Vento, Cherecwich, Barnett top girls’ All-District track

By tim morris
Staff Writer

State champion Debra Vento high jumped her way onto the national scene this winter.

The Freehold Borough senior successfully defended her NJSIAA indoor Meet of Champions crown in Princeton, then went on to win a second straight Eastern States title before earning all-American recognition at the National Scholastic and Nike Invitational meets, where she finished third.

Vento raised her personal best, Freehold District and Shore Conference records to 5-10 1/2, which tied her with three others for the best jump in the country this year.

Lost in her records and championships was the versatility of Freehold Township’s Katie Cherecwich, who competed and medaled in four track events at the Freehold District Championships where she won the 400 meters and anchored the Pats’ winning 1,600-meter relay team.

Howell’s Kellee Hand followed up her record-setting freshman cross country season with a strong track debut. Teammate Devin Barnett was the county’s best hurdler.

At the Freehold District Championships, Manalapan captured a second straight title, powered by its depth.

Vento (high jump), Cherecwich (400), Hand (800) and Barnett (55-meter hurdles) head the News Transcript’s 2003 all-Freehold District girls’ indoor track and field team. Rounding out the squad are Manalapan’s Tanisha Hamilton (55-meter dash) and Sophia Machado (3,200); Colts Neck’s Danielle Plenzo (1,600) and Stacy Perry (shot put); and Freehold Township’s 1,600-meter relay team of Cherecwich, Samantha Moody, Jenna Moltisanti and Zakiya Chambers.

Vento put together one of the great track and field seasons ever as she dis­tanced herself from every other jumper in the state. The Colonial was undefeated against state competition and again won the indoor triple — the state Group II re­lay, the state Group II championship, and the MOC titles. She set the meet record at the Group II championships, jumping 5-10. She matched that 5-10 in defending her MOC title. She has now won three straight MOC crowns dating back to last year’s in­door and outdoor wins. In all, Vento jump 5-10 three times and 5-10 1/2 once. No other jumper in the country jumped 5-10 or better as often as Vento did.

Outside of the state, Vento won a sec­ond straight Eastern States crown at 5-8 and jumped her 5-10 1/2 in taking third at the National Scholastic championships. Vento was never out-jumped at any meet this year, losing on fewer misses at the two national meets.

Vento’s record-setting jumping was impressive in and of itself, but perhaps more impressive was her astonishing consistency. She never missed a single jump at 5-8 or under all year. She had the competition playing catch-up from the start.

Vento now turns her attention to out­doors and another crack at 6-0 and the state record.

Cherecwich displayed remarkable range at the district championships, where she was second in the 55-meter dash and then fifth in the 800. The 400 is the senior’s main event and once again she was the best in the area there. She defended her district title (1:02.6), finished fourth at the county championships (1:02.18) and fifth at the Shore Conference (1:02.22). She was 12th at the Group IV state championships, run­ning her best time of the year (1:01.88).

With Cherecwich the anchor, the Pats had the best 1,600-meter relay team. The quartet of Moody, Chambers, Moltisanti and Cherecwich easily won the district ti­tle. They were there in all the big ones, finishing second at the county (4:22.9) and third in the S.C. (4:18.13).

Any time you break a school record held by as accomplished a runner as Lindsey Gallo, that is saying something, and Hand did it as a freshman. After domi­nating the cross country season at the 5K, Hand stepped down to the 800 meters for her first indoor season and showed a lot of lift in those long-distance legs. She cap­tured the Freehold District title (2:32.2) and was second at the Shore Conference (2:24.53). Hand finished eighth at the Group IV state championships (2:24.89), but ran fast enough to earn a trip to the MOC as a wild card. She made the most of that last indoor race to break Gallo’s school indoor 800 record by more than a second with her 2:21.92, which got her a 12th place.

At the district championships, Hand ran the 400 and was second to Cherecwich. With that rare combination of speed, strength and endurance, Hand has a very bright future.

Barnett is another Rebel underclassman whose best performances are ahead of her. The Rebel won the Monmouth County 55-meter hurdles title (9.32) and added the dis­trict title (9.2) to her résumé.

She was sev­enth in the conference and 11th at the Group IV state championships.Barnett was a pretty versatile performer herself at the district meet, taking fourth in the shot put, fifth in the 55-meter dash and tying for sixth in the high jump in addition to her hurdles win. She advanced to the MOC in the high jump after a seventh place at the group championships.

Hamilton was again the best sprinter in the district. She defended her title by out­racing Cherecwich (7.6-7.7). She was sixth at the county meet and 11th in the Shore Conference. She was a competitive hurdler as well, finishing third at the districts.

There were no dominant distance run­ner as Hand limited herself to the 800 and Manalapan’s Laura Saffer missed the sea­son due to an injury. In that case, the dis­trict championships loomed large.

Sophomore Plenzo is another under­classman with a bright future. She won the district title (5:45.1) and was sixth in Monmouth County (5:41.71).

Machado and Howell’s Leslie Holleran were separated by just .01 at the finish line of their remarkable duel at the district championships. Machado’s come-from-behind win there (12:22.46-12:22.47) and placement ahead of Holleran at the Group IV championships (11th to 15th) gets her the nod. She ran a season-leading 12:09.42 at that state meet. Machado, a sophomore, was third in the 1,600 at the district cham­pionships.

With the likes of Hand, Plenzo and Machado, the district can expect some re­markable distance runners over the next two to three years.

The shot put was a two-way race be­tween seniors Perry and Howell’s Samantha Graffeo. At the county champi­onships, Graffeo (fifth) placed ahead of Perry (sixth). But Perry was 10th in the S.C. ahead of Graffeo (18th) and clinched her shot by beating the Rebel at the dis­tricts with the best throw of the winter, 34-5.

Those earning honorable mention for 2003 are: Lianne Price (3,200) and Rose Lang (high jump), Colts Neck; Elise Tagatac (800) and Emily Cohen (1,600), Freehold Borough; Leslie Holleran (3,200) and Samantha Graffeo (shot put), Howell; Amy VanRensburg (high jump), Stephanie Friedman (high jump) and Jenn Barr (800), Manalapan; and Diane Cequeria (55 me­ters) and Caitlin Johnson (shot put), Marlboro.