West Morris Central Girl Runs to 3rd Place at Meet of Champs

For the second year in a row, West Morris Central’s Kylene Cochrane completed another record-breaking season with a third-place finish in the 1600 meter race at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions.

Cochrane’s time of 4:51.24 bettered her own school record time of 4:53.88, which she set at this meet last year. 

Tenafly’s Josette Norris broke the MOC 1600 record with a winning time of 4:41.66 (and, the fifth fastest time in the nation this year), while Randolph’s Liz Lansing was second in 4:45.36.

Cochrane was one of five West Morris athletes that advanced all the way to the state’s final track and field meet, held at Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield last Wednesday.

Her distance running partner and fellow junior Brennan Sharkey finished 13th in the 3200 meter race, finishing in a time of 11:04.77.

WMC was well represented in the pole vault competition with Max Maroney representing the boys and Marlena Paz competing for the girls. Maroney equaled his personal best vault of 13-6, which was good enough for 19th place, while Paz cleared 10-6 to finish in 13th place. 

Senior thrower Carli Thurber competed in the shot put, but was not able to complete a legal throw. 

Cochrane also competed in the 800 meter finals. However, the 800 race was contested just a short time after her record breaking 1600 performance, so her time of 2:22.21 was slightly slower than what she normally runs.

Girls coach Jay Herrigel was justifiably proud of the performance of his athletes that made it to this prestigious event.  And, considering that Cochrane, Sharkey, Maroney and Paz are all juniors, he expects more good things for next year.

Earlier in the week, the track and field teams held their annual end of season banquet and awards ceremony.  For the third straight year, Kylene Cochrane was named the MVP of the girl’s team.  This season, Cochrane broke the school records for the 800, 1600 and 3200 (since broken) and was the anchor of the school record breaking 4x400 team. Cochrane also led the team in points.

The Most Improved Award for the girls went to two girls that showed remarkable improvement over last year.  Brennan Sharkey improved her 3200 time by better than a minute and a half over last year, and her best time of 10:52.57 is the new school record.  Marlena Paz also showed that a year can make a big difference as she improved her top vault from 7-6 last year to 11-0 this year.  Along the way, she won the Morris County Championship and set the school record in her specialty.

On the boys’ side, senior distance runner David Reed was named MVP.  Reed was the leading point scorer on the team and top performer in the 1600, 3200 and high jump.  Reed set personal records this season in both the 1600 (4:27.87) and 3200 (9:42.93).  The Most Improved Award went to junior Nick Kontos, who also PR’d in both the 1600 (4:43.78) and 3200 (10:07.07).

Each year, the West Morris Central Cross Country/Track and Field Parents Club presents a $500 scholarship to a deserving senior boy and girl. At last week’s banquet, Sam Piraneo and Brigitte Rec were presented with the Parents Club scholarships. Piraneo will be attending Ithaca College in the fall, while Rec will study at the University of Rhode Island.

And, the end of season awards continued to come in for some of West Morris’ most talented athletes.  Cochrane, Sharkey and Paz were all named 1st Team All County by the Morris County Track Coaches Association.

The 4x400 team of Cochrane, Katie Sabatino, Abby Rec and Lauren Toth garnered 1st team All Conference honors for the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, as did shot putter Carl Thurber.

Second team All Conference recognition went to Meggie LaGueux (high jump), Kelsey Cronin (hurdles), Kendall Ballotti (long jump), Paz and Sharkey.  Thrower Christen Cooper and distance runner Sierra Castaneda received Honorable Mention for the conference performances. 

Girls coach Jay Herrigel acknowledged that one of the keys to the success of the girls’ team this year was the leadership shown by his senior captains, “Our seniors played a crucial role in making this season successful.  They were not only a talented class, but also a great group of leaders who created a positive, competitive, and fun environment to help girls reach their potential.”  Referring to the work ethic of the girls, he joked, “There really was no sitting on the mats and sunbathing this season.”

While there are many talented shoes to fill with the graduation of key seniors from this year’s teams, there is an abundance of returning talent that should continue to break school records and win medals next year.

Information provided by Steve LaGueux.