Sports
Hightstown Track Seasons End in Group III Finals
Boys and girls both had two entries in the meet.
The farther a team goes along in the state competition, the tougher the opponents get.
When the Hightstown High School winter track team took part in the Group III championships this past Saturday at the Bennett Center in Toms River, the competition was really tough.
Hightstown had qualified two entrants in both the boys and the girls Group III championships. None of them placed high enough to earn a medal or a spot in the Meet of Champions.
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"We thought we had a shot for some of them to advance, but this is really tough competition," Hightstown girls track coach Tom McCafferty said. "It's not like we had a bad day. There was just better competition than us that day."
On the girls side, Dana Obst and Jabria Hendryx had done well enough in the sectionals to earn a spot in the Group III finals for the shot put.
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Obst placed ninth with a distance of 33' 10". Jabria Hendryx placed 21st with a distance of 30' 6".
The top six finishers in each event earn a spot in the Meet of Champions. The additional six best finishers in each event from all of the group events also advance as wild cards.
"You needed to be in the 34- or 35-foot range to advance," McCafferty said.
"Dana's first throw was a good one. She was consistently around that distance. Jabria has also been around 30 feet all year. I thought the way they performed was impressive for their first time in the Group III finals. A lot of kids will crumble under the pressure."
On the boys side, Tyler Foss and the 4x400 team had earned the right to compete in the Group III finals.
Foss placed eighth in the 800 with a time of 2:02.1.
"It was a tough day for the 800," McCafferty said. "The first 60 meters, someone fell. When they tried to start the race again, there was a false start. It took three times to get the race off cleanly. It's hard because you get all pumped up to run. Tyler ended up running well. It just wasn't fast enough to advance."
The 4x400 team of Foss, Joey Lenart, Kevin Lenart and Emanuel Marfo placed 15th in a time of 3:37.9.
"All of the guys ran well in the 4x400," McCafferty said. "They were just up against some really tough competition."
That's what happens when you get to the Group III finals.
