Claudia DiSomma is getting better, which is getting scary.  4:50. for 1600m as a frosh is getting into rare air already.  2:11 on a relay, good quarter speed, a good team around her, a talent to watch for years to come.  Nothing else too shocking at the NJAC meet, Nick Vena threw things farther than he ever has before,

while his teammate at Morristown, Hamer Farag did beat Penn Mile champ Pat Schellberg in the 800 a day after he was not able to put up a serious threat in the 1600.  Randolph's Joelle Amaral had a nice meet, running 4:56 for 2nd in the 1600 to the phrosh monster, pulling senior teammate Molly Higgins under 5:00 for the first time.  On day 2, she came back to lead a 1-2-3 Randolph sweep with a 10:52 3200.  On the boys side, Delbarton junior Morgan Pearson is starting to hint at some of the form and fitness he showed on the cross in November, finally breaking 4:20 to finish 2nd to Schellberg in 4:19.59, then coming back to win the deuce going away in 9:27.  One of these days, you have to figure Pearson will get into the right race and run deep into the 9-teens. 

Speaking of quality 3200's, somebody told me awhile back that Mr. Schellberg may get after a fast 3200 at the Morris County meet.
I forget who it was that said that, but pretty sure he wears size 11 Nike Vomero's and has a fancy new watch, albeit one without real fancy lap split options.  The meet record at the county meet has been around for a bit now and has withstood assaults by Ben Massam and Andrew Hanko.  Last year, untimely injury to MoHills Sean Pohorence knocked him out of the chase.  Even though he just ran 1:54.1 and has split in the 1:53's, Schellberg is a strong/aerobic guy for a bigtime miler.  The deuce should suit him well.  I believe he has the potential of moving himself way up on the NJ all-time 2-mile list, should he choose that event at a post-season national meet...perhaps even into Bernards school-record territory. 

Elsewhere, this was the first year in 6 years that I was not at the Somerset County meet, and the first time in as many years that the boys 3200 went to somebody from a different school...


Some pretty good running in Hillsborough and elsewhere from these two prep school guys over the years...


The win went to Watchung Hills junior CJ DeFabio iin 9:31 over an improving, big talent...Bridgewater's Jake Ruskan.  Watch for Ruskan's frosh sister to get into the low-5:0's and 2:15 range this spring. 

On a sidenote, looking for pictures of these two GSB guys, I came across the following:



Forget about the wanker in the middle, but as for the guy on the left, I hereby nominate him for full Jersey citizenship status, may just have to annex him ala Bobby Curtis.  This photo should supply proof...guy was all the way out in San Diego, running with 2 other NJ guys, comfortable enough to do so shirtless, therefore he must be from NJ.  His recent 28:03 10000, as a 5th year senior at New Mexico prompted me to recognize his Garden State-ness.  Its unreal to me that a college guy runs 28:03 for 10k and winds up 63 seconds behind another college guy in the same race.  Great for Chris Barnicle, though.  Maybe he can come home to NJ for The Cluck U Run on June 9th in Morristown.  Has an NJ collegian ever run faster than 28:03?