1/25/2008 - On the Track to an Elite Program
There are certain sports that come to mind when you think about the Sussex County Interscholastic League. The first one that jumps right out at you is obviously wrestling with the county’s storied tradition and rightful position as the birthplace of high school grappling in the Garden State.
You could throw football in the mix with Pope John, Lenape Valley and Sparta all winning multiple state titles over the years. This is not to say that the league hasn’t had its fair share of statewide success in other sports as Sparta’s girls hoops and Jefferson’s girls basketball and softball teams can attest.
But for the most part, when you think of track and field, the SCIL, except for a few standout individuals, doesn’t jump right to the top of the list. That perception is starting to change and you can thank one man for that---Pope John’s outstanding indoor and outdoor track coach Brian Corcoran.
Corcoran, who started the indoor program at Pope John in the late 1990s, has guided the PJ girls team to two straight state relay titles, including an impressive showing at the 43rd annual New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Winter Track & Field Relay Championships a couple of weeks ago in Jersey City when the Lions sprinted past state powers Red Bank Catholic and Monsignor Donovan en route to the Non-Public team title.
PJ’s girls won the Group 1 crown a year ago, but the state separated the public and non-public schools this year for the first time in about 20 years.
Junior Emily Carollo, who just might be the best athlete in the county, anchored winning legs on the 4 x 200, 800 meter sprint medley and 4 x 400 relays, despite a sore calf. The Lions actually placed second in the 4 x 200 because Kent Place had posted a faster time in an earlier heat. But nonetheless, an amazing accomplishment for the Lions.
Congratulations go out to all the Lions, including, Caitlyn Lees, Stephanie Keller, Lauren Loechner, Casey Keller, Kasey Homa, Sarah Cariati, Sarah Bieganowsky, Jenny Heigis, Erin Smith, Brianna Bourlier, Katherine Lederer, Rachel Lees, Paige Boehmcke and Sylvia Okoye.
As I mentioned before, the SCIL has had track success individually in the spring season, but mostly in the field portion of track and field and in the long distance events. And, yes, some schools have won multiple section titles (Sparta, High Point, Vernon, and Wallkill Valley come to mind). But at the state championship level, the SCIL has had limited team success.
However, Pope John’s track program, both indoor and outdoor, has become one of the state’s elite. Corcoran has done the same trick with the cross country teams at PJ and has guided the Lions to a combined 27 SCIL titles in all the sports he coaches.
Now here is where the Pope John-hater will step in and say, hey, the Lions can recruit, so they should be great in all sports. But it is not that simple. Every family has their own reasons for sending its children to PJ, but I can bet, indoor track was not at the top of everyone’s list.
Pope John’s track program was in fine shape when Corcoran came to town. Frank Setlock, the venerable longtime coach and teacher at the school, had already set the bar high, and had molded the Lions into a SCIL power in the spring without the benefit of a track for many years.
But Corcoran has taken the program to a different level and it is because of the athletes’ hard work and dedication. The Lions are doing something that many didn’t think could be done and all the kudos in the world to them.
Sure, indoor track doesn’t get the press coverage in some outlets, including Mugs Media, like other sports get. Jim Lambert, the running guru at The Star-Ledger, is the exception and covers the sport like white on rice.
But in Mugs Media’s defense, with a small staff and the fact that most indoor events are held in either Bergen County, Jersey City, New York City or by The Shore, it is not logistically possible. In no way, however, does that diminish what the Lions have accomplished the last few years on both the girls and boys side in indoor track.
Corcoran and the Lions’ success should serve as role model for other schools in sports that the SCIL traditionally hasn’t excelled in on the statewide level. Although no boys or girls soccer team has won a state crown, the teams in the SCIL have shown over the years they can play with the state’s best.
It would be nice to see a boys hoops program finally bring home a state title. Sparta came close in 1989 losing in the Group 3 final to Eastern, while those high-octane Franklin teams of the mid- 1970s came up just short in Group 1.
Some might scoff at that notion. It can be done. Who would have thought a few years ago that one of the best track programs in the state would reside in Sussex County?
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Hats off to John Gardner and the gang at High Point for winning their third straight SCIL wrestling title and 11th overall, this week. The title is the first rung on what the Wildcats hope is to the top of the Group 3 ladder and the school’s first-ever state crown.
It can be said that High Point is the best wrestling program in the state never to win a group title. The Wildcats have won 18 North 1 section championships, starting in 1984 in Group 2. The rest have come in Group 3 and Wildcats have come painfully close to that elusive title, including a tough loss to a surprisingly good Ocean squad last year.
Maybe this is the year and all signs point to it, but they did last year as well. I’m sure Gardner and his trusted assistant, Mickey Thomas, have reminded the young Wildcats, who sport a fabulous group of freshmen, to take things one match at a time and rest of the hoopla, like the consensus No. 1 ranking in the state, will take care of itself.
If High Point does take home the hardware next month at Toms River, it will join Kittatinny (1996, 2001-06), Pope John (1982-83, 1986, 1992, and 1994), Jefferson (1992-94) and Sparta (1983) as SCIL teams that have won group championships.
And here is an interesting tidbit, if for some reason the state finals cannot be held at the Ritacco Center, the state will go back to its rotating system of sections hosting. This would mean that the Group 1 final would be held at Kittatinny, a huge advantage for the Cougars, especially if Paulsboro has to make that long trek up to Sussex County. On the other hand, High Point would have to head to most likely Brick Township in the Central Jersey section.
It is highly unlikely, but something to think about. And on one last wrestling note, good news for all you grapplers, the two-pound weight allowance kicks in this weekend!!! But don’t go crazy, believe me, two pounds can get on you quick.
I’ll wrap up this week’s entry with an amusing story Gene Conquy, our esteemed wrestling analyst on our Match of the Week and Sussex County sports legend, told me. When Gene was a kid, he did what every red-blooded Newton boy did--- he wrestled. He wrestled all the way up to eighth grade, but he then saw his first basketball game and was fascinated and joined the team at Newton High in the mid-1940s.
Now, as most sports fans know, Henry Boresch is the Godfather of wrestling in the state, and he was coaching Newton at the time. Boresch didn’t let too many of the fine Newton athletes slip past him, but he told Gene, not to worry, he wouldn’t hold it against him. Boresch was a physical education teacher and despite being one of the best athletes in school and a star in three sports, Conquy mysteriously received straight D's in gym. Gene laughingly added that he couldn’t imagine what Boresch would have done if he did hold a grudge.
Can you imagine a coach getting away with that today?
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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