Colts Neck DMR team second at Nike Nationals
Freehold Township’s Dailey earns All-American honors
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

They went out as All-Americans and record-breakers.Representing Colts Neck High School for the last time, the quartet of Zach Tedoff, Chris Clark, Ryan Jagielski and Craig Forys finished second at the Nike Outdoor Nationals held at Greensboro, N.C., over the weekend. The Cougars teamed up to run 10:05.78, breaking Christian Brothers Academy’s Shore Conference Distance Medley Relay (DMR) record (10:07.9).

But more importantly, they were involved in the race of the two-day national championship meet. It was a four-way dash to the finish line, won by Michigan’s Red Tide in 10:05.03, followed by Colts Neck’s 10:05.78 and New North (Mass.) at 10:05.93. Forys’ 4:12.8 anchor 1,600 moved the Cougars’ from seventh to second. He caught and passed Newton’s Chris Barnicle (the Millrose Games high school mile champion) at the line to move Colts Neck up to second. The top six finishers in all events in Greensboro earned All-American (AA) honors.

Cougar coach Jim Schlentz said that the Nike meet director came up to him after the DMR, which was the last event of the championships, expressing his delight at what had transpired Saturday.

“He told me ‘what a way to finish up the meet, four teams going at it,’ ” Schlentz said.

Colts Neck went to Greensboro looking to add the outdoor national title to the one they won during the indoor season, and to run fast. They got the latter, improving seven seconds on the time they turned in at the Penn Relays back in April, and turning the tables on Penn Relays winner Barnicle and Newton North.

Tedoff got the Cougars off to a good start running an opening 3:08.3 1,200 meters. Clark followed with a fast 49.9 split for 400 meters. Jagielski ran 1:54.7 for the 800 leg, handing the stick to Forys in seventh place, but well within striking distance.

Forys, the recently crowned state champion at 1,600 meters, quickly put the Cougars in the chase for the win, coming up just short at the tape.

This was the last time around for the Cougar team with seniors Tedoff, Clark and Jagielski. They gave it their all in their last appearance for the Cougars.

“It was such a great way to end it,” Schlentz said. “I wanted them to do something special.”

Forys, of course, as a sophomore, still has a lot of great races ahead of him, but it will be hard for the Cougars to produce the chemistry this group has.

Schlentz said the key is their commitment to each other.

“They’re a band of brothers,” he said. “They’ll give every last ounce of energy not to let the others down. They’ll die at the line.”

In addition to their indoor national title (where they ran the fastest time in the country, 10:15.08), second place at the outdoor nationals and third place at Penn, the Cougars won the Eastern States’ indoor DMR and last week, tied the state 4x800 record.

Forys ran the 2 mile on Friday night and finished 10th in 9:07.38, the equivalent of running the 3,200 under 9:04. Like the DMR team, the sophomore was looking to end his season with a fast 2-miler and he got it.

The Cougar’s Ashley Higginson finished fifth in her heat of the girls’ 2-mile run (10:54.25) and was 17th overall.

Girls’ shot put state champion Danielle Dailey completed her remarkable season by collecting All-American honors with her sixth place. Her opening throw of 43-3 3/4 was her best of the meet and held up through the finals to earn her All-American certificate.

Justin Frick, of Freehold Borough, the boy’s high jump state champion, finished one place away from AA. The junior was seventh at 6-6 1/4.