DENVILLE STRIDERS - 2011

Coach pleased with results

as team moves up a notch

    DENVILLE - The way Kathy Vita had it figured, she would need every bit of preseason practice time to prepare her Denville Striders Track & Field team for the 2011 spring season.
    After all, the Striders would be facing stiffer competition after completing two unbeaten seasons in Divison 2 and moving up to Division 1 of the Lakeland Junior Track & Field Conference.
    But Mother Nature didn't cooperate and Vita, the program director and head coach of the Striders, watched helplessly as practice after practice was cancelled because of rain. Some of the early-season meets also fell victim to the weather and the Striders finished the season with a 3-3 record competing against Roxbury, Mount Olive, Montville, Mendham, Randolph and Parsippany.
    "Not only did we hold our own but we exceeded our expectations while facing a more competitive schedule," Vita said. "The coaches and kids worked very well together under a newly restructured program and we are proud of what they did this season."
    Denville also placed fourth in the conference's championship meet, held at Morris Knolls High School on Sunday, June 12.
    The Striders scored 113 points in the eight-team competition. Mendham won the Division 1 title with 354 points; Randolph was second with 171 points; Parsippany scored 144 points to place third; Denville was fourth and was followed by Rockaway Township (103 points), Roxbury (94), Mount Olive (59) and Montville (14).
    As for the conference meet, Matias Pellegrino won the only gold medal of the day for the Striders when he cleared 14-feet, 10-inches to win the 11-12 division long jump. Teammate Nick Walles cleared 12-4.5 to finish in fifth place.
    Pellegrino also finished fourth in the 100-meter dash in 13.76 and was fourth in the 400 in 1:08.78.
    In other boys events:
    Zack Hosler cleared 16-6.75 to place second in the 13-15 long jump.
    The 4x100-meter relay team of Vita, Richie Bebb, Alex Kulik and Pellegrino finished second with a time of 55.85, less than a half-second behind race winner Parsippany, which turned in a time of 55.58.
    The 10-under 4x100 team finished third with Andrew Berkeland, Josh Covello, Trey Effner and Michael Scornavacca posting a time of 1:05.62 and the 13-15 team also placed third in its 4x100 relay when Mike Whitemore, Nathan Eluemunor, Uche White and Hosler were clocked in 53.02.
    Bebb and Kulik finished 3-4 in the 11-12 shot when Bebb threw 27-8 and Kulik was right behind him at 27-7. Kulik also ran third in the 11-12 200 with a time of 29.78;     
    Hosler was fourth in the 13-15 mile with a time of 5:27.57 and Berkeland also earned a fourth-place finish by running a 33.96 in the 200.
    Corey Vita and Justin Yagozinski ran 4-6 in the 11-12 800 with Vita finishing in 2:38.18 and Yagozinski posting a time of 2:48.28;  Scornavacca and Effner finished 5-6 in the 10-under 100 with Scornavacca crossing in 16.29 and Effner finishing in 16.37; Vita and Brian Gaffney finished 4-6 in the 11-12 mile with Vita posting a 5:57.96 and Gaffnery a 6:23.13
    Tommy Carney was fifth in the 10-under mile, posting a time of 6:28.49; Effner was fifth in the 10-under shot put with a throw of 17-9.75; Mike Whitemore cleared 15-3 to finish fifth in the long jump.    
    Berkeland was sixth in the 10-under 400 in 1:16.88.
    On the girls side, the 10-under 4x100-meter relay ran second for the best Strider girls finish of the competition. Kira Alverson, Rachael Eluemunor, Alexa Krause and Ariel Kyle finished in 1:04.98, a little more than a half-second off the winning time of 1:04.36 clocked by race-winner Randolph.
    In other girls events:
    Ariel Kyle and Judy Xie finished 3-4 in the 10-under shot put with Kyle finishing with a throw of 16-feet, 1-inch and Xie posting a best of 15-6.5. Kyle also finished third in the 10-under 200 in 33.48.
    Carola Pellegrino finished with a third-place in the long jump when she cleared 14-8.75 in her best attempt
    Kyle was fourth in the 10-under 800 with a time of 2:59.62; the 11-12 relay team of Kate Simon, Nicole Borowiec, Kate McAndrew and Lauren Anderson finished fourth with a time of 1:01.53; Dostanko ran fourth in the 13-15 400, finishing in 1:06.20.
    The 13-15 relay team of Carly Bouman, Shanelle Gramby, Tymia Joseph and Dostanko finished in 55.82 for a fifth-place finish; Dostanko was fifth in the 13-15 800 in 2:32.18; Xie ran fifth in the 10-under mile, finishing in 6:57. 38; and Nicole Borowiec ran a 32.99 to finish fifth in the 11-12 200.
    All children of Denville residents are eligible to compete with the Striders. Those interested in signing up are asked to visit the club's Web site at http://www.denvillestriders.webs.com. Signups for next season will be conducted in early 2012.