Patriot relay team is first at Merli
Rebels' Sullivano wins 200 at Spiked Shoe

What promises to be a very busy and highly productive indoor track and field season began with the Merli Invitational. Held inside the Toms River Bubble, which will host most of the major events in the state, on Dec. 20, the Merli signaled the start of the season.

Freehold Township has turned into a 4x400-relay powerhouse in recent years and the 2008-09 season shouldn't be any different based on what happened at the Merli. In the 400-meter dash, Ryan Spadola was second to Neptune's Taquan Brown (51.07- 51.32) and Spadola's teammate, Bobby Searby, was fourth (52.15).

They then teamed with Abe Hamami and Matt Intile to win the 4x400 in 3:32.84.

Hamami (2:04.90) and Gregg Tilley (2:05.37) were fifth and sixth in the 800 meters.

F

reehold Township has jumpers too.

Sean Walsh and Kwame Manful both did 6- 0 as did Central's Daniel Lucey. In the tiebreaker (fewest misses), Walsh was first and Manful was second.

Freehold Township's girls had their highlights as well. Desiree Reese (9.62) and Isabel Contreras (9.63) were fifth and sixth in the 55-meter hurdles final.

Bridget Joyce was fifth in the 800 (2:37.38).

Nicole Fuoco was sixth in the high jump (4-10).

The quartet of Isabelle Contreras, Bridgette Joyce, Fuoco and Amy Buckiewicz were fifth in the 4x400 (4:28.92).

Andrews wins opener

Up in New York City in the Bishop Loughlin Games on Dec. 20 at the New York Armory, Manalapan's Robby Andrews won the two-mile run in a quick 9:27.72.

After a full season of long-distance running in cross country, Andrews' signature last-lap kick displayed very little rust. He unleashed it on a helpless field in on the final lap to get his indoor season off to a flying start. Last winter, Andrews was the winner of the NJSIAA Meet of Champions in the 800 meters and he was second in the high school mile at the prestigiousMillroseGames in Madison Square Garden. Andrews would like to take a shot at winning it this year. He recently announced he'll be running for the University of Virginia next year.

On Dec. 22, it was Howell High School's turn to go to the Armory for the Spike Shore Holiday Festival where the Rebel sprinters shined. Despite running in an unseeded heat, Chris Sullivano tied for first place in the 200-meter dash. He ran a school record 23.1, matching the time of Englewood's Raldaine McDonald.

Conrad Zwolinski was third in the 55- meter hurdles (7.8) in a blanket finish that saw four runners given the same time. Zwolinski finished second in the long jump with a leap of 20-5.

Friday, area athletes will take aim at division titles when the Shore Conference Division Championships are held at the John Bennett Indoor Athletic Complex in Toms River.

This meet should mark the season debut of one of the state's finest multievent stars, Marlboro's Ada Unachukwu. Now a senior, her name is all over the Freehold District record book holding records for the long jump (16- 6¾) and triple jump (38-5¼) in the field and the 200 (25.72) and 400 (58.03) dashes on the track. She's also a pretty fair 55-meter dash sprinter. She was an All-American in the triple jump last winter.

Unachukwu's all-around talents haven't carried over to an individual state title and that is something she would like to take care of this indoor season.

The other major meets on the 2008-09 calendar include the Monmouth County relays on Jan. 9 and the NJSIAA State Relays Jan. 17 (Groups 1I and IV) and Jan. 18 (Groups I and III) again in Toms River.

The Shore Conference Championships are Jan. 25 and the Monmouth County on Jan. 30 in the Toms River Bubble.

The NJSIAA State Sectionals are Feb. 8 for Central Jersey IV and III. The NJSIAA State Group Championships are Feb. 13-15 in Toms River with Group III on Feb. 14 and Group IV on Feb. 15. The Meet of Champions is Feb. 21 with the girls competing at 10 a.m. and the boys at 1 p.m.