Friday,
June 10, 2011
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Lyndhurst's Patrick Rono (left) holding off Ramapo's Bradley Paternostro to win the 800 meters his second gold medal at the Meet of Champions on Thursday in Old Bridge. |
OLD BRIDGE - Lyndhurst's Patrick Rono has had all the tools and the bloodlines to be a runner from the first time he stepped on a track. His father, Peter, reached the pinnacle of success by becoming the youngest-ever Olympic champion in the 1,500 meters while running for Kenya back in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. While the younger Rono burst onto the scene as one of North Jersey's best distance runners ever since his freshman year with numerous major titles, the only thing missing on his already impressive resume was a gold medal in the Meet of Champions.
With Thursday's M of C being his last shot, he did not need any extra motivation, but decided to give himself some anyway. He reached deep into his father's closet and pulled out the same red running shorts that Peter wore when on his way to winning the Olympic gold medal. The torch had been passed, it was Patrick's turn to be great, and great he was.
Battling 100-degree temperatures and a quick turnaround time, Rono accomplished a rare double by sweeping both the 800 and 1600-meter races to become Lyndhurst's first Meet of Champions gold medal winner at Carl Sandburg Middle School in Old Bridge.
"I couldn't be happier or more proud for Patrick. He deserves every bit of attention and accolades he will get from this," said Lyndhurst head coach Tom Shoebridge. "He's such a good kid and you can see how badly he wants to improve every single day. With the heat like it was today and winning two races in less than 90 minutes is about as impressive of an accomplishment as you will ever see on the track."
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Paramus Catholic's Myasia Jacobs swept the 100 and the 200 for third straight year. |
Rono was near the front of the pack throughout in the 1,600-meter race, but was stuck for most of the first three laps between the first, second, and fourth place runners. Instead of panicking or making a rash move too early, he fanned out wide and it gave him enough room to operate when it was time to make a kick. He made that kick with about 150 meters to go and never looked back. He pulled away from Stephen Lewandowski of Mountain Lakes and Tim Ball from Piscataway to win in a time of 4:10.1, nearly a second-and-a-half ahead of Lewandowski, silver medalist.
"I was boxed in for a lot of the race, but I couldn't let it affect me," said Rono, who is likely headed to SEC power Arkansas next year. "I had to wait and get out wide until it was time to make my kick. Once I made my kick and pulled in front, I felt pretty confident that I wasn't going to be caught. It was a great feeling to cross that finish first and know that I had finally won here.'
Less than 90 minutes after winning his first M of C gold medal, Rono tacked on a second one. The 800-meter race presented a different challenge as rival Bradley Paternostro of Ramapo got off to a quick start and led for most of the race. Rono stayed right on his heels the entire way and when Paternostro kicked with 300 meters to go, Rono kicked simultaneously and finally caught and passed Paternostro on the final straightaway with 60 meters to go en route to edging him out by .62 seconds in a time of 1:50.1.
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Najee Glass of St. Peter's Prep won the 400-meter title. |
"Patrick showed today what he is capable of doing on the next level," said Lyndhurst assistant coach Ed Tessalone, who is in charge of the distance runners. "I'm not sure if either of those races are ones he could have won last year. Getting position in both races was key and I thought he showed great patience, which is what you need against top competition. Patrick has become a very smart, very mature runner this season and that showed today. But what he showed more than anything was his mental toughness. He was able to block out everything and just focus on the task at hand. Unbelievable. Just a great day for a tremendous kid."
History was also made on the girls' side by Paramus Catholic standout Myasia Jacobs. Ever since her freshman year, she has been the gold standard in New Jersey when it comes to sprints. She became the first female athlete ever to sweep the 100 and 200-meter races in three consecutive M of C competitions with a pair of easy victories. First, she crushed the field and also set a meet record by winning the 100 in 11.47, winning the race by .65 seconds, a whopping margin against the best New Jersey has to offer.
Later in the afternoon, she got off to a quick start and led wire-to-wire in the 200, winning in a time of 24.01, .69 seconds faster than second-place finisher Shenique Frett of Weequahic. Just a junior, Jacobs has a chance to cement her legacy further by winning the double all four years. While she is constantly looking to improve, she was happy with her performance yesterday.
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IHA's Theresa Picciallo won the shotput with a throw of 47-5.5. |
"I wanted to win and I wanted a good time, which I was happy with in both races," said Jacobs, who is being recruited by every Division 1 powerhouse. "I am always looking to get better and run faster. Maybe nationals I will have that opportunity to do that and I'm hungry for that chance. But I am happy with what I accomplished today and I'm going to enjoy that."
Three other boys from North Jersey won gold medals. Najee Glass of St. Peter's Prep smashed the meet record in cruising to victory in the 400 meters with a time of 46.43. Midland Park's Kaleb Zuidema retained his title in the javelin, barely. The South Carolina-bound star's throw of 213-2 was enough to hold off Delbarton's Dean Sullivan by a mere nine inches. Besides Glass, Hudson County had another spring champion as Snyder's Zamir Thomas won the 200 in a time of 21.01 over Rutgers-bound speedster Miles Shuler-Foster.
The only other gold medal winner on the girls' side came in the shotput. IHA's Theresa Picciallo was not that big of a surprise winner, but how she did it was quite a shock. Seeded fourth, she uncorked a throw of 47-5.5 to beat a loaded field by a whopping margin of two feet.
This year's Meet of Champions is not officially in the books yet, but it can already be considered a success for North Jersey. For the likes of Rono and Jacobs, the meet was not just a coronation of an amazing season, it is only a sign of things to come.
"It has been a long time coming and I felt this was my time to shine," said Rono. "When I put on my father's shorts that he wore in the Olympics, I knew I had to run at a higher level than I ever had before. This is the best feeling I've ever had in my life and I couldn't think of a better way to end this season."
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