Track & field: Shore Regional's Donohoe, Scaturro took different roads to state titles

PENNSAUKEN — They came from polar opposite directions. Aidan Scaturro is a newcomer to track & field, a collegiate walk-on hopeful, a raw talent opening more eyes with each race. Caroline Donohoe is a year-round, scholarship-bound, highly decorated standout with running in her blood.

On Friday, the Shore Regional High School seniors’ journeys reached the same destination. Both romped to NJSIAA Group 1 titles, marking the latest set of achievements for a proud program.

Donohoe won the girls 800 meters in a time of 2:17.64, earning the third state group gold medal of her career. Scaturro broke the tape in the boys 400-meter hurdles with a time of 55.58, garnering his first state title.

After Scaturro crossed the finish line, as he tried to catch his breath in the paddock area, the first person who came over to congratulate him was Donohoe.

Each of them is a good story.

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Donohoe's winning legacy

Donohoe’s roots in the sport run deep. Her older cousins Marc and Kelly Altenau were Blue Devils stars. Her uncle, Tony Donohoe, was a good runner at Long Branch High.

Caroline has made her own mark. She’s won eight sectional gold medals across four different events. Last spring, she placed second in the 800 at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. This past fall, she helped Shore cross country capture the Group 1 crown. Earlier this season, she won the Shore Conference 800 in a personal-best 2:11. She’s also run 1:04.01 in the 400 hurdles.

“Fantastic career,” Shore coach Jack Tarpey said. “She’s an athlete you dream about having, the kind you don’t get too often: very hard worker, disciplined and talented. She’s willing to do however many events the team needs her to. If she could do five or six, she would.”

At a time of the season when many elite athletes are focusing on one or two events, Donohoe is still competing in three or four. She tripled to lead the Blue Devils to the Central Group 1 title at last weekend’s sectionals and plans to finish up the state Group 1 meet with two more races Saturday — both relays, which tells you something about her focus.

“I just want to help my team do as well as possible,” she said.

Shore Regional collects championship banners by the wall-full, but last week’s meant a little extra for a couple of reasons.

For starters, Mel Ullmeyer was there. The longtime Shore cross country and track coach mentored Donohoe and many others. This school year he’s been sidelined by a battle with cancer. He was feeling well enough to attend day one of the sectionals last Friday, and it meant a lot to his proteges.

“He’s been such an inspiration to keep pushing through anything and everything,” Donohoe said. “In cross country it was difficult when he stepped back, but we found a bigger purpose and ran for him, and as we had more success he got better. It was really inspirational.”

Ullmeyer set a tone for success in Shore’s program, Donohoe carried that on, and now she’ll be passing the torch.

“To leave the girls with a legacy like that, to keep winning sectional titles, is awesome,” Donohoe said. “They’re an amazing group and I’m proud of them for working hard throughout the (COVID) craziness of the past few years. I know they’ll continue the tradition.”

Next weekend, Donohoe will put the exclamation point on her high school career before she heads to the University of Richmond. She’ll compete in the 800 at the Meet of Champions Saturday, fly to Oregon that night, and then toe the 800 line at the outdoor national meet at iconic Hayward Field Sunday.

Not a bad way to go out.

Scaturro an unlikely champion 

A student at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology on Sandy Hook, Aidan Scaturro played football and baseball at Shore Regional. While he was successful as a wide receiver and defensive back on the gridiron, he was unlucky on the diamond. His sophomore season was wiped out by COVID, and his junior season was lost to a torn labrum.

“I had a few friends who ran track and I went to a few meets,” he said. “I really enjoyed watching it and thought, ‘This would be cool.’”

With encouragement from football assistant Jon Remedios, who coaches the track team’s throwers, Scaturro decided to run winter track as a senior.

“I fell in love with it almost immediately,” Scaturro said.

“He’s a smart kid,” Tarpey said, “and he realized this was something he’s pretty good at.”

Scaturro set the indoor program records in the 55-meter dash and 55-meter hurdles, but his coaches foresaw his greatest promise as an intermediate hurdler, which is only contested in the spring.

Their vision has proven correct. Scaturro has run 54.09 in the 400 hurdles, an elite time even for a veteran. He’s also clocked a brisk 14.92 in the 110 hurdles, 21.96 in the 200 and 11.11 in the 100-meter dash.

“It’s been fun to watch,” Tarpey said.

The hurdles are highly technical events, so for Scaturro to master them in three months is impressive. His form is good; he glides over the barriers with as little wasted effort or height as possible.

“It was weird going over hurdles in the beginning,” Scaturro said. “I would stay after practice and do constant hurdle work until it became second nature.”

He put it all together at last weekend’s sectionals, earning three gold medals and a silver. Then came Friday’s state title, and more Group 1 hardware is coming Saturday in the 110 hurdles and 200.

“I didn’t really think of (being a state champion) when I began running,” said Scaturro, who is looking to walk-on to the powerhouse University of Florida program. “It wasn’t in my mind. I just wanted to see what I was capable of. It’s definitely surprised me.”

There’s a valuable lesson here for competitors of all ages.

“It’s a good example that it’s never too late to try something new,” Scaturro said. “If you really work, you can achieve something regardless of how little experience you have.”

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Track: Shore's Donohoe, Scaturro took different roads to state titles