Boyd and Hahn looking forward to competing in college

Now that the outdoor track and field seasons are over and the college careers for Brick Township stars Ryisha Boyd and DeAnne Hahn are looming, it's time for themto think ahead to their college careers in the Big 10.

FILE PHOTO DeAnne Hahn, who finished second in the shot put at the recent Meet of Champions, will compete on the college level at the University of Minnesota, while her teammate Ryisha Boyd will run at Big Ten Conference rival University of Illinois. But forBoyd, itwon't be competing in the long jump, where she went froma 10th seed as a wild card selection for the Meet of Champions to a second-place finish at 17 feet 9 inches. Itwill be in the 400,where shewas a very close fourth in the MOC in 55.6 seconds, a 10th of a second faster than her previous school record. She was seeded eighth in that event.

"I don't think I'll be doing the long jump in college. I'll be concentrating on the sprints," said Boyd, who heads to Illinois. "I knew it was my best race and I wanted my high school career to end on a good note. Now I know I'm going to do the 400. It's what I'm known for. And I'll finally be running in a 4x400 relay."

And she'll compete in the 400 again in the Nike Nationals on Friday at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, where she finished 20th last year.

Boyd also was recruited heavily by South Florida and North Carolina and made official visits to all three schools, and was leaning toward North Carolina before her Illinois visit last month. But when a scandal broke about Trevor Graham, an assistant track coach at North Carolina who worked with the sprinters and admitted to taking enhancement drugs and forfeited his three medals from the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, it shook Boyd up a bit and reopened the recruitment process to Illinois, a late arriver on the scene. It happened right around the time of the Group meet, but Boyd said that did not affect her performance that day that made her rely on the wild-card selection to return to the MOC outdoors for a second straight year.

By the time she got to the MOC, a day after signing her national letter of intent, it truly was a trouble-free experience.

"I wanted to do it stress-free. This is the one meet where there are no team points for the team," Boyd said. "I just do it for myself."

Boyd said she also expects to run the 200 at times and is the school recordholder in both the 400 and 200 indoors and outdoors as well as the 100 in both and in the long jump. She said she'll study kinesiology and sports medicine.

"I want to see the girls [at Brick Township] continue to do well, and I know they will next year," said Boyd. "But I want these records to stick around for a while, at least for a few years."

Hahn, meanwhile, will not compete in the nationals this summer in either the shot put or the discus before heading off to Minnesota as she did a year ago.

"I'm taking the whole summer off," said Hahn. "At the end of the season, I was really worn down with the mental pressure from all the expectations. If an open meet comes along, I'll go to it."

Certainly, it was a pressure-packed season for Hahn, who broke a record of some sort at nearly every meet where she competed. She finally won the discus in the MOC at 139-6 after finishing as the bridesmaid the past two years. She was unbeaten in the discus this season but she was dethroned in the shot put after a two-year reign at the MOC, by Mo Laffan of Toms River North with a top throw of 44-6 1/4. Laffan threw 44-7 1/2 on her first attempt, which stood up.

"I was very upset about not winning the shot put," said Hahn emphatically. "And then I won my first discus title [at the MOC]. I'm getting the hang of it. In college, I might be better in the discus than in the shot."

But like Boyd, Hahn will be taking a different turn in college. She figures she'll forgo the shot put and compete in the hammer throw for the first time.

"It will be my primary event," said Boyd, echoing the expectations of her high school coach Bill Brunner, an expert on throwing events who feels that event is more tailored to the speed and athleticism Hahn has. Brunner said that Hahn at 5-5 might be a bit short for the shot put, a power event where most top throwers are around 6 feet tall.

Brunner saw an outstanding shotputter and discus thrower he worked with on Brick Township's boys team - Matt Glowacki - switch to the hammer throw when he embarked on a college career at Syracuse four years ago. Hahn said the hammer throw is "totally different" from the other two events, not just in the form, but in the footwork for the release, which encouraged her to make the change. Her college coach's area of expertise is the discus, although she is known to work well with hammer throwers, said Brunner.

"I've tried it a few times, and it's so fun and exciting," Hahn said of the hammer. "I really haven't been able to do it much yet. But after a few years, the shot and discus get repetitive."

Hahn said she is ready and eager to embark on her college career with a loner indoor season that begins nearly two months earlier in October.

But both enjoyed their experience of competing for Brick Township.

"It was great, but now I want to see Lisa Stuto carry it on [in the shot put and discus for next year] and go out and compete," said Hahn.

"I knew the team would be cheering me on and all of the girls would be doing their best," said Boyd. "It was definitely a team environment. It was like a family. I'm happy to have been a part of it."