 21:10.6 was the fastest of the season.

The girls next compete at the Bergen Group Championships on Saturday 10/21 (again at Darlington) for a chance to qualify for the Bergen Meet of Champions. 

-Coach E.

Scrivanich, Dippolito Post Top Team Marks at Suffern Invitational — Sep 18, 2017 2:24:09 PM

It was the first time in school history that any Golden Knights raced at Bear Mountain State Park in New York, and, at the Suffern Invitational, seniors Will Dippolito and Mary Scrivanich set the bar for future Golden Knights racing on the course. Will finished with a time of 17:04, enough for 14th in a Varsity B race that included a number of perennially strong New York programs. He established a new school record for OTXC and led his team of Jin Woo Song, Jonathan Carson, Kevin Travers, and Martin Trouiloud to a 5 man average of 18:17.9. The boys earned 9th overall. Mary ran 20:21.8 in the Varsity A, placing 9th in a field of 157. Comin in 11th overall, the girls averaged 22:35.86 for the 3.0 mile course. Senior Aida de la Cruz came in second for the Golden Knights. Sophomore Kayleen Bae, junior Jaimee Calabrese, and senior Erin Riley completed the top 5, earning spots on the new all-time list. The teams next race at the Big North Batch Meet on Monday 9/25 and look forward to clocking fast times at Darlington Park.

-Coach E.

Season Opener Invitational — Sep 10, 2017 11:40:50 PM

The first meet of the 2017 cross country season is finally in the books. The Golden Knights traveled to Darlington County Park on September 9th to compete against some of North Jersey's strongest teams.

The day was off to a great start when the freshman boys, led by the pack of Daniel Manley, Ryan McGowan, and Alex Proto, won the small schools freshman race. Nolan Travers and Luc Ferrara helped secure NVOT's victory as the team's fourth and fifth freshman scorers. The varsity boys placed 3rd in their Varsity B race behind Tenafly and Pascack Valley squads with an average time of 18:05.4. Senior Will Dippolito led the Golden Knights with his impressive 3rd place individual finish in 17:04. Sophomore rookie Jin Woo Song crossed the finish in 17:38, and senior Kyle Shine followed in 18:04. Sophomores Jonathan Carson and Kevin Travers rounded out NVOT's top 5 with sub-19:00 times. Tyler Mulliken and Angelo Mascolo posted the Golden Knights' best junior varsity finishes in 19:20 and 19:21. 

Coach Clark's varsity 5 posted a strong showing for the early season meet, placing 4th in the Varsity B division behind Indian Hills, Holy Angels, and Northern Valley Demarest with a team average time 21:53.2. The Golden Knights were led by senior co-captain Mary Scrivanich, who ran 20:40 for seventh overall. Fellow seniors Sari Abolafia, Aida de la Cruz, and Erin Riley, and freshman Ally Meeks completed a promising top 5. Meeks clocked a 22:13, the fastest opening 5K time by a NVOT freshman since 2011. The JV team was led by sophomore Kayleen Bae who placed 22nd in the large schools division with a 23:59. Giovanna De Lillo was the sole finisher for NVOT in the freshman race and earned a medal for her 12:49 run on the 1.65 mile course.

Both the boys and girls teams look to improve on their already solid start and are set to race this Saturday 9/16 at the Suffern Invitational at Bear Mountain State Park in New York.

-Coach E.

2016 Season Recap — Nov 13, 2016 5:30:08 PM

Old Tappan's 2016 season ended yesterday afternoon at Holmdel Park, when Justin Kim and the girls varsity squad competed at the NJSIAA Group 3 Championship. The season was not without its ups and downs, but it ended on a high note. After the Big North portion of the season, both the girls and the boys teams qualified for the Bergen Meet of Champions. Sari Abolafia (4th All-Time) and Danielle Ludwig (8th All-Time) both ran under 20:00 at the Meet of Champions. Justin Kim ran under 16:20 at the meet (9th All-Time). The boys team's fastest average team time of the season was 17:06, a second faster than last year's whereas the girls' was 20:47. Abolafia and Kim placed in the top 10 at the State Sectional Meet at Garret Mountain. Abolafia ran the 8th fastest time in OTXC history to do so while Kim ran the 10th.

EKU

Big North Recap — Oct 18, 2016 3:10:03 PM

The first half of the high school cross country season is officially over, and it ended well for Antonio Marino's Golden Knights. The boys finished the dual meet season with a Divisional record of 4-1, their only loss coming from in a tough matchup with the Norsemen of Northern Valley Demarest. Justin Kim has impressed this season as the Golden Knights' top runner. At Darlington Park last week, he clocked in at 16:23 for second place at the Big North National Championship. It is the eighth fastest time any Golden Knight has run at Darlington. Junior Will Dippolito also broke 17:00. The team placed second to Demarest. 

Despite falling to Pascack Valley and Northern Valley Demarest teams in close-scoring dual meets in September, the girls overcame their 3-2 to win the outright Big North National meet. While their dual meet losses mean the girls will not have a share of the league title, their meet victory marks the fifth consecutive for the Golden Knights. Junior Sari Abolafia placed second in the league race, becoming just the tenth girl in school history to run under 20:00 at Darlington with 19:47.

-EU

What Went Down: 2015-2016 Indoor Season Final Record Count — Mar 15, 2016 10:08:55 PM

Boys Individual Records:

55m High Hurdles: Andrew Schumacher, 7.7h 

300m Dash: Andrew Schumacher, 35.34a

1600m Steeplechase: Daniel Lawlor, 5:26.1

Boys Relay Records:

Shuttle Hurdles: T. Fuller, A Schumacher, W. Rienas, T. Rienas, 31.40

4x200m: M. Watson, A. Schumacher, W. Rienas, T. Rienas, 1:35.2

4x400m: A. Schumacher, T. Rienas, W. Rienas, J. Weissenborn, 3:24.2

4x800m: J. Weissenborn, W. Rienas, A. Schumacher, T. Rienas, 8:00.95

Sprint Medley: M. Watson, A. Schumacher, T Rienas, J. Weissenborn, 3:35.8

Girls Individual Records:

400m Dash: Caroline O'Sullivan, 58.74

800m: Caroline O'Sullivan, 2:13.84

1000m: Caroline O'Sullivan, 3:07.4 

One Mile: Caroline O'Sullivan, 5:18.02

1600m: Courtney Brunet, 5:15.6

3200m: Courtney Brunet, 11:28.07

Girls Relay Records:

4x800m: C. Brunet, M. Scrivanich, A. de la Cruz, C. O'Sullivan, 9:37.51

Record Count 1/10 — Jan 11, 2016 2:03:52 AM

Andrew Schumacher--55HH--7.8h

  tying Robert Howard's 1989 hand time record for third at the Track Universe Invitational

Daniel Lawlor--1600m Steeplechase--5:26.1

  first OT Runner to ever run indoor steeplechase!

Caroline O'Sullivan--800m--2:16.4

  breaking her 2015 school record of 2:20.22 to win the event at the Spiked Shoe Invitational

  State-leading & US #4 at this time 

  10th fastest indoor time in Bergen History

Boys 4x200--Miles Watson, Andrew Schumacher, Will Rienas, Tom Rienas--1:35.2

  breaking the 1989 team's school record of 1:40 and coming in 6th at the Spiked Shoe Invitational

Indoor Track 2015-2016 Record Count 12/22 — Dec 22, 2015 2:37:19 PM

Caroline O'Sullivan--800m--2:16.4

  breaking her 2015 school record of 2:20.22 to win the event at the Spiked Shoe Invitational

  State-leading & US #4 at this time 

  10th fastest indoor time in Bergen History

Boys 4x200--Miles Watson, Andrew Schumacher, Will Rienas, Tom Rienas--1:35.2

  breaking the 1989 team's school record of 1:40 and coming in 6th at the Spiked Shoe Invitational

Cross Country 2015: What Went Down — Nov 17, 2015 9:49:31 PM

Brunet, Travers and the girls team rewrote some of the lists and took the Darlington Team Average Record

Weissenborn, tying the Garret Mtn. School Record, and team times made this comprehensive list

2015: Girls Darlington Avg. Team Record Goes Down at County Groups and again at BMOC!

2015: James Weissenborn ties Norbert Berenyi's 16:19 Garret Mountain Time at the Big North Championship Meet!

BMOC — Oct 31, 2015 7:52:10 PM

At the 2015 Bergen County Meet of Champions, the Golden Knights lowered the school record they set last week, bringing the Darlington Team Average School Record down to 20:02.2. The girls delivered to a big performance to place fourth behind Ridgewood, Northern Highlands and Holy Angels. Every single girl on the team ran faster than 20:35. 

Senior Courtney Brunet ran a new best of 19:23 and senior Kristen Travers dropped under 20:00 for the first time, running an astounding 19:46! Brunet and Travers sit as 3rd and 4th fastest Golden Knights to ever run at Darlington, and today marked the first time two Golden Knights were under 20:00 in the same race since Erica Canas and Caitlin Ubl at Bergen Group A Championships in 2011. Sophomore Aida de la Cruz ran a best of 20:19, sophomore Mary Scrivanich ran a 20:21 and junior Danielle Ludwig ran a 20:22 to round out the top 5. Senior Nicole Brougher ran a 20:30 and senior Tara Bailey finished right behind in a 20:32.

Bergen County Group Championship -- school record down — Oct 25, 2015 1:21:58 PM

The Old Tappan Girls broke the Darlington 5-Man Average School Record yesterday at the Bergen County Group Championships en route to a 3rd place finish in Group B and a Bergen Meet of Champions berth. Senior Courtney Brunet, junior Danielle Ludwig, sophomore Mary Scrivanich, sophomore Aida de la Cruz, and senior Kristen Travers hit an average time of 20:10, besting the 2002 team's time of 20:24.1. Senior Nicole Brougher and sophomore Sari Abolafia placed 6th and 7th on the team, also running sub 21:00 times.

BIG NORTH CHAMPS — Oct 18, 2015 4:23:16 PM

Girls XC, led by senior Courtney Brunet in at 20:21 for second place, won the Big North National Team Title at Garret Mountain today. It was the Golden Knights' 5th time winning the title (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) in the Conference's history and 4th consecutive time.

Senior James Weissenborn won the Big North National Individual Title in a time of 16:19, tying Norbert Berenyi's 1986 Garret Mountain School Record. In the six years of the Big North Conference, Old Tappan has won the boys individual title four times (Will Maltin in 2011, Ian Clarke in 2013, James Weissenborn in 2014, James Weissenborn in 2015).

-EU

5/27 - Records to Date — May 28, 2015 2:31:36 AM

Boys Dual Meet Record: 4-0, Undefeated in All Full Team Meets to Date

Girls Dual Meet Record: 3-1

Records Broken (4 B)

Boys 800m

1:52.39, Marc Rienas, Bergen County Group Championships 5/9 (broke his own 2014 record)

Boys 1600m

4:12.67, Marc Rienas, State Sectionals 5/22 (broke his own 2014 record) --North 1 Group 3 Sectional Record

Boys Intermediate Hurdles

2:47.8, J. Jordan, W. Rienas, A. Schumacher, Bergen County Relays 4/17 (broke 2012 record) --Bergen County Record

Boys Shuttle Hurdles

62.4, W. Rienas, D. Jaris, T. Rienas, J. Jordan, Bergen County Relays 4/18 (broke 2014 record)

North 1 Group 3 Sectional Record: 4x100m, Z. DeNike, J. Fuller, A. Schumacher, P. Lukas, 43.31, 5/23

Records Broken (1 G)

Girls Pole Vault

11'0", Lauren Bilali, Bergen County Meet of Champions 5/17 (broke 2010 record)

#2's on All-Time List (5 B, 4 G)

Boys 110HH

14.87a, Joseph Jordan, Bergen County Meet of Champions 5/17 (Current Record: 14.6h, 1989 (conversion factor is .24))

Boys 400m

49.12, Andrew Schumacher, Bergen County Group Championships 5/8 (Current Record: 48.64, 2012)

Boys 4x200m

1:29.4, P. Lukas, T. Rienas, A. Schumacher, J. Fuller, Bergen County Relays 4/17 (Current Record: 1:29.2, 2012)

Boys 4x800m

8:04.51, J. Weissenborn, D. Lawlor, J. Fiore, M. Rienas, Bergen County Group Championships 5/8 (Current Record: 7:59.13, 2012)

Boys Long Jump Relay

60-4,  J. Fuller, P. Lukas, J. Brown, Bergen County Relays 4/18 (Current Record: 61-6.75, 2012)

Girls 4x800m

9:40.36, C. O'Sullivan, M. Scrivanich, C. Brunet, S. Regan, State Sectionals 5/22 (Current Record: 9:31.16)

Girls 4x1600m

22:11.5, M. Scrivanich, C. Brunet, K. Travers, E. Riley, Bergen County Relays 4/17 (Current Record: 22:09.3, 1979)

Girls Discus Relay

248-7, M. Vanderlinden, A. Sullivan, G. Bedrosian, Comet Relays 4/11 (Current Record: 264-0, 1980)

Girls Javelin Relay

271-1, G. Bedrosian, T. Nash, A. Sullivan, Bergen County Relays 4/17 (Current Record: 307-11, 2004)

Record Count -- Spring 2015 — Apr 12, 2015 4:08:39 PM

Boys Dual Meet Record: 4-0, Undefeated in All Full Team Meets to Date

Girls Dual Meet Record: 3-1

Boys Intermediate Hurdles

2:47.8, J. Jordan, W. Rienas, A. Schumacher, Bergen County Relays 4/17 (broke 2012 record) --Bergen County Record

Boys Shuttle Hurdles

62.4, W. Rienas, D. Jaris, T. Rienas, J. Jordan, Bergen County Relays 4/18 (broke 2014 record)

Tied Records (1 G)

Girls Pole Vault

10'6", Lauren Bilali, Big North League Championships 4/30 (ties her jump from last year)

#2's on All-Time List (3 B, 3 G)

Boys 110HH

15.12a, Joseph Jordan, Big North League Championships 4/30 (Current Record: 14.6h, 1989 (conversion factor is .24))

Boys 4x200m

1:29.4, P. Lukas, T. Rienas, A. Schumacher, J. Fuller, Bergen County Relays 4/17 (Current Record: 1:29.2, 2012)

Girls 4x1600m

22:11.5, M. Scrivanich, C. Brunet, K. Travers, E. Riley, Bergen County Relays 4/17 (Current Record: 22:09.3, 1979)

Girls Discus Relay

248-7, M. Vanderlinden, A. Sullivan, G. Bedrosian, Comet Relays 4/11 (Current Record: 264-0, 1980)

Girls Javelin Relay

271-1, G. Bedrosian, T. Nash, A. Sullivan, Bergen County Relays 4/17 (Current Record: 307-11, 2004)

Boys Long Jump Relay

60-4, J. Fuller, P. Lukas, J. Brown, Bergen County Relays 4/18 (Current Record: 61-6.75, 2012)

Records Broken — Mar 4, 2015 5:51:19 PM

{RECORDS BROKEN OR TESTED WINTER 2014-15}

Boys: 6 #1's 

Girls: 2#2's and 8 #1's

Boys 800m, Marc Rienas (Sr.), 1:57.45, OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke his own 2014 record) 

    At NJSIAA Group Championships

Boys 1000m, James Weissenborn (Jr), 2:36.3, OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1995 record)

    At Bergen County Championships

Boys 1600m, Marc Rienas (Sr.), 4:19.92 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2012 record)

    At NJSIAA Group Championships

Boys 4x400m, A. Schumacher, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, W. Rienas, 3:24.3 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2012 record)

   At Bergen County Championships

   At Bergen County Relays (3:25.2), then the Varsity Classic (3:25.0)

Boys 4x800m, J. Weissenborn, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, W. Rienas, 8:06.70 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2014 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

Boys Distance Medley, J. Weissenborn, A. Schumacher, W. Rienas, M. Rienas, 10:23.31 OT #1 Indoor All-Time 

    At the Eastern States Championship

Girls 200m, Caitlin Ubl (Sr.), 27.34 OT OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At the Spiked Shoe Invitational

Girls 400m, Caitlin Ubl (Sr.), 59.1 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1991 record)

    At Bergen County Championships

    At the Varsity Classic (60.4)

Girls 600m, Caroline O'Sullivan (Fr.), 1:37.9 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2009 record)

    At Bergen County Championships

Girls 800m, Caroline O'Sullivan (Fr.), 2:20.22 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1992 record)

    At NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectionals

Girls High Jump, Taylor Parcells (Sr.), 5'3"  OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectionals

Girls Pentathlon, Taylor Parcells (Sr.), 2907 Points OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2013 record)

    At Bergen County Championships

Girls Pole Vault, Lauren Bilali (Sr.), 11'0" OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2010 record)

    11'0" at the New Balance Games, Bergen County Relays, the Varsity Classic, NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectionals, NJSIAA Group Championships, and Eastern States Championship

Girls 4x800m, C. O'Sullivan, C. Ubl, M. Scrivanich, C. Brunet, 9:38.86 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2010 record)

    At the Eastern States Championship

Girls Sprint Medley, C. Ubl, T. Parcells, J. Usal, C. O'Sullivan, 4:18.90 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1993 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

Girls Pole Vault Relay, L. Bilali, N. Leon, 18'6" OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2011 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

County Championships & RECORDS BROKEN OR TESTED AS OF 2/18 — Feb 18, 2015 4:03:36 PM

{RECORDS BROKEN OR TESTED AS OF 2/18}

Boys: 1 #2 and 5 #1's 

Girls: 3 #2's and 7 #1's

Boys 800m, Marc Rienas (Sr.), 1:57.45, OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke his own 2014 record) 

    At NJSIAA Group Championships

Boys 1000m, James Weissenborn (Jr), 2:36.3, OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1995 record)

    At Bergen County Championships

Boys 1600m, Marc Rienas (Sr.), 4:19.92 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2012 record)

    At NJSIAA Group Championships

Boys 4x400m, A. Schumacher, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, W. Rienas, 3:24.3 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2012 record)

   At Bergen County Championships

   At Bergen County Relays (3:25.2), then the Varsity Classic (3:25.0)

Boys 4x800m, J. Weissenborn, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, W. Rienas, 8:06.70 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2014 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

Boys Distance Medley, J. Weissenborn, A. Schumacher, W. Rienas, M. Rienas, 10:35.09 OT #2 Indoor All-Time 

    At the New Balance Games

Girls 200m, Caitlin Ubl (Sr.), 27.34 OT OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At the Spiked Shoe Invitational

Girls 400m, Caitlin Ubl (Sr.), 59.1 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1991 record)

    At Bergen County Championships

    At the Varsity Classic (60.4)

Girls 600m, Caroline O'Sullivan (Fr.), 1:37.9 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2009 record)

    At Bergen County Championships

Girls 800m, Caroline O'Sullivan (Fr.), 2:20.22 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1992 record)

    At NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectionals

Girls High Jump, Taylor Parcells (Sr.), 5'3"  OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectionals

Girls Pentathlon, Taylor Parcells (Sr.), 2907 Points OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2013 record)

    At Bergen County Championships

Girls Pole Vault, Lauren Bilali (Sr.), 11'0" OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2010 record)

    11'0" at the New Balance Games, Bergen County Relays, the Varsity Classic, NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectionals, and NJSIAA Group Championships

Girls 4x800m, C. O'Sullivan, C. Ubl, M. Scrivanich, C. Brunet, 9:42.48 OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At the New Balance Games

Girls Sprint Medley, C. Ubl, T. Parcells, J. Usal, C. O'Sullivan, 4:18.90 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1993 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

Girls Pole Vault Relay, L. Bilali, N. Leon, 18'6" OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2011 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

-EU

State Groups — Feb 17, 2015 10:29:41 PM

Senior Marc Rienas won the Record's weekly honor of Athlete of the Week for his spectacular performance at the the State Group Championships, where played a part in scoring all 30 of Old Tappan's points. He won the 1600m (breaking Alex Weiner's 2012 1600m record to do so) and later came back for first in the 800m (breaking his own record from last year) as well. He is the first Old Tappan athlete to win two events at this meet. The last event of the night, the 4x400m sealed the deal on Marc's historic day. He ran 2nd leg of the relay, receiving from junior Andrew Schumacher. Tom Rienas took the baton from Marc and then passed it to their brother Will, who closed. They won the event. Junior James Weissenborn and senior Jin-Young Shin competed in the 3200m and Shot Put respectively but did not advance. With the 30 points scored by winning the three events, on the speed of Marc Rienas, Old Tappan won the Group 3 Championship. For Old Tappan's boys, this is the first Groups championship ever won in XC, indoor track, or outdoor track & field. 

The girls fared incredibly well at State Groups too. The team placed 3rd overall, the highest it ever has at an indoor or outdoor State Groups championship. Senior Taylor Parcells advanced to the State Meet of Champions by placing 2nd in high jump with a jump of 5-2. Senior Lauren Bilali placed 2nd in pole vault with 11-0 to move on. On the track, freshman Caroline O'Sullivan placed 4th in the 800m at 2:21.04 to advance. She is the first OT freshman (boy or girl) to advance to a state meet of champions in indoor. Senior Caitlin Ubl also participated in the 800m and while she missed advancing, coming in 10th, she set a personal best for the indoor 800m and ran the fastest leg on the 4x400m (O'Sullivan, Parcells, Scrivanich, Ubl), which also came in 10th. So, while the boys were making headlines, the girls were making history as well with some truly outstanding performances.

Marc's AOTW Link:

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/athlete-of-the-week/h-s-male-athlete-of-the-week-marc-rienas-of-old-tappan-1.1272668

{RECORDS BROKEN OR TESTED AS OF 2/13}

Boys: 1 #2 and 4 #1's 

Girls: 3 #2's and 5 #1's

Boys 800m, Marc Rienas (Sr.), 1:57.45, OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke his own 2014 record) 

    At NJSIAA Group Championships

Boys 1600m, Marc Rienas (Sr.), 4:19.92 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2012 record)

    At NJSIAA Group Championships

Boys 4x400m, A. Schumacher, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, W. Rienas,  3:25.0 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2012 record)

    At Bergen County Relays (3:25.2), then the Varsity Classic (3:25.0)

Boys 4x800m, J. Weissenborn, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, W. Rienas, 8:06.70 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2014 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

Boys Distance Medley, J. Weissenborn, A. Schumacher, W. Rienas, M. Rienas, 10:35.09 OT #2 Indoor All-Time 

    At the New Balance Games

Girls 200m, Caitlin Ubl (Sr.), 27.34 OT OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At the Spiked Shoe Invitational

Girls 400m, Caitlin Ubl (Sr.), 60.4 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1991 record)

    At the Varsity Classic

Girls 800m, Caroline O'Sullivan (Fr.), 2:20.22 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1992 record)

    At NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectionals

Girls High Jump, Taylor Parcells (Sr.), 5'3"  OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectionals

Girls Pole Vault, Lauren Bilali (Sr.), 11'0" OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2010 record)

    11'0" at the New Balance Games, Bergen County Relays, the Varsity Classic, NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectionals, and NJSIAA Group Championships

Girls 4x800m, C. O'Sullivan, C. Ubl, M. Scrivanich, C. Brunet, 9:42.48 OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At the New Balance Games

Girls Sprint Medley, C. Ubl, T. Parcells, J. Usal, C. O'Sullivan, 4:18.90 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1993 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

Girls Pole Vault Relay, L. Bilali, N. Leon, 18'6" OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2011 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

-E.U.

Historic Sectionals Weekend — Feb 8, 2015 6:27:11 AM

Both the girls and boys teams took second a North 1 Group 3 Sectionals in Toms River this weekend. This was the first time both teams placed in the top simultaneously at this indoor state meet, demonstrating just how powerful both are this season.

Girls Point Scorers: Senior Taylor Parcells jumped an OT #2 All-Time of 5'3" to win High Jump and ran a 9.15 for 3rd in 55 High Hurdles, contributing 16 individual points. Senior Caitlin Ubl placed 6th in the 400m with a 61.77 and 6th in the 800m with a 2:23.6.  In the field, senior Lauren Bilali placed 3rd in Pole Vault with 11'0" (again tying her school record). And finally, Caroline O'Sullivan broke Heather Parrish's 1992 800m (23 year old) record of 2:20.3 by running a 2:20.22 to place second to Northern Highlands' Catherine Pagano. This is the fifth girls school record to be broken this season. Caroline is a FRESHMAN, and she also placed fifth in the 400m at 61.52.  The girls 4x400m relay of O'Sullivan, Parcells, Scrivanich, and Ubl closed out the night by running a 4:10.2 for 2nd in the event to Northern Highlands.

Sectional Champion: Parcells, High Jump

Important Notes: Junior Courtney Brunet ran a strong 12:14.64 in the 3200m, just missing qualifying for Groups, but did it right after having the flu! Freshman Mary Scrivanich ran a 2:29.5 in the 800m for 10th but advanced to Groups as a member of the 4x400m; all three OT competitors in the 800m ran sub-2:30 for the first time probably ever. Junior Tara Brooks qualified for finals in the 55 High Hurdles but ran a 9.51 for 7th. 

Overall: The girls placed 2nd in the Section (42 points) to Northern Highlands (71.5 points) in front of league rivals NVD (3rd; 40 points) and Teaneck (4th; 33 points), as well as perennial power, Mount Olive (5th; 30 points). The last time the girls team placed 2nd at the meet was 2009. The team has never won the meet before, so this 2015 performance ties Old Tappan's highest placing at the meet--ever.

    Indoor Sectional Results since the meet moved to the Bennett Center in Toms River: 2014: 5th place, 2013: 5th place, 2012: 7th place, 2011: 5th place, 2010: 3rd place, 2009: 2nd place)

The senior class led in medals by scoring 24 individual points. Meanwhile, an unprecedented 10 individual points were scored by freshmen. The relay added 8 of its own and included two freshmen and two seniors.

Boys Point Scorers: Junior Tommy Rienas placed 3rd in the 400m with an impressive 51.83. Junior Andrew Schumacher also placed in the 400m: 6th at 52.31. Senior Marc Rienas became State Sectional Champion in the 800m with a 2:00.04. He is the school record-holder in this event, having run a 1:57.75 when he made it all the way to the final heat at the State Meet of Champions last year. He ran the 1600m as well, in a 4:26.88 and placed second to High Point's distance star, Joe Dragon. Marc contributed the most individual points with 18. Junior James Weissenborn placed 6th in the 1600m with a 4:32.9 and 6th in the 3200m with a 10:05.93. In the field, senior Jin-Young Shin placed 5th in Shot Put at 42-6.25. The 4x400m of Schumacher, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, and W. Rienas ran a 3:32.6 to place 1st in the Section, ahead of Mount Olive (3:35.96) and Montville (3:37.10). 

Sectional Champions: M. Rienas, 800m; Schumacher, M. Rienas, T. Rienas & W. Rienas, 4x400m Relay

Important Note: Freshman Dillon Policastro just missed qualifying in Shot Put with a throw 41-05, but as a freshman, 7th is a great place to already be!

Overall: The boys placed 2nd in the Section (39 points) to Indian Hills (41 points) but out-powered a historically strong Morris Knolls team (3rd; 31.5 points), Wayne Valley (4th; 30 points), rival NVD (tie-5th; 24 points), and Northern Highlands (tie-5th; 24 points). The last (and only) time the boys team won the meet was 2012 and the last time the boys placed 2nd at the meet was 2013.

    Indoor Sectional Results since the meet moved to the Bennett Center in Toms River: 2014: 5th place, 2013: 2nd place, 2012: 1st place, 2011: 3rd place, 2010: 5th place, 2009: 4th place)

The junior class scored 9 individual points and the senior class scored 20. The relay added 10 by winning.

{RECORDS BROKEN OR TESTED AS OF 2/8}

Boys: 2 #2's and 2 #1's 

Girls: 3 #2's and 5 #1's

Boys 1600m, Marc Rienas (Sr.), 4:25.4 OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At the Spiked Shoe Invitational

Boys 4x400m, A. Schumacher, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, W. Rienas,  3:25.0 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2012 record)

    At Bergen County Relays (3:25.2), then the Varsity Classic (3:25.0)

Boys 4x800m, J. Weissenborn, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, W. Rienas, 8:06.70 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2014 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

Boys Distance Medley, J. Weissenborn, A. Schumacher, W. Rienas, M. Rienas, 10:35.09 OT #2 Indoor All-Time 

    At the New Balance Games

Girls 200m, Caitlin Ubl (Sr.), 27.34 OT OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At the Spiked Shoe Invitational

Girls 400m, Caitlin Ubl (Sr.), 60.4 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1991 record)

    At the Varsity Classic

Girls 800m, Caroline O'Sullivan (Fr.), 2:20.22 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1992 record)

    At NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectionals

Girls High Jump, Taylor Parcells (Sr.), 5'3"  OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectionals

Girls Pole Vault, Lauren Bilali (Sr.), 11'0" OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2010 record)

    11'0" at the New Balance Games, Bergen County Relays, the Varsity Classic, and NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectionals

Girls 4x800m, C. O'Sullivan, C. Ubl, M. Scrivanich, C. Brunet, 9:42.48 OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At the New Balance Games

Girls Sprint Medley, C. Ubl, T. Parcells, J. Usal, C. O'Sullivan, 4:18.90 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1993 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

Girls Pole Vault Relay, L. Bilali, N. Leon, 18'6" OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2011 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

-E.U.

Records Broken or Tested as of 2/6 — Feb 6, 2015 6:19:14 PM

At the Varsity Classic last night, the boys 4x400m broke their 4x400m record that they set last week, shaving time off and placing second in a deep field. Senior Lauren Bilali tied her personal best and school record yet again to place 3rd in pole vault at 11'0". And finally, senior Caitlin Ubl ran a 60.4 in the 400m. Heather Parrish set the 60.6 school record in 1991. That's a 24 year old record,  and it fell last night in Harlem.

Boys: 2 #2's and 2 #1's Girls: 3 #2's and 4 #1's

Boys 1600m, Marc Rienas (Sr.), 4:25.4 OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At the Spiked Shoe Invitational

Boys 4x400m, A. Schumacher, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, W. Rienas,  3:25.0 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2012 record)

    At Bergen County Relays (3:25.2), then the Varsity Classic (3:25.0)

Boys 4x800m, J. Weissenborn, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, W. Rienas, 8:06.70 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2014 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

Boys Distance Medley, J. Weissenborn, A. Schumacher, W. Rienas, M. Rienas, 10:35.09 OT #2 Indoor All-Time 

    At the New Balance Games

Girls 200m, Caitlin Ubl (Sr.), 27.34 OT OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At the Spiked Shoe Invitational

Girls 400m, Caitlin Ubl (Sr.), 60.4 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1991 record)

    At the Varsity Classic

Girls High Jump, Taylor Parcells (Sr.), 5'2" tied for OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    5'2" at the Big North League Meet, the New Balance Games, and Bergen County Relays 

Girls Pole Vault, Lauren Bilali (Sr.), 11'0" OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2010 record)

    11'0" at the New Balance Games, Bergen County Relays, and the Varsity Classic

Girls 4x800m, C. O'Sullivan, C. Ubl, M. Scrivanich, C. Brunet, 9:42.48 OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At the New Balance Games

Girls Sprint Medley, C. Ubl, T. Parcells, J. Usal, C. O'Sullivan, 4:18.90 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1993 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

Girls Pole Vault Relay, L. Bilali, N. Leon, 18'6" OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2011 record)

    At Bergen County Relays

-E.U.

Records Broken or Tested so Far this Season —  Jan 30, 2015 6:39:11 PM

Boys: 2 #2's and 2 #1's Girls: 3 #2's and 3 #1's

Boys 1600m, Marc Rienas (Sr.), 4:25.4 OT #2 Indoor All-Time

Boys 4x400m, A. Schumacher, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, W. Rienas,  3:25.20 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2012 record)

Boys 4x800m, J. Weissenborn, M. Rienas, T. Rienas, W. Rienas, 8:06.70 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2014 record)

Boys Distance Medley, J. Weissenborn, A. Schumacher, W. Rienas, M. Rienas, 10:35.09 OT #2 Indoor All-Time 

Girls 200m, Caitlin Ubl (Sr.), 27.34 OT OT #2 Indoor All-Time

    At the Spiked Shoe Invitational

Girls High Jump, Taylor Parcells (Sr.), 5'2" tied for OT #2 Indoor All-Time

Girls Pole Vault, Lauren Bilali (Sr.), 11'0" OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2010 record)

Girls 4x800m, C. O'Sullivan, C. Ubl, M. Scrivanich, C. Brunet, 9:42.48 OT #2 Indoor All-Time

Girls Sprint Medley, C. Ubl, T. Parcells, J. Usal, C. O'Sullivan, 4:18.90 OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 1993 record)

Girls Pole Vault Relay, L. Bilali, N. Leon, 18'6" OT #1 Indoor All-Time (broke 2011 record)

-E.U.

Early Success for Bilali —  Dec 26, 2014 4:47:47 PM

On Monday at the Spiked Shoe Invitational, the first meet of the season, senior Lauren Bilali vaulted 10'6" and came in second place to break the indoor track school record shared by Giana Abballe (Class of 2010) and Madison Lucas (Class of 2012). The outdoor record also happens to be 10'6" (Bilali shares this one with Abballe). After such a quick record-breaking performance, Bilali looks to a full season ahead, upon which she can improve her mark even more.

-E.U.

Coach's Award 2014 —  Dec 12, 2014 3:45:13 PM

Recipients of the Coach's Award for the 2014 Cross Country Season

Boys: Daniel Biggins, Junior

Girls: Caitlin Ubl, Senior

35 Years is a Long Time —  Nov 15, 2014 10:57:44 PM

Thirty-five years ago John Nelson ran the fastest Old Tappan Holmdel Park 5k time in school history in a year in which the Garret course was 2.8 miles, a time before Darlington's xc course even existed, and a decade in which all dual meets were run on haphazardly constructed high school courses. He never had a shot at the Garret or Darlington times, but he is one of OT's finest running legends as his 16:25 was virtually untouched for all the decades it was in place (Leigh Cadigan running a 16:30 in 1994 to be the closest to matching it), and he came in 2nd in the State Group meet to earn it. He was a superb All-League, All-County, and All-State runner and still holds the school 3000m record (the metric race distances weren't uniform in '79 yet either).

Holmdel Park is the only 5k course that Old Tappan athletes have consistently run on that is truly comparable across the school's entire history, as all the others have changed over time or been added to the rotation retrospectively. It is also home to the oldest standing boys cross country record in school history. And today, junior James Weissenborn rewrote that history with his incredible 16:23, which placed him 8th in the State Group 3 race. While James has another shot at the course next week in which he can further bring his time down (and an entire year remaining in his HS campaign), the deed has been done. 

James becomes one of five OT individuals to qualify for the NJSIAA Meet of Champions: the preceding athletes are Nelson ('78, '79), Ralph Nickl [17:10 Holmdel Best] ('85), Cadigan ('93, '94), and William Maltin [16:37 Holmdel Best] ('12) (not including those on the 1977 and 1984 teams).

James's feat is even more remarkable because he broke Ian Clarke's Darlington 5K Course School Record three weeks ago at 15:48, so he now holds two of the three major school 5K records, compiled over decades. The only one that will remain following this season is Norbert Berenyi's 1986 16:19 at Garret Mtn. But like I said, James has a full senior year left in which to improve on all of these and potentially sweep across the entire record board...to become, officially and entirely, the fastest XC runner in Old Tappan school history.

State Group Meet results can be found here and here. Additional cool info. can be found here.

The NJSIAA MOC takes place next Saturday (November 22nd), again at Holmdel Park.

11:00am - Girls

11:45am - Boys

12:30pm - Awards

-E.U.

Photo of James receiving his award below courtesy of Caitlin Ubl

THE NJSIAA GROUP CHAMPIONSHIPS —   Nov 15, 2014 10:31:22 PM

Today was the NJISAA State Group Championships, annually held at Holmdel Park. It is the qualifying meet for NJSIAA Meet of Champions, the most prestigious cross country meet the state sees all year. Twelve races (Group 1 girls and boys, Group 2 girls and boys, Group 3 girls and boys, Group 4 girls and boys, Non-Public A girls and boys, Non-Public B girls and boys) take place in the course of the day as some of the top runners in New Jersey square off for spots at the MOC. The top 3 teams in each race and top 10 individuals automatically qualify, but on this level, unlike with Sectionals, ten individuals and two teams remaining from all groups can advance through wild cards based on best times.

Junior James Weissenborn punched his ticket by placing 8th in the Group 3 race in 16:23 and will be competing at the Meet of Champions, representing Old Tappan.

Meanwhile, star senior, Northeastern-bound Marc Rienas, also raced at Holmdel Park in the State Group Championship after qualifying individually last week, running to 6th at Garret Mountain in 16:50. Today, he placed 59th in 17:26. Congratulations on a great season, Marc!

-E.U.

The 2014 NJSIAA North 1 XC Sectional Championship —   Nov 9, 2014 4:33:08 AM

Today was the last full season meet of the season for the Old Tappan cross country teams. The weather at Garret Mountain was chilly but ideal & the atmosphere was buzzing, as the Woodland Park location was the scene of eight major races throughout the morning and early afternoon.

The girls team placed 7th of 17 teams gaining no individual or team qualifications but demonstrated a strong pack effort that was truly a great way to end the season. Every single runner passed opponents in the last straightaway and before the finish line, showing true determination.

The boys team placed 8th of 19 teams with Junior James Weissenborn and Senior Marc Rienas cracking the top 10 to net individual qualifications to the State Group Championship at Holmdel Park next weekend, a tremendous accomplishment.

While the team cross country season may have ended on this beautiful fall day, indoor track and field is just around the corner. 

Results can be found at: http://www.lfracing.com/cross-country/2014-season/north-1-state-sectional-/

or

http://nj.milesplit.com/meets/181884-njsiaa-sectionals-north-i

-E.U., photos from the day are below

2014 Lou Molino Memorial Bergen County Cross Country Meet of Champions —   Nov 1, 2014 8:51:27 PM

It was another one for the ages at Darlington Park this morning. Early morning rain and a cool temperature led to great racing conditions and packed down sand along the course.

Junior Courtney Brunet was the only Old Tappan girl who qualified for the Girls Championship as she secured one of the last wild card spots last week. Today, she showed why she got that spot, with a 26 second PR and a 28th Place in the race. She became the first Old Tappan girl since the 2011 Season, when Erica Canas '12 and Caitlin Ubl '15 both broke into the Old Tappan All-Time List, to run under 20 minutes at Darlington County Park. By the current/ most comprehensive records, Brunet's 19:45 places her 3rd on Old Tappan's All-Time List, behind only Taylor Lebovich '04 (19:17) and Canas '12 (19:18) and makes her one of only eight OT runners under 20:00 on this course. 

On the team side, Ridgewood won the title (for its 28th time), setting the All-Time Darlington Team Avg. Record at 18:42.8. Northern Highlands and Immaculate Heart Academy, two other state-ranked teams placed second and third. Four girls were under 18:00, twelve girls were under 19:00, and thirty-one girls were under 20:00 total. Catherine Pagano of Northern Highlands (Sr.), Julia Guerra of Indian Hills (Jr.), and Sam Halvorsen of Ridgewood (Jr.) placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

The Old Tappan boys (Weissenborn, M. Rienas, Saiz, Rodriguez, B. Dippolito, Rush, and Biggins) placed 6th in the Championship with a team average of 16:54.80, roughly two seconds slower than their 16:52 (3rd fastest 5-Man Average at Darlington in OT History). This impressive time was catalyzed largely by another impressive time, from Junior James Weissenborn. Weissenborn placed 6th overall in the race with a new personal record and blazing new Darlington Park School Record of 15:48, six seconds faster than his time last week. This breaks Ian Clarke's ('14) 15:51 record set last year when he placed 2nd at this meet. Weissenborn's time places him fastest for the 5K, across the board, among all Old Tappan runners in recorded school history. He also one of only four Old Tappan runners to ever run under 16:00 for the 5K at Darlington and is nearly unique because other than Leigh Cadigan ('95) with 15:59 in 1993, Weissenborn is the only junior from Old Tappan to do it, meaning he has a full year for even further improvement. 

Patrick Sullivan of Don Bosco (Jr.), Colin Daly of River Dell (Jr.), and William Daly of River Dell (Jr.) placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Ten boys were under 16:00 and fifty-three were under 17:00. Don Bosco Prep looks as if it can give Christian Brothers Academy a tough fight at the State Meet of Champions later this month. With five runners under 16:00, the team set the all-time course record at 15:40.2 and won its 9th consecutive BMOC title, 15th overall. Ridgewood and Indian Hills, other state-ranked teams in the race, placed 2nd and 3rd in the team battle. 

While the girls team did not race as a whole today and the JV & Freshman seasons are now officially over, a large portion of the team attended the race today to provide support and make it a fun, special day. The next time the teams race is this coming Saturday, November 8th at Garret Mountain Reservation in Woodland Park. This State Sectional Meet is sure to provide another very fast Saturday as the season reaches its climax.

-E.U.

Bergen County Group Championship —  Oct 26, 2014 6:07:03 AM

On Saturday October 25th, Old Tappan Cross Country raced in its entirety for the final time this season. Both the boys and girls were placed in the Bergen County Group A varsity races based on school size and the large school JV and frosh events.

The boys posted their best team finish so far this season in the Varsity Race, running to a team average of 16:52.8 to place 5th of 11 very competitive teams (121 Points). Junior James Weissenborn stole the show, running to 4th in the whole race with a major personal record of 15:54, a time that places him 2nd on Old Tappan's All-Time Darlington 5K List. He matches William Maltin's 2011 time and is now only surpassed by Ian Clarke who ran a blazing 15:51 just last year. Behind him in 10th was Senior Marc Rienas, who earned a season best at 16:17. All of the remaining Golden Knights ran times under 17:00: Junior William Saiz (17:05), Senior Robert Rush (17:24), Senior David Rodriguez (17:44), Junior Daniel Biggins (17:50), and Sophomore Ben Dippolito (17:54). Based on a fast average time, the team netted a wild card qualification to the Bergen County Meet of Champions and will return to Darlington next week for one last time this year. 

Of the JV boys, Junior Daniel Lawlor, in at 18:32, came in first on Old Tappan. Old Tappan's JV team placed 7 of 12 teams.

Two freshman boys ran in the 1.5Mile large frosh race, and they were Martin Trouilloud (22nd; 9:13) and Justin Kim (23rd; 9:21).

The Varsity girls came in 9 of 10 teams with a team average of 21:43 (208 Points). Junior Courtney Brunet ran a personal record of 20:11 to place 22nd and earn an individual spot in next week's BMOC. OT's 2 and 3 of the day, Junior Nicole Brougher (35th) and Freshman Aida de la Cruz (37th), each as first year runners, hit new personal records at 21:19 and 21:35, showing great improvement. Next was Freshman Erin Riley (56th),  in only her second varsity race ever. The 5th, 6th, and 7th runners were Sophomore Skylar Regan, Junior Jessica Hall, and Senior Jessica Rambala.

Of the JV girls, Senior Kaitlyn Farrell, in at 23:00, came in first on Old Tappan. Old Tappan's JV team placed 5 of 6 teams.

Freshman Sofie Kravitz ran in the 1.5Mile large frosh race and placed 15th at 11:47.

Congratulations to the senior boys and girls who ran their last race today on a great season and great cross country career at Old Tappan! It was a beautiful day for a run at Darlington County Park. Finally, the next time the full varsity teams will race will be at Garret Mountain (Woodland Park, NJ) on November 8th for State Sectionals.

-E.U.

League Champs 2014 —  Oct 15, 2014 1:36:39 AM

Results on LFRacing

The Old Tappan Girls Cross Country Team is again Big North National League Champion after a tough dual meet season that saw injury and illness within the Top 7. Losing in an early September dual to Tenafly, the girls came back to win the divisional league meet at Darlington County Park (Mahwah) by ten points. Tenafly came in 2nd and Teaneck came in 3rd. OT's 5-runner team average was 21:07, by far the fastest so far this season. Junior Courtney Brunet placed 3rd to Veronica Rocco of Tenafly and Olivia Randolph of Teaneck, cruising to a new personal record of 20:12 for the 5K. Junior Kirsten Travers, new to cross country this year, placed seventh, running a personal record of 20:44. Senior Captain Caitlin Ubl ran to 9th in 21:01 for a new season best. Junior Nicole Brougher, Freshman Aida De La Cruz, Junior Jessica Hall, and Senior Jessica Rambala, also ran great times at 21:47 (PR), 21:54 (PR), 22:07 (SB), and 22:40 respectively to cap off the best performance by the girls this season. This meet win is the Old Tappan girls' 3rd consecutive league title (2012, 2013, 2014) and fourth in the five years (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) since the foundation of the new Big North League. Few teams across all the divisions of the Big North can say the same.

Elizabeth Salerno placed 9th in the Freshman Race in a 12:03, as season best for the 1.5 Mile course. Sophomore Skylar Regan placed 16th in JV Race in her first competition back since injury early in the season. The girls placed 3rd in the JV race behind local powerhouses, Ridgewood and Northern Highlands. 

The Old Tappan boys came in 3rd (59 Points) at the league meet in a close race to Pascack Valley (55 Points) and Demarest (59 Points, lost to NVD on 6th place runner). Junior James Weissenborn had an impressive day, running a 16:07, his personal 5K record, to win the entire race. Senior Marc Rienas ran a swift 16:45 despite a season-long injury and placed 5th in the League. Junior William Saiz ran a 17:08 to place 11th overall, and Senior David Rodriguez placed 19th with 17:56. Junior Daniel Biggins, Sophomore Ben Dippolito, and Senior Bobby Rush topped off the Varsity 7.

Junior Dan Lawlor posted the best OT finish of the day in the cross-divisional JV race, racing to 23rd in 19:01. The boys JV team placed 5th in the race. Martin Trouilloud placed 17th in the Freshman 1.5 mile race, running 10:00. Justin Kim was not far behind, running 10:09 for 22nd.

 Both teams race next a week from Saturday (10/25) at the Bergen County Group Championships, the last full-team meet of the season, again at Darlington County Park in Mahwah. It is the qualifier for the varsity Bergen County Meet of Champions, set for November 1st.

-E.U.

Old Tappan Flies High at Beach Vault—  Aug 3, 2014 9:04:20 PM

Congratulations to Senior Lauren Bilali on her first win of the year at the 2014 Beach Vault. Competing over two days in windy conditions, Lauren skied to 10 feet to capture the Girls High School Pole Vault.  

Seniors—   Jul 31, 2014 3:58:34 AM

Congratulations to Rachel Abolafia and Evan Chu, the winners of the Spring Track and Field Coach's Awards.

Congratulations to Luke Annichiarico and Taryn DeLeon, the winners of the Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan Boys and Girls Athletes of the Year!!!

NBON—  Jun 16, 2014 5:08:36 PM

This weekend in Greensboro, North Carolina, Old Tappan track athletes ended their season on the big stage of New Balance Outdoor Nationals. The meet took place at North Carolina A&T's Aggie Stadium. 

Senior Luke Annichiarico placed 10th in the Championship Pole Vault.

Senior Taryn DeLeon placed 10th in the Championship High Jump.

Junior Marc Rienas placed 28th in the Championship 800m. 

Sophomore Joe Jordan placed 17th in Emerging Elite 400m Intermediate Hurdles.

Sophomore Will Rienas placed 25th in Emerging Elite 400m Intermediate Hurdles.

Congratulations to Taryn and Luke for fantastic high school track careers & good luck in college! Next year, Taryn will be competing at Winthrop University and Luke will be competing at Wake Forest University.

E.U.

The State Meet of Champions —  Jun 5, 2014 2:40:41 AM

Taryn DeLeon went into the NJSIAA State Meet of Champions this afternoon ranked 1st in High Jump and came out of it as Northern Valley Old Tappan's first individual winner of a Meet of Champion event including both boys and girls & cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track combined, an incredibly tremendous accomplishment.

Sophomore Jordan Fuller placed 10th in Long Jump, narrowly missing a medal, but jumped an extraordinary 21'11.25", the best ever mark by an Old Tappan athlete. He broke Lance Hemsarth's 1970 record (one of Old Tappan's oldest and most coveted) of 21'9".

Senior Luke Annichiarico placed 2nd in Pole Vault with a 15'0".

Junior Lauren Bilali placed 18th in Pole Vault.

Senior Maxine McConnell placed 17th in the 200 Meter Dash. 

Sophomore Will Rienas placed 28th in 400 Meter Intermediate Hurdles.

Sophomore Joe Jordan placed 28th in the 110 Meter High Hurdles.

Junior Marc Rienas placed 21st in the 1600 Meter Run.

The 4x400 Meter Relay of Tom Rienas, Jordan Fuller, Marc Rienas, and Will Rienas closed out the night with a time of 3:19.76, winning Heat 3, to place 12th overall, and going under the big barrier of 3:20.

E.U.

NVOT at State Groups —  Jun 1, 2014 9:49:32 PM

To qualify for the NJSIAA State Meet of Champions also held at South Plainfield, an athlete needs to place in the top-6 in his/her event at the State Group 3 Meet or advance as one of few wildcards decided across all group performances. This weekend many Old Tappan's athletes met these standards though all performed well regardless of place.

All three girls who competed at State Groups this weekend earned berths to the State Meet of Champions with their great performances. Senior Maxine McConnell placed 5th in the 200m Dash, breaking her own school record by an astounding .45 seconds with a 25.1 {the 10th fastest performance in the entire State this weekend}. Senior Taryn DeLeon won the High Jump, clearing 5'6" {the top performance in the entire State this weekend}. Finally, Junior Lauren Bilali, for the second week in a row tied her personal record and school record of 10'6" {the 13th best performance in the entire State this weekend}, jumping to 4th place in Pole Vault. 

Girls Top 15 Overall From State Groups

Sophomore Will Rienas, Sophomore Joe Jordan, and Senior Brendan Davidson placed 8th, 10th, and 13th in the 400m Intermediate Hurdles. Junior Marc Rienas won the 1600m in a new school record time of 4:15.17 {the 8th fastest performance in the entire State this weekend}, breaking his own record. The next day, he placed 2nd in the 800m Dash running to a new school record of 1:53.28 {the 4th fastest performance in the entire State this weekend} (he was also the previous record-holder here) to complement an already impressive weekend. Sophomore Will Rienas placed 18th in the 400m Dash. Sophomore Joe Jordan placed 8th in the 110m High Hurdles. Sophomore Jordan Fuller placed 12th in the 200m Dash. Sophomore James Weissenborn placed 18th in the 3200m and Senior Ian Clarke placed 19th. The 4x800m Relay of Tom Rienas, Johnny Schumacher, James Weissenborn, and Ian Clarke placed 18th. In the field, Junior Aidan Shin placed 11th in Discus. Senior Luke Annichiarico won Pole Vault with a jump of 15'0", an inch and a half higher than the second place finisher {the 2nd best performance in the entire State this weekend}. Sophomore Jordan Fuller jumped to 5th place in the Long Jump and Senior Tim Cooke placed 24th in the same event. Finally, Sophomore Jedh Downey placed 14th in Javelin. The 4x400m Relay of Tom Rienas, Jordan Fuller, Marc Rienas, and Will Rienas placed 7th in the last event of the two-day meet.

Boys Top 15 Overall From State Groups

E.U.

Lady Knights Perform Well at State Sectionals — May 24, 2014 11:47:38 PM

Amid their male counterparts' victory, the girls of Old Tappan Track & Field performed well at the North 1 Group 3 State Sectional Championship and a fair share of excitement came from their side as well. In the end, the girls moved from a drought in points on Friday to 8th of 18 teams with their Saturday performance. A great Northern Highlands team won with 81 points while Old Tappan scored 34.

This season brought a mixed bag of results for the Lady Knights who at times were plagued by injury and illness. However, the team was still strong, earning a 4-1 Dual Meet Record and many individual accolades, plus multiple school records.

Qualifiers for next week's NJSIAA Group 3 Championship in South Plainfield, were Senior Taryn DeLeon, Sophomore Kirsten Kaiser, Senior Maxine McConnell, and Junior Lauren Bilali. Standout Senior DeLeon became Sectional Champion in High Jump when the event resumed on Saturday; she jumped a 5'6", close to her 2013 personal and school record of 5'7". DeLeon also placed 3rd on the track in the 100 High Hurdles with a time of 16.24 in the final. Kirsten Kaiser placed in the same event, making it to finals and running to 4th place with a time of 16.43 in only her second season of track. Maxine McConnell had a good day today, placing second in the 200m Dash in a blazing 25.83. Finally, Lauren Bilali jumped to 10'6" in Pole Vault to earn a third place medal. This was a special day for Lauren as she set a new personal record and tied Old Tappan's school record, originally set by Giana Abballe in 2010. 

Many unsung victories came to pass for Old Tappan:

    -Maxine McConnell tied her own FAT School Record of 12.48 in the 100m Dash with her prelims. time and placed 7th at finals.

    -Senior Hannah Pinto, a four year veteran of this team, posted personal records in both events she ran, the 1600m on Friday and the 3200m on Saturday, ending her high school campaign on a high note.

    -Senior Rachel Abolafia also hurdled to a personal record in the 400 Intermediates for her last time in the event--a race that one could say, made her birthday weekend even sweeter.

    -Sophomore Tara Brooks won her preliminary heat of the 100m Dash with a well-executed race and a nice lean.

    -Freshman Maya Vanderlinden threw a new personal best of 87'11" in Discus.

    -Freshman Skylar Regan set a big personal record of 2:30 and change, running dangerously close to the big barrier of 2:30 from Heat 2. 

    -Sophomore Ashley Sullivan ended her first-ever season of track and field with a new personal record in Javelin--throwing a 90'5" off of a 79'10" seed--a huge improvement.

    -Finally, the 4x400m always closes the meet. Though placing 7th and narrowly missing a medal, these girls, none of them fresh, put together an impressive performance that got them 2nd place in their Heat. The team was McConnell, Caitlin Ubl (Jr.), Taylor Parcells (Jr.), and Seema Kamath (Fr.). McConnell opened for the team, clocking a split well under 59 seconds at the handoff (possibly the fastest 400m split for the team this year). Kamath, as only a freshman, did the hard job of closing for the team from a winning position and ran a good leg. However, a really great part of this relay stems from the wonderful effort of the juniors on the second and third leg; Caitlin Ubl and Taylor Parcells, major point scorers for OT, dealt with endless injury for the entirety of the season but still made it to the line to do the race justice, to hold their own by running well, and to get the baton one last time. 

This meet was one last time on the track and in the field for many of Old Tappan's athletes and even more so for the graduating seniors. Nevertheless, the girls did not fail to go out with a bang and demonstrated true grit within a talented Section that only seems to grow more competitive each year.

E.U.

County Seat Invitational Results and Looking Towards Sectionals — May 22, 2014 3:25:34 PM

Originally, the County Seat Invitational was given its own day this past weekend, but a rain delay on Friday's BMOC led to over twelve, nearly consecutive hours of track & field. Members of the varsity teams who did not compete at the Bergen Meet of Champions last Saturday instead headed to Indian Hills in clear, warm conditions to clock some times and distances for one last time before Sectionals. Both the boys and girls team placed 6th in the Varsity A Division but not without some impressive performances and medal winners. There were freshmen, sophomore, & novice events as well but the varsity heats were the ones that contributed to the team scoring.

On the boy's side, Senior Johnny Schumacher placed 4th in a deep 800m event with a time of 2:03.58. Senior Evan Chu placed 4th in the 110HH with a time of 17.55. In the field, Junior Zach Lucas placed 3rd in Shot Put with a throw of 40-7.75 and Ju Hyung Jeong placed 5th in the same event with36-11.75. He also placed 4th in Discus with 114-6. Senior Tyler Angert placed 2nd in Javelin with a throw of 135-8. Junior Zach Weinberg tied for 2nd in High Jump with 5-8. Junior Jason Babbini won Pole Vault with a jump of 12-0. 

For the girls, Junior Caitlin Ubl pulled away from the pack of the first heat to place second in the 400m with a time of 1:02.79. Freshman Seema Kamath placed 5th in that event with a 1:04.05. Senior Rachel Abolafia placed 2nd in 100HH with a time of 16.25. Senior Lexi Raffa placed 5th in Shot Put with a 29-10. Sophomore Taylor Nash placed 3rd in Javelin with a throw of 90-3. 

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NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 State Sectionals, at River Dell High School for the first time in recent years, starts tomorrow and is the last full-varsity meet of the season; it is a two-day meet against some of the best teams in the area with a similar student-body size (Friday the 23rd and Saturday the 24th). All events start at 3:30 PM and the meet picks up the next day at 10:00 AM.

The loaded North 1 Group 3 Meet has the potential to bring some of the best times and marks in North Jersey on both the boys and girls sides and is the qualifier for next weekend's NJSIAA Group Championships. To gain another week of this season and make it to South Plainfield, individual athletes must place in the top 6 in their events. In the top 6 is also where individuals contribute points to the overall team score towards the title. The last time the OT boys won this meet was in 2012; the last the OT girls won this meet was in 1985. This morning the Old Tappan boys are listed as a team to watch in Paul Schwartz's Record predictions, alongside defending champion Demarest and defending North 1 Group 2 Champion River Dell, a team new to Group 3 but sure to put up a fight. This weekend is sure to bring an exciting meet.

A link to the order of events is: http://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/document/14outdoorTrackregsRevised.pdf

(page 6)

E.U.

The Bergen County Meet of Champions — May 18, 2014 8:04:59 PM

Last night at the Bergen County Meet of Champions under the lights in Hackensack, senior Maxine McConnell broke Old Tappan's 30 yr. old school record, set by the N.V.O.T. Hall of Fame member, Aileen Trendler, in 1984. McConnell beat Trendler's 25.8 200m time with an outstanding time of 25.55 for a third place medal in the meet. 

McConnell also placed fifth in the 100m, breaking her own school record with a time of 12.48. 

Taryn DeLeon (Sr.) won the 100m high hurdles, breaking her own 2012 school record with a time of 15.28. She also won the high jump event and came in fourth in long jump. 

Lauren Bilali (Jr.) placed third in pole vault.

Luke Annichiarico (Sr.) won pole vault to add another victory to his already legendary season.

Joe Jordan (So.) placed fifth in the 110m high hurdles and fourth in 400m intermediate hurdles.

James Weissenborn (So.) ran a stellar 3200m and placed 6th with a new personal record.

Marc Rienas (Jr.) won the 800m.

Will Rienas (So.) placed third in 400m intermediate hurdles.

The boys 4x400m relay of Jordan Fuller (So.), Tom Rienas (So.), Marc Rienas (Jr.), and Will Rienas (So.) raced to an exciting first place in the last event of the night in a time of 3:21.19.

E.U.

Bergen County Group Championships —  May 11, 2014 5:02:35 PM

This weekend was the two-day Gene "Red" Littler Bergen County Outdoor Track Championships, the biggest and last Home Meet of the season and the last time the 2014 seniors were to race on the Old Tappan Track. As in most recent years, Old Tappan competed in Group A, the largest of the four groups. A place in the top six scored points for the team as well as garnered a medal. Senior Maxine McConnell had a great meet, placing 5th in the 100m Dash in a time of 12.87, 4th in the 200m Dash in a time 26.38, and finally 5th in the 400m Dash in a time of 60.05. Senior Rachel Abolafia raced in the 200m Dash, placing 27th, the 400IH, placing 12th, and the 100HH, placing 13th. Senior Hannah Pinto raced in the 1600m, placing 21st, and in the 3200m, placing 18th. Senior Taryn DeLeon made it to finals in the 100HH, placing 3rd in 16.05, she placed 10th in Triple Jump, and she placed 6th in Long Jump with a jump of 16'4.25". She was also the Group A High Jump Champion (1st) with a jump of  5'6". Senior Jackie Hoth posted a big PR of 8'0" in Pole Vault, placing 5th in the group. Senior Kristen Rinaldi placed 19th in Triple Jump and 8th in the Javelin. Senior Lexi Raffa placed 13th in Shot Put. Senior Jonathan Choi placed 18th in the 200m, 11th in the 400m, and 20th in Long Jump. Senior Johnny Schmacher placed 16th in the 800m. Senior Evan Chu placed 22nd in the 110HH. Senior Tim Cooke placed 5th in Long Jump with a jump of 20'8" and 19th in Triple Jump. Senior Paul Kim placed 26th in Triple Jump. Senior Constantine Pella placed 10th in Shot Put. Senior Tyler Angert placed 12th in Javelin. Senior Marc Ocampo placed 5th in Pole Vault with a jump of 13'0". County Record Holder and Senior Luke Annichiarico also competed in Pole Vault but lightning at the tail-end of the meet postponed the last jumps of the event.

The underclassmen also scored many points throughout the course of the meet. Junior Lauren Bilali was the Group A Pole Vault Champions (1st) with a jump of 10'0". Junior Taylor Parcells placed 3rd in High Jump with a jump of 5'0". Sophomore Ariana Chipolone placed 5th in Long Jump with a jump of 16'4.75". Sophomore Taylor Nash placed 5th in Javelin with a throw of 97'0". The girls 4x400m of Maxine McConnell (Sr.), Seema Kamath (Fr.), Taylor Parcells (Jr.) and Skylar Regan (Fr.) placed 6th with a 4:16.19. Junior Marc Rienas was the Group A 800m Champion (1st) in a talented heat with a time 1:54.04, breaking Kyle Davidson's 2012 school record. He also came in 4th in the 1600m in a 4:18.58, less than two seconds away from Norbert Berenyi's 1986 record. Sophomore Will Rienas placed 3rd in the 400m Dash with a time of 50.47. Sophomore Joe Jordan placed 4th in the 110HH in a time of 15.63. Will and Joe also placed 1st and 2nd respectively in the 400IH, with times of 55.47 and 55.75. Sophomore Jordan Fuller was the Group A Long Jump Champion with a jump of 21'4". Junior Aidan Shin placed 3rd in Discus with a throw of 145'5". Sophomore Jedh Downey placed 5th in Javelin with a throw of 157'04". The boys 400m of Tom Rienas (So.), Will Rienas (So.), Marc Rienas (Jr.), and Jordan Fuller (So.) closed out the day in the last event on the track placing 1st with a time of 3:22.30.

The girls team placed 5th in the group with 47 points.

The boys placed 2nd to Don Bosco Prep in a fantastic effort with 70 points.

Old Tappan's next meet is the Bergen County Meet of Champions held at Della Torre Stadium in Hackensack on May 16th. Field events start at 3:30 PM with track events starting at 6:00 and track event finals at 6:40. This meet has been postponed to May 17th due to inclement weather.

The County Seat Invitational is set for Saturday May 17th at Indian Hills in Oakland.

The last full-varsity meet is NJSIAA North 1 Group 3  State Sectionals at River Dell High School on May 23rd & 24th. 

E.U.

McConnell on Varsity Aces —  May 8, 2014 3:46:18 PM

A wonderful article about Old Tappan's Maxine McConnell:

http://blog.northjersey.com/varsityaces/32996/made-up-track-awards/

E.U.

Big North National League Championships — May 2, 2014 3:44:56 PM

The stellar boys team won the league championship yesterday evening in Ridgewood with 175 points. Junior Pierce Lukas placed third in the 100m dash with a time of 11.55 and sophomore Jordan Fuller came in 4th with a time of 11.61. Fuller placed 4th in the 200m dash with a time of 23.23, senior Jon Choi and Lukas placing 5th (23.72) and 6th (23.81). In the 400m dash, sophomore Will Rienas placed second with a 50.96, Choi placed 5th with a 51.53, and sophomore Tom Rienas placed 6th with a 52.47. Junior Marc Rienas won the 800m in a time of 1:58.52 and senior Johnny Schumacher placed 6th with a 2:06.02. In the 1600m, M. Rienas placed second with a 4:24.05, senior Ian Clarke placed third with a 4:27.6, and sophomore James Weissenborn with a 4:43.34. Clarke went on to win the 3200m with a 9:48.15 and Weissenborn placed 4th with a 10:00.43. Senior Brendan Davidson won the 400m hurdles with a 57.92, W. Rienas placed second with a 58.24, and sophomore Joe Jordan placed 4th with a 58.32. Finally, the boys 4x400m relay of T. Rienas, M. Rienas, W. Rienas, and J. Jordan won with a time of 3:26.01. On the field, junior Zach Weinberg, senior Tim Cooke, and senior Luke Annichiarico placed 4th, 5th, 6th in the high jump. Annichiarico won pole vault, setting a new Bergen County Record of 15'4.5". Senior Marc Ocampo placed 4th in pole vault with 11'6". Jordan Fuller won the long jump at 20'10" and Cooke placed third with a 20'3.5". Senior Constantine Pella won the shot put with a throw of 49'5.5". Junior Besart Kortoci placed third in discus with a throw of 131'9" and junior Aidan Shin placed 4th with 127'6". Sophomore Zach DeNike won the javelin throw with 158'9", sophomore Jedh Downey placed third with a 151'8", and junior Zach Lucas placed 5th with a 145'5".

The girls also earned many all-league performances. Senior Maxine McConnell won the 100m dash in a time of 12.73, placed second in the 200m dash with a time of 26.24, and came in second in the 400m dash as well with a time of 1:00.38. Junior Caitlin Ubl placed in 6th in the 800m with a 2:32. Sophomore Courtney Brunet placed 5th in the 1600m with a time of 5:41.99 and came in 4th in the 3200m with a 12:18.81. Sophomore Kirsten Kaiser placed in third in the 100m hurdles with a time of 16.8 and senior Rachel Abolafia placed 4th with a 16.93 in the same event. On the field, senior Taryn DeLeon jumped to victory in the high jump with 5'5.5". Junior Taylor Parcells placed third with 4'10". Junior Lauren Bilali won pole vault with a jump of 9'6". DeLeon placed second (16'9.25") in the long jump and Bilali third (16'3.5"). DeLeon also placed second in the triple jump (34'4.5"). Senior Lexi Raffa placed 5th in shot put at 30'4.5". Junior Emily Sullivan placed 6th in discus with a throw of 90'6". Finally, in javelin, sophomore Taylor Nash placed third with 91'7" and senior Kristen Rinaldi placed 6th with 80'0". The girls 4x400m relay placed 3rd with a 4:11.69 to close out the meet. The girls team came in third overall with 106 points to Demarest and Teaneck, scoring 12.67 more points at this meet than last year.

E.U.

The 120th Running of the Penn Relays — Apr 26, 2014 6:31:52 PM

Old Tappan took Franklin Field this week. On Thursday, the Girls 4x100 (Sophomore Ariana Chipolone, Junior Lauren Bilali, Sophomore Tara Brooks, Senior Maxine McConnell) raced to fifth in their heat with a time of 52.91. The Girls 4x400 ran a a few hours later, clocking a 4:21.75.

This morning, the Old Tappan boy's 4x400 of Sophomore Jordan Fuller (52.72), Senior Brendan Davidson (51.85), Junior Marc Rienas (50.17), and Sophomore Will Rienas (49.18) raced to third place in their heat, medaling with a time of 3:23.9. Senior Luke Annichiarico also competed individually in the High School Boy's Pole Vault Championship, placing 6th with a jump of 14'9".

E.U.

The Bergen County Relays — Apr 15, 2014 4:07:08 PM

Many school relay records fell this weekend at the Bergen County Relays at River Dell High School.

On the girls side, the 1983 long jump school record was broken by Taryn DeLeon, Ariana Chipolone, and Taylor Parcells. The girls placed fifth in their division with 51 points. The division was won by Northern Highlands.

On the boys side, the 4x1600m record set in 2012 was broken by .4 seconds, the shuttle hurdle relay set in 2013 was broken by .1 seconds, the distance medley record of 2012 was broken by 9 seconds, the sprint medley record of 2012 was broken by over two seconds, and the pole vault record of 2008/2009 was broken by one foot. The boys placed second in their division with 101 points to a very strong Ridgewood team and junior Marc Rienas earned track athlete of the meet for his efforts. 

-E.U.

State Group Championships — Feb 22, 2014 9:48:28 PM

On Thursday the Boys and Girls teams competed at the New Jersey State Group Championships at the Bubble in Toms River. To move on to the Meet of Champions an athlete must finish in the top six in an event or earn a wild card berth by having one of the sixth best performances in the state that did not qualify. Moving on to the Meet of Champions are Marc Ocampo and Lauren Bilali who earned wildcards in the Pole Vault, Taryn DeLeon who placed 4th in the High Jump, Marc Rienas who won the 800m, and Luke Annichiarico who won the Pole Vault. Luke's winning jump of 15 ft 6in set a new county, group 3, all groups state record, qualified him for Outdoor Nationals, and tied the 25th best jump in the country. Congrats to all who competed and good luck to everyone competing at both the Eastern State Championships and SMOC.

-Coach C

Burning up BMOC — Feb 20, 2014 2:44:23 AM

Last night after a crazy week of weather and a last minute postponement of the Group 3 Championships, the entire OT team took to the Armory in NYC to compete at the Bergen County Meet of Champions. Gold medal performances were turned in by Taylor Parcells who won the Pentathlon - missing the school record by only 2 points, Luke Annichiarico who won the Pole Vault, and Taryn DeLeon who the High Jump. More results coming as soon as official results are posted on Bergentrack.com. Congrats to all our medalists!

Coach C.

Recap - State Sectionals — Feb 20, 2014 2:21:47 AM

This past Sunday OT took to the Bennett Center  "Bubble"  to compete at the North 1 Group 3 State Sectional Championships. The girls took home 7 individual medal while the boys took home 5. Both 4x400m relays qualified for next weekends State Group Championships. Joining the relays will be the following athletes who qualified individually by placing in the top six. 

Girls individual medalists were: Maxine McConnell, 4th- 55m dash, Caitlin Ubl, 4th - 400m dash, Taryn DeLeon, 3rd - 55m High Hurdles, Taylor Parcells, 5th -55m High Hurdles, Taylor Parcells, 5th - High Jump, Taryn DeLeon, 1st - High Jump, Lauren Bilali, 3rd - Pole Vault, and the 4x400m relay of Maxine McConnell, Caitlin Ubl, Jada Usal, and Taylor Parcells.

Boys medalists were:  Constantine Pella, 6th - Shot Put, Marc Rienas, 2nd - 800m and 4th - 1600m,  Marc Ocampo, 5th - pole vault, and Luke Annichiarico, 1st - pole vault and the 4x400m relay of Jon Choi, Marc Rienas, Will Rienas, and Brendan Davidson.

Marc's time of 1:59.08 in the 800m set a new school record, while Luke's 15' 2" jump in the pole vault broke his own school and county record, as well the the North 1 Group 3 and overall Group 3 record. Congrats to all who competed!

Coach C.

Notes on the Varsity Classic — Feb 5, 2014 4:00:26 PM

The Varsity Classic at the Armory Track & Field Center in NYC, a major meet for the Tri-State Area, was pushed one day due to snow, but Old Tappan still had some great performances. Senior Brendan Davidson placed 16th in the 400m Dash with a time of 53.04, Senior Jonathan Choi placed 8th in Long Jump with 20-04.25, Senior Luke Annichiarico placed 5th in Pole Vault with 14-6, and Senior Dean Pella placed 6th in Shot Put with 47-7. Finally, Old Tappan's 4x400m placed 9th with a time of 3:34.0. Senior Maxine McConnell placed in the 400m Dash with a time of 63.6 and Freshman Amanda Tripodi placed in that same event with a time of 65.7. Junior Taylor Parcells placed 24th in Long Jump with 15-5. The girls 4x400m closed out the night with a 4:13.5, Junior Caitlin Ubl running a split under 62. With State Sectionals in just 4 days, both teams prepare to head down to Toms River and compete at full force.

E.U.

Annichiarico Named Athlete of the Week — Jan 29, 2014 4:18:49 PM

This week county-record holder and senior Luke Annichiarico made Athlete of the Week for his efforts in pole vault at the Big North League Championships and the Bergen County Relays.

County Relays — Jan 28, 2014 8:49:56 PM

Last night at the 168th Street NY Armory, the Golden Knights competed in the Bergen County Relays. Girls teams that placed including the Shuttle Hurdle Relay (5th in 34.60), the Sprint Medley (2nd in 4:28.60), the 4x400 Meter Relay (6th in 4:21.50), the Long Jump Relay* (2nd in 39-9.5), the Triple Jump Relay (4th in 66-07.5), the Shot Put Relay (6th in 57-06.25), the Pole Vault Relay (3rd in 15-0), and the High Jump Relay* (2nd in 9-10). The girls placed 4th overall as a team in the A Division with 37.5 points.

Placing relays on the boys side were the Shuttle Hurdle Relay* (3rd in 32.90), the 4x1600 Meter Relay* (5th in 19:03), the Sprint Medley (4th in 3:51.80), the Long Jump Relay (3rd in 38-05), the Triple Jump Relay (6th in 78-0), the Shot Put Relay (5th in 84-10.5), the High Jump Relay (5th in 10-10), and last but not least the 27 feet winning Pole Vault Relay* of Seniors Luke Annichiarico (14-6) and Marc Ocampo (12-6). Luke earned the Record's Athlete of the Week honors for his efforts.

E.U.

*school record

Big North Frosh/Novice — Jan 22, 2014 5:51:20 AM

On January 20th, 2014, a part of the team traveled to Rockland Community College to compete in the Big North Frosh Novice Meet. For some, it was the last meet of the season. Out of the Novice Boys, Senior Evan Chu placed 3rd in the 55m Hurdles, Junior Jack Hausmann placed 4th in Triple Jump, and Sophomore Jin Lim placed 5th in Triple Jump. Freshmen Girls Jada Usal (2nd in 55m Hurdles and 3rd in Long Jump) and Seema Kamath (3rd in the 400m) also placed in events.

E.U.

2014 Paul Schwartz Invitational — Jan 14, 2014 4:32:25 PM

At the Paul Schwartz Invitational at Fairleigh Dickinson University on Friday night, the Knights ran and hurdled to many medals. No field events were held. The varsity boys 4x800m placed second in a time of 8:52.7, and the varsity boys 4x400m won in a time of 3:44. Marc Rienas (Jr.) ran a 2:47.5 1000m in the varsity division, Jonathan Choi (Sr.) placed 5th in the novice 55m with a time of 7.1, Luke Annichiarico (Sr.) won the novice 55HH in 8.4, and James Weissenborn (So.) placed 5th in the novice 800m with a time of 2:16.1. And finally, the varsity boys Distance Medley of James Weissenborn (So.), Danny Jaris (Jr.), Kevin Lawlor (Sr.) and Marc Rienas (Jr.) had the best time of the night, winning in a time of 11:05.5. On the girls side, the varsity 4x400m placed 6th in the event at 4:32.3. Maxine McConnell (Sr.) won the novice 55m in 7.6 and Tara Brooks (So.) won the novice 55HH in 9.2. Taylor Parcells (Jr.) also placed in the novice 55HH, coming in 5th with a time of 10.2. Courtney Brunet (So.) raced to 5th place in the novice 800m with a time of 2:42.5 and Maxine McConnell (Sr.) placed again in the novice 300m running a 46.1 for 2nd place. Finally, Jada Usal (Fr.) came in 4th in the freshman 55HH in 11.8 seconds. The team's next meet is Big North League Championships at the Armory next week.

E.U.

Season Debut & Pole Vault School Record — Jan 3, 2014 7:05:09 AM

At the Bishop Loughlin Games at the NY Armory on December 21st, senior Luke Annichiarico soared to a personal best and Old Tappan indoor school record in Pole Vault with a mark of 14'6". He placed second in the meet, his first meet of the season.

The rest of the Golden Knights debuted at the Spiked Shoe Holiday Festival, also at the Armory, a few days later. Luke Annichiarico won Varsity Pole Vault, this time with a jump of 14'0", and senior Jonathan Choi placed 6th in Varsity Long Jump with a jump of 20'0.5". Sophomore Will Rienas and seniors Kevin Devine and Johnny Schumacher swept the JV 800m on the track, and junior Jack Hausmann added to Old Tappan's successful night with a 6th place jump of 17'2.5" in JV Long Jump. On the girls side, senior Taryn DeLeon opened her season with a 5'4" mark and a second place medal in the Varsity High Jump. Meanwhile, junior Caitlin Ubl won both the JV 200m and 800m in fast times. Senior Maxine McConnell placed second in the JV 200m as well as second in the JV 55m. Finally, junior Taylor Parcells contributed with a notable fifth place in the JV 55 Hurdles to start what will surely be a great season. 

The Golden Knights will next compete as a team at the Paul Schwartz Invitational at FDU on January 10th. Happy New Year!

E.U.

Bergen County Meet of Champions — May 30, 2013 7:04:29 PM

Yesterday under wonderful conditions, the best track athletes in Bergen county competed at The Bergen County Meet of Champions. Standout performances were turned out by: Jong-Min Youn- 1st Discus and 6th Shot, Benjamin Davis- 2nd 100m, Andrew Schumacher- 5th 400IH (as a freshman), Luke Annichiarico- 5th Pole Vault, Caitlin Ubl- 4th 800m, Taylor Parcells- 5th HJ, and Taryn DeLeon- 1st HJ (The best jump this year in NJ).

Penn Relays Update — May 2, 2013 3:07:33 PM

Congratulations to the girls 4 x 400m which placed second in their heat, earning the first medals for the girls team at this meet in over a decade. The girls time of 4:05.6 set by, Caitlin Ubl (So.), Minsoo Khang (Sr.), Taylor Parcells (So.), and Taryn DeLeon (Jr.) is their fastest of the year and the 6th fastest in the county to date. Congrats girls!