DENVILLE - Taylor Furman will have yet another day of running and throwing in her high school career as the Morris Knolls senior has qualified to compete in the Meet of Champions at the Bennett Center in Toms River on Saturday, Feb. 27.
Furman qualified for two events - the winter track finale’s 55-meter hurdles and the shot put - at the Group 3 meet that was held in the Bennett Bubble on Saturday, Feb. 20.
Furman finished sixth in the hurdles with a time of 8.66 and was fifth in the shot with a throw of 37-feet, .5-inch. She also competed in the high jump where she cleared 4-feet, 8-inches to finish 19th.
The top six finishers in the state's six group meets (four public, two non-public) plus six wild-card entries who had the next six best performances across all six groups will make up the 42-man fields in each MofC event.
Furman's time in the hurdles is the 16th best of the 42 entries in Saturday’s field while she was seeded 14th in the shot put where a throw of 38-feet just might earn her an MofC medal.
Furman scored the Lady Eagles' three team points in the meet, putting Knolls back in the pack at 25th in the 30-team field.
Senior Diana D'Achille finished ninth in the 1600-meter run, posting a time of 5:21.39 that was was 5.08 seconds off the sixth-place time at the group meet and only .12 of a second slower than that of the final wild-card entry.
Junior Erica Evans finished 11th in the 55-meter dash, posting a time of 7.66 that was .14 of a second off the sixth qualifying time and only .04 slower than the sixth and last wild-card time accepted.
The Lady Eagles' 4x400-meter relay team of Evans, sophomore Amanda Black, freshman Andrea Bush and freshman Taylor Henderson showed a lot of promise for the future with a 10th-place finish in 4:16.19. The foursome was only 3.59 seconds off the group’s sixth and last qualifying spot.
Sophomore Alyssa Brindle finished 16th in the 3200-meter run, posting a time of 12:17.62.
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Sectional title 'exciting meet' to Lady Eagles coach
DENVILLE - Morris Knolls High School girls winter track coach Bryon Collins still refers to the meet as "... our best showing of the year," and sums it up with a "... it was very exciting meet!" without any prodding at all.
The meet to which Collins - known as “Grandpa Coach” to his team - refers is the North 1, Group 3 girls sectional track championships held at the Bennett Center in Toms River on Wednesday, Feb. 3.
That was they day the Lady Eagles won their second straight team sectional title, scoring 52 points to edge runnerup Sparta by two points in the competition that attracted 15 teams.
For excitement - once you get past the two-point margin of victory - Collins points out several performances. And they all did not put points on the Morris Knolls side of the ledger, either.
Senior Taylor Furman provided a lot of points and a lot of excitement as she won the 55-meter hurdles in meet record time; finished second in the high jump; and finished fifth in the shot put.
Her efforts put 20 points toward the Eagles team total.
Furman won the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.87, breaking her own meet record of 8.92 that she had set last year.
She cleared 4-feet, 10-inches in the high jump - the same height as Gianna Pastena of Mount Olive - and was placed second, losing the title on Pastena’s fewer misses. She threw 35-0.75 in the shot to finish fifth - and win her third meet medal.
"Taylor Furman's performance was fantastic considering she had been unable to practice hard before the meet because of a painful thigh injury," Collins says. "She has to do a lot of stretching before she can compete ... she is performing in pain and still competes at a high level.
"She is a special athlete ... a special kid."
Furman wasn’t the only Lady Eagle who competed through pain in the sectionals.
Junior Erica Evans missed two days of school and practices with the stomach flu leading up to the meet yet ran second in the 55-meter dash in 7.56 - .03 off the winning time posted by race-winner Chemeka Davis of Paterson Eastside.
Evans then came back and ran the lead leg on the Lady Eagles 4x400 relay team that clocked 4:12.85 to finish second to Sparta and it’s meet record time of 4:08.14. Sophomore Amanda Black, freshman Andrea Bush and freshman Taylor Henderson completed the foursome that also went under the former record of 4:12.90.
Senior Diana D’Achille, who has also been hampered in her training by several nagging injuries throughout the season, finished second in the 1600 with a time of 5:17.22 for another big eight team points.
"“Diana is coming back ... she's getting stronger again," Collins says. "She was only a few seconds off her personal best."
Sophomore Alyssa Brindle won a pair of medals, placing third in the 3200 with a time of 12:11.18 and finishing sixth in the 1600 in personal-best 5:30.13.
Junior Jazmin Henderson also had a personal best with her 7.69 time in the 55-meter dash that was good for sixth place and another team point for Knolls.
Collins was also quick to point out that there were solid performances by other Knolls runners, also - even if they did not score team points.
"Kristen Snead and Camille Rosellini ran personal bests in the 800," Collins explains. "And Andrea Bush and Amanda Black also had personal bests in the 400."
Snead was a near-miss for a medal in the 800 as her time of 2:29.57 put her in seventh place. D’Achille was eighth in 2:30.94 and Rosellini was ninth with a time of 2:30.50.
Bush also just missed getting a medal with her 1:02.03 and seventh-place finish in the 400. Black was 12th in 1:03.55 in the same race.
Henderson also competed in the 55-meter dash, where she finished 12th with a time of 7.86.
Next for the Lady Eagles is the Group 3 meet that has been rescheduled for Saturday, Feb. 20, at the Bennett Center with a 9 a.m. start. The meet was pushed back a week because several other sectionals have been postponed to Saturday, Feb. 13.
The Lady Eagles, obviously, can use the time to recover from a few nagging injuries.
And “Grandpa Coach” can use the time to recover from all the excitement in winning the sectional title.
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Furman wins senior title at Randolph shot put meet
DENVILLE - Senior Taylor Furman, the only Morris Knolls High School athlete to enter the girls competition in the Randolph Shot Put Invitational, captured the senior division individual championship with a throw of 36-4 at Randolph High School on Monday, Jan. 25.
Furman’s winning throw was 2.5-inches farther than Hanover Park senior Christine Ogbonna.
The 10 team points Furman earned were good enough for the Lady Eagles to finish tied for fifth in the 13-team field and in a tie for 11th place in the boys and girls combined scoring.
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Furman, Evans 'double up' in medals as MK finishes 4th
DENVILLE - Sophomore Taylor Furman and junior Erica Evans each won two medals to spark the Morris Knolls High School girls indoor track team to a fourth-place finish in the Morris County Winter Track Championships held at Drew University in Madison on Wednesday, Jan. 20.
Furman had a second and a third and Evans had a second and a fifth as the pair accounted for 24 of the 30 points scored by the Lady Eagles
Furman was runnerup to Morristown senior Krystal Ellis in the 55-meter hurdles with Furman’s time of 8.71 only 1/100th of a second off the winning time of 8.70 posted by Ellis. Later, Furman finished third in the shot with a throw of 35-feet, 3-inches.
Evans was a close second to Morris Hills senior Nicole Vazquez in the 55-meter dash with Vazquez putting up a time of 7.53 to the 7.55 posted by Evans. The Lady Knight sprinter was fifth in the 300-meter run with a time of 43.22.
Randolph won the team title with 73 points with Mendham second with 56 points and Morristown third with 49 points.
Butler finished fifth with 23 points and was followed by Montville (6th, 19 points), Villa Walsh and Hanover Park (tied for 7th, each with 18 points); Morris Hills (9th, 15); Chatham (10th, 10); Whippany Park (11th, 9); Mount Olive (12th, 6); Kinnelon, West Morris and Madison (tie for 13th, each with 4 points), Dover (16th, 2); and Roxbury (17th, 1) rounding out the 17- team field.
The only other team points for the Lady Eagles came in the 4x400 relay when sophomore Amanda Black, freshman Andrea Bush, Evans and freshman Taylor Henderson finished third with a time of 4:13.55.
In other events involving the Lady Eagles:
Senior Diana D’Achille just missed a medal when she placed seventh in the 1600 in 5:20.88. In the same race, sophomore Alyssa Brindle was ninth in 5:34.20 and sophomore Heather LaVallee was 30th in 6:10.19.
Junior Jazmin Henderson was eighth in the 55-meter dash in 7.81.
Junior Kristen Snead was 10th in the 600 with a time of 1:46.98 while sophomore Camille Rosellini placed 13th in 1:47.26.
Amanda Black just missed a medal with her seventh-place finish in the 300 as her 44.05 was less than two seconds behind the winner and only .05 behind the sixth-place finisher in the race. Freshman Andrea Bush ran 12th in 44.41 in the race.
Furman missed her third medal when she cleared 4-10 in the high jump and was placed seventh based on more misses; sophomore Alyssa Brindle was eighth in the 3200 in 12:22.08; and senior Alyssa Wardrop was 38th in the shot with a throw of 22-4.
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Furman's three medals help MK finish 4th NJAC meet
DENVILLE - Taylor Furman, a senior at Morris Knolls High School, had quite a day with three second-place finishes at the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Winter Track American Division Championships held at Drew University in Madison on Saturday, Jan. 9.
Her 24-point contribution to the Lady Eagles team total helped Morris Knolls finish in fourth place with 36 points in the 11-team field.
Randolph won the girls team title with 72 points with Mendham second just four points back and Morristown third with 59 points. Knolls was a point ahead of Sparta while Mount Olive (6th with 21 points), Pope John (7th with 17 points), Montville (8th with 14 points), Roxbury (9th with 11 points), West Morris (10th with seven points), and Vernon (11th with one point) rounded out the field.
Furman ran an 8.83 in the 55-meter hurdles for her first runnerup finish of the day; she placed second in the shot put with a throw of 34-feet, 10-inches; and finished her day off in the high jump, where she cleared 5-0 and lost out on a gold medal on fewer misses to senior Gianna Pastena of Mount Olive.
Junior Erica Evans scored team points in three different events starting with a sixth-place finish in the 55-meter dash in 7.87. She also tied for fourth with teammate Amanda Black, a sophomore, when both stopped the timer in 44.49.
Evans also ran the lead leg of the Lady Eagles 4x400 relay team that finished fourth. Senior Andrea Bush ran the second leg; freshman Taylor Henderson ran the third; and Black anchored the quartet that was timed in 4:18.18.
Senior Diana D'Achille picked up a team point when she finished sixth in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:21.01
In other events:
Junior Jazmin Henderson finished seventh in the 55-meter dash with a time of 8.06 while Bush was 16th in 8.09 in the same event.
Sophomore Camille Rosellini was seventh in the 600-meter run in 1:48.79; Bush finished seventh in the 300 with a time of 44.66; and junior Kristen Snead had another seventh-place finish, running the 1000 in 3:15.31.
Senior Heather Casey was 13th in 10.25 and Black finished 18th in 10.51 in the 55-meter dash. In the 1600, sophomore Alyss Brindle was ninth in 5:34.36.
Junior Melanie Lamac cleared 4-3 to finish 12th in the high jump; freshman Alysa Wardrop’s throw of 25-0 was good for 17th in the shot; and sophomore Amber Miller cleared 7-6 in the pole vault to finish tied for eighth.
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Furman wins gold in shot at Cliff Back Invitational
DENVILLE - Senior Taylor Furman won the only gold medal of the meet for the Morris Knolls High School girls winter track team when her throw of 34-feet, 6.75-inches topped the shot put field at the Cliff Back Invitational that was held at Drew University in Madison on Wednesday, Jan. 6.
Taylor’s throw was 8.25 inches farther than Scotch Plains senior Kim Wenson, who finished second in the field of 53 throwers.
Other Lady Eagles in the shot put competition included junior Kayla Delgado (39th, 23-5.25), senior Megan Halsch (43rd, 21-4.5), and junior Genevieve Sheeran (50th, 19-3).
Sophomore Amanda Black came within an eyelash of winning a second gold medal for Morris Knolls, getting edged out for the top spot in the 300 by Mendham junior Morgan Holleran after both had been caught in 43.93. Black’s junior teammate Erica Evans was sixth in the race with a time of 44.26.
Furman had a third-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles, turning in a time of 8.96. Senior Heather Casey (30th in 10.23), Black (38th, 10.31) and junior Melanie Lamac (62nd, 11.07) were also in the field of 71 hurdlers.
Senior Diana D'Achille finished fourth in the 1600, posting a time of 5:30.19. In the same race, sophomore teammate Heather LaVallee finished 16th in 5:58.89.
Evans was fourth and junior Jazmin Henderson seventh in the 55-meter hurdles for the Lady Eagles with Evans posting a time of 7.80 and Henderson finishing in 8.06. Other Lady Eagles in the race were junior Karley Kamovitch (29th, 8.26), sophomore Rachel Suntag (38th, 8.40) and junior Courtney Butler (60th, 8.76).
Junior Kristen Snead ran a 3:21.02 to finish fourth in the 1000-meter run. She was followed by teammates sophomore Heather LaVallee (3:41.09) and junior Elizabeth Hutnikoff (29th in 3:58.78).
Sophomore Alyssa Brindle was sixth in the 3200, posting a time of 12:03.34. In the shot, sophomore Rachel Hayes was 31st with a throw of 24-4.5 and sophomore Karina Irula finished 47th with a throw of 20-6.
In the junior varsity events, senior Megan Halsch was 15th in the 55-meter dash with a time of 8.76. Other Knolls sprinters in the race were juniors Fatima Dauda (21st, 8.85), Gerri Weinberger (24th, 8.95) and Gianna Sabeh (37th, 9.21).
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Lady Eagles finish 4th in County Relay team standings
DENVILLE - The Morris Knolls High School girls track team finished with two seconds, a third and two fourths for 30 team points and a fourth-place finish in the 17-team field of the Morris County Winter Track Relay Championships held at Drew University in Madison on Monday, Jan. 4.
Randolph won the team title with 52 points with Morristown second with 39 points followed by Mendham (34), Knolls and Roxbury (22) to round out the top five teams.
Senior Diana D'Achille ran in four of the five events in which the Lady Eagles scored points, anchoring the runnerup finishes of the 4x200 and 1600 sprint medley teams, running the lead leg on the third-place distance medley team, and running anchor on the fourth-place 4x400 team.
In the 4x200 relay, sophomore Amanda Black, junior Erica Evans, senior Andrea Bush and D'Achille finished second with a time of 1:50.97, a half-second behind the winning team from Mendham High School.
The same foursome also ran on the 1600 sprint medley team that was time in 4:27.67 for another second-place finish.
The Lady Eagles distance medley team of D'Achille, sophomore Alyssa Brindle, junior Kristen Snead and freshmen Taylor Henderson finished third with a time of 13:09.73.
The Lady Eagles placed fourth in the 4x400 when Bush, Evans, Black and D'Achille finished in 4:21.22.
Morris Knolls had a another fourth-place finish in the 4x800 when junior Kristen Snead, Brindle, sophomore Heather LaVallee and sophomore Camille Rosellini finished with a time of 10:32.21.
In other events, the Lady Eagles had two teams in the shuttle hurdles relay with the A-Team finishing eighth in 35.98 and the B-Team placing 15th in 41.91; and juniors Melanie Lamac and Gianna Sabeh combined to clear 8-6 for a ninth-place finish in the high jump relay.
In junior varsity events, the Lady Eagles won the 4x400 relay when sophomore Camille Rosellini, sophomore Rachel Suntag, junior Jazmin Henderson and freshman Taylor Henderson turned in a time of 4:48.05, almost seven seconds faster than runnerup Mendham.
Also, the JV team of Suntag, Henderson, junior Karley Kamovitch and sophomore Amber Miller finished second in the 4x200 with a time of 2:00.56; freshmen Heather Weick, Brianna Reggiani and Priscilla teamed with sophomore anchor Lauren Carlson to finish fourth in the 4x800 with a time of 11:28.42; and the team of senior Taylor Furman and freshman Alyssa Wardrop finished seventh in the shot put with Furman throwing a meet second-best 34-8.75.
