Track and field: These athletes sparkled at the Group meets at Franklin High School
SOMERSET — Jason Meza became a hurdler unexpectedly. To avoid a pileup in the 4x200 at a Drew University invitational, the Morristown sophomore stepped over a fallen opponent – with perfect form.
Assistant coach Olajuwon Salako's eyes lit up.
"'Maybe we should try him in the hurdles?' And that was it," Salako said.
Added Colonials assistant Pete DiGennaro, "We knew he had freakish speed. He's obsessed. He wants to learn everything."
Meza showed off what he'd learned while winning the Group 4 title in the 400-meter hurdles on Friday afternoon. Meza finished first in 54.4 seconds, a hundredth of a second ahead of East Brunswick senior Christopher Serrao.
"I didn't come here with any pressure," said Meza, who is transitioning from sprints to middle distance in his second outdoor season.
"I thought to myself, 'Whatever happens, happens. You're new to hurdles. Just leave it all out on the track.'"
The top two finishers in each event, plus the next six performances from each site, advance to the NJSIAA Meet of Champions on June 18 back at Franklin High School.
River Dell sophomore Christina Allen met her goals on the first day of the Group championships. Allen won the Group 2 800 meters in 2:12.19, a one-second personal best, and advanced to the MOC.
Allen wasn't sure what she'd be running on Saturday, but she was hoping to help River Dell's 4x800 qualify for the MOC.
"You don't know until the last minute," she said. "It's like, 'OK, warm up for this.' Then you're not running it. You're running that. A lot of it came down to this race."
Very happy birthday
Angelina Perez had set a fresh goal for herself heading into the Group 2 3,200 meters on Friday afternoon. She wanted to "break 10 (minutes) on the 10th. That would be cool."
Perez celebrated her 18th birthday with a new personal best of 9:53.29, breaking the New Jersey record.
Dealing with plantar fasciitis that "messed up my whole left leg," Perez had cut back on her mileage, with a six-mile run as her longest and one hard workout per week "so I have enough to push in races."
Perez will run the last 1,600 meters of her high school career Saturday. She plans to compete in the two-mile at New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Philadelphia on June 17, and double back to run the MOC 3,200 the following day.
"I consider this to be my first completely normal cross country, indoor and spring track season," said Perez, signed a National Letter of Intent with the University of Florida.
"Everything's falling into place."
On the move
High Point senior Leia Ruvo is making her first trip to the Meet of Champions.
Ruvo and River Dell sophomore Grace McQueeney both jumped 17 feet, 6 inches. But Ruvo finished first based on her second mark, which was 17-3.
"My goal was to get through here," said Ruvo, who signed a National Letter of Intent with Fordham.
"I'm pretty stoked about that. ... It feels great. I'm really excited to be competing with some of the best athletes in the state."
► Demarest senior Casey Sullivan threw 42-2 to win the Group 2 shot put. Another Demarest senior, Daniel Mikay, won the Group 2 discus (178-11).
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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Track and field: These athletes sparkled at the Group meets at Franklin HS
