Big day for track teams at Howell's Rebel Relays

BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Ocean, Shore Regional and Rumson-Fair Haven enjoyed big days at Saturday's Rebel Relays in Howell.

Shore's boys and girls each won three relays in Division I.

On the boys' side, the Blue Devils' sprint power prevailed in the 4x200 and 4x400 relays,

Derek Schultz, Matt Reidy, Taylor Kirk and Matt Villane warmed up for this weekend's Penn Relays by capturing both the 4x200 (1:32.1) and 4x400 (3:30.6) events. The quartet will be running the 4x400 in Philadelphia on Saturday. Indoors, the Blue Devils were the top team in the Shore Conference and a third-place finisher at the Meet of Champions.

The Blue Devils, who finished second to Somerville (110-64) in the team competition, got their third win in the 3x400 intermediate hurdles. Villane and Reidy collected their third wins of the meet teaming up with Mike Oshetsky. The trio ran a 3:01.3.

Shore's girls were led by Kristen Pierce, an individual qualifier for the Penn Relays. Pierce was the common denominator in all three of the Blue Devil wins in the 4x200, sprint medley, and 3x400 intermediate hurdles.

It was the quartet of Pierce, Jamie Pointer, Jaclyn Salerno and Alisha Baldo who won the 4x200 in 1:54.0, just .1 ahead of RFH.

Pierce, Pointer and Baldo added Laura Embrey for the sprint medley, which the Devils won in 4:42.2. They were 17 seconds up on runner-up Manasquan (4:59.6).

In the intermediate hurdles, Pierce and Pointer were joined by Kristina Bristol as they nipped Somerville, 3:46.9-3:47.8.

Pierce runs the 400-meter intermediate hurdles at Penn today. The Penn Relays, now in their 112th year, start today and run through Saturday at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Rumson's boys and girls were also very productive in Howell winning mulitple events on the track and in the field.

On the track, Rumson's boys won the 4x800 in 8:41.5. Teaming up for the Bulldogs were Kyle O'Brien, Brian Sharkey, Brendan Kirscher and David Rehders.

Drew Morris, Ryan Schumann and Kyle Bristen won the shot put relay with their throws going 122-0.

Rumson's girls were first in the 4x400 and shuttle hurdles.

The quartet of Garbriella Kelly, Jamie Carroll, Sarah Robinson and Melissa Bellin dusted the field in the 4x400, winning by 14 seconds in 4:17.6.

Kelly, Bellin and Robinson put on their hurdling shoes and hooked up with Hannah Satzke to win the shuttle hurdles in 1:12.5.

Ocean Township's sprinters ruled the roost in Division II girls. Tiffany Grant, Georgina Nembhard, Erica Mazza and Patty Yau won the 4x100 in 51.5, beating Ocean County power Lakewood (52.6) in the process. Grant and Nembhard passed the stick to Yvonda Gandy and Jamie Brown in the 4x200 and traveled two laps around the Howell track in 1:49.7. Nembhard collected a third victory in the shuttle hurdles, winning with Brown, Yau and Erin Conway in 1:09.6.