NHS track team at NY Hispanic Games

Last weekend, 5000 high school track and field athletes crowded into New York City's 168th Street Armory for the 6th Annual Chase New York Hispanic Games.

For the second year in a row, the Newark Reds brought home more than their share of awards.

'It's unusual for a small school like ours to really do well in a meet of this size,' explained Newark Coach Joe Contario. 'Last year we did very well setting three school records with Dwayne (Parker) setting a meet record in winning the 55 dash and Jesse (Contario) taking second in the 3200. This year those guys ran faster, but the fields were so tough, they weren't able to win as high places.'

Contario added that the field in most events was so tough, that the day's performances re-wrote the meet and Armory record books, and changed the U.S. National leaders' lists.

Jennifer Hart was a champion for the Reds. Her 9'6' jump in the pole vault not only won the event but was also a new Section 5 and Newark Indoor School record. The 11th-grader's previous best was 9 feet. In addition, since the girls pole vault was a new event at this year's Hispanic Games, she now has the meet record as well. Hart led a strong Newark contingent in the pole vault.

Adam Nedvesky and Ryan VanHalle, both sophomores, cleared 11'6' in the vault. Although the height equaled the fifth-place performance, the Reds didn't place, since they cleared the height on a later attempt. Heather Damick, also a sophomore, jumped 6'6' before narrowly missing at 7 feet.

Dwayne Parker almost didn't get a chance to defend his Hispanic Games title. At last week's Yale Track Classic, Dwayne strained a hamstring and wasn't able to do his regular practices until Wednesday. Even with the painful injury, Dwayne's time at Yale gave him the 27th fastest time in the U.S. But the Newark Junior decided on Thursday that his leg was OK and he would face one of the top groups of sprinters to gather this year. Parker's meet record was 6.56, but he barely survived the semi-finals, and lost in the finals. Sean Lambert of South Shore, Long Island stopped the photo-timer at 6.41, equaling the third fastest time in the United States. The top four finishers all broke the meet record with the defending champ placing 4th with a 6.50.

'I think Dwayne was a little disappointed until he heard how fast he ran. Before yesterday's meet, 6.50 was the 15th fastest time in the nation, and is Dwayne's personal best, and it broke the school record that he set here last year. He was actually leading until about the 40 meter mark when his sore leg tightened up a little,' said Contario.

Jesse (Contario) had a similar experience in the 3200 (about two miles). At last year's meet, Contario placed second as a sophomore, breaking a school record set by Joe Matias.

This year, despite running four seconds faster, Contario could manage only a sixth-place finish. His time, 9:37.69, again broke his school record.

'Jesse ran very well, but like Dwayne, he was a little disappointed at not placing better. Jesse's time would have been 11th in the nation before Saturday. We don't know what happened around the country in other meets yet, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't in the top 15,' said Coach Contario. The top three places have the top times in the U.S. 'I guess that as a coach you have to be proud that your athletes are placing among the best in the nation, but it's good they're not satisfied.'

Several Reds had notable non-placing performances. Peter Chambers ran 9:54.0 in the 3200, just missing an award. Erin Daly just missed in the 3000, running 10:57.1 with freshman Angie Washburn running a personal best time of 11:29.8 in the same event.

Junior Brandon Schroeder had a good day, recording 8.4 in the 55 hurdles and 23.8 in the 200. The 200 time is the second fastest in school history.

The 168th Street Armory is the most utilized high school indoor track venue in the United States. It has a two-year-old track with banked turns with the same surface as the last two Olympic Games. The 2000 National Scholastic Indoor Championships will be held there on March 10-11.

For further information about events at the Armory and high school track in general, look to http://armorytrack.com/

For the current U.S. rankings look at http://dyestat.com

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