ED GRANT'S STATE MEET REPORT

Despite the individual heroics of Krystal Cantey of Winslow Twp and Nia Ali of Pleasantville---who 
single-handedly won state titles for their teams---it was a pair of distance runners who stole the 
show in the two marathon sessions of the New Jersey group meet last weekend at Princeton’s 
Jadwin Gym.

It was a classic confrontation---the first meeting of Brittany Sedberry, two-time state all-group 
cross country champion (2003-04) and freshman Briana Jackucewicz of Colts Neck who had 
set a national scholastic 5,000-meter record while still a seventh grader at the 2004 indoor nationals. 

They were expected to meet during the 2005 cross-country season, but fate decreed otherwise. 
They went separate ways the weekend of the Shore Coaches Invitational and a flu bout in November 
kept Sedberry out of the state meet where Jackucewicz finished third, going on the next week to 
qualify for the Footlocker finals.

  Both had impressive credentials from earlier meets this winter as they toed the line Sunday for 
the Gr. III 3200-meter championships. Sedberry had won a pair of fast 3Ks at the Seton Hall and 
Kutztown invitationals. Jackucewicz had run a 10:43+ 3200 at the Monmouth County championships 
two weeks earlier at the Jersey City Armory.

They were not alone in the classic field, which also included Jackucewicz’ teammate, Ashley 
Higginson, the defending champion, and two members of Roxbury’s No. 1 cross-country team, Jenn 
Ennis and Kris Stevens.

The five ran as a pack past the halfway 1600 mark in 5:17, but, soon after, the race settled down to 
the expected duel between Sedberry and Jackucewicz. And what a duel it was with the lead changing 
hands four or five times as the two runners wove their way through a field of lapped runners. Jackuceiwicz 
was out in the third lane when she made her final move just before they passed the 3K mark in about 
9:57. But, on the backstretch, Sedberry flew past and went on to win by five yards in 10:30.25, eight 
seconds under the meet record set by Anne Marie Letko 20 years ago. Jackucewicz and Higginson 
also finished under the old mark at 10:31.32 and 10:36.64. 

The race was run without spikes on a flat 200-meter surface and, considering the extra distance run 
by the pair as they circled the field, probably rates at least a 10:20 at the NY Armory. Adjusted for the 
2M distances, Sedberry’s time is second only to Cate Guiney’s 10:27.20 at the Nationals.

Missing from the race were the 1-2 finishers from the state CC championships, Danielle Tauro of 
Southern Ocean and Amanda Marino of Jackson, who had run the 800 and 1600 the day before in 
the Gr. IV meet. Tauro won both of these handily in 2:15.20 and 5:00.46, in both cases laying back 
until the final laps to use her impressive kick as she prepared for her appearance in the Millrose girls’ 
HS mile this Friday at the Millrose Games. Marino was second in the 1600 and fourth in the 800 to 
help nail down a repeat win for Jackson.

Ali made a more than impressive debut in New Jersey state competition. The former West Catholic 
star won, in order, the 55M in 7.20, the 55H in 8.32, the 200 in 25.19 and the 400 in 59.54 to account
for 40 points in a 42-33 defeat of Rahway (whose LaShonda Carter herself scored 29 points).

That was in the Sunday morning session and, in the afternoon, Cantey tried to match that performance, 
falling two points short as she scored all the points in Winslow’s 38-35 victory over Colts Neck, the last 
10 coming in a close 400 win in 57.11 over Kristen Mahon of Notre Dame, who earlier had spoiled 
Krystal’s bid for perfection with a 25.12 win in the 200. 

The Colts Neck distance duo returned to the track in the 1600 in a bid to get their team the title, but two
Morris County runners foiled them. Ennis won that race from Higginson in 5:01.01 and Kim Standridge 
of Randolph edged Jackucewicz for third.

Jackson had had to come from well back to win Gr. IV as Racquel Vassell of East Orange scored an early 
triple in the 55, 200 and hurdles in 7.22, 25.66 and 8.28. Seconds by Jen Clausen in the 3200 and Nicole 
Castronuova in the 200 for the ball rolling, Kelly Fortune contributed seven points in the hurdles and high 
jump and Marino’s 12 points in the 800 and 1600 but the Jaguars ahead. Kim Menafra added another six 
in the closing 400.

Three girls proved better than one in Gr. I as sprinter Jamie Walker, distance runner Nicole Briggs and 
high jumper Brianna Gray contributed 44 of the 46 points to outscore Leslie Njoku of McNair Academic 
who soloed for 33 with wins in the 400 and 55H. Annie Taft of defending Bishop Eustace got some help
 from shot put winner Stephanie Scaramella and Karhryn Rodgers in the 800 to slip past Njoku into 
second with 36 points.

Haddon Heights used the same formula to also win the boys’ Gr. I title from another one-man show 
Bryant Fitzgerald of Highland Park, who performed the unprecedented feat of winning three state 
championships as a freshman, taking the 55 in 6.71, the 200 in 23.27 and the 400 in 51.71. Bryant 
comes from a track family, his grandmother is a many-time masters’ sprint champion and his aunt 
Nancy was one of the state’s top distance runners in the Joetta Clark era.

Christian Brothers joined Jackson as a repeat winner in Gr. IV despite a rather disappointing day. 
Parochial A cross-country champion Chris Horel was beaten in both distance races, the rest of the 
distance crew contributed only two points, but a second by John Carrol in the PV pulled out a 26-22
win over Southern Ocean.

With 400 rival Shaquan Brown of Paterson Kennedy watching from the stands after a shoulder 
operation for a football injury, defending champ Bryant McCombs of Old Bridge won the 400 from 
Pat Blackie of Seton Hall Prep in 50.15, previewing their anchor leg rivalry this Friday in the 
Suburban 1600R at the Millrose Games. But McCombs skipped the 200 as a precautionary measure, 
passing up an almost sure win which would have produced a 26-26 deadlock with CBA.

But the fastest 400 of the weekend came in Gr. II in a sizzling race between Garrett Kroner of Indian 
Hills and Corey Wright of Neptune. Kroner, who is built more like a distance runner grabbed the 
lead going into the final lap and won by a yard or so in 49.63. He had earlier finished third in the 
200 out of the third-seeded section in 22.85. That race was won by A.J. Bunton of West Deptford, 
whose sprint double at 6.58 and 22.58 gave his team an early lead which was finally worn down 
by the Morris Hills distance corps which scored the expected win over Neptune, 31-26, joining 
CBA as a repeater from the state relay championships a week earlier. 

Morris Hills would have have an easier time but for the presence of Anthony LaMastro of Pope 
John who repeated his 800-1600 double in 1:58.99 and 4:20.92. In both cases, he sprinted past 
the earlier leaders in the last 50 yards. The 800 race was spoiled somewhat when Indian Hills 
soph star, Maxwell Bruno, suffered an injury while warming up.

Charles Cox doubled the 200 and 400 in 22.28 and 50.16 and was third in the 55 to lead Monmouth 
to its first state indoor title in 17 years, 39 3/4-24 over Roxbury in Gr. III. Craig Forys of Colts Neck, 
who will be running in the open mile at the College Classic at the New York Armory this weekend, 
had a routine double in the distances in 4:22.03 and 9:22.08.