Brick athletes cap track and field careers at MOC
Hahn wins discus; Boyd places second in long jump
BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI Staff Writer
Two Brick Township High School girls who are headed to Big 10 colleges- thrower DeAnne Hahn to the University of Minnesota and Ryisha Boyd to the University of Illinois - ended their high school careers with magnificent performances at the Meet of Champions last week, each earning two medals.

ERIC SUCAR staff Brick Township High School senior DeAnne Hahn competes in the girls shot put at the the NJSIAA Track and Field Championships at South Plainfield High School on June 7. Hahn went on to place second in the event with a throw of 44 feet, 7 1/2 inches.

And they'll cross paths again in college.

"There is no way we'll ever duplicate this year," said Brick Township girls coach Bill Brunner, who has coached track and field for 30 years. "These athletes are so good that it's your job not to screw it up."

Two other Brick Township girls- Lisa Stuto and freshman Katie Brunner- also medaled, while schoolmate Chris DiGangi turned in a fine effort in the pole vault. Andrew Brodeur, of Brick Memorial, ran in the 3,200. Brunner, daughter of the head coach, got the last medal spot in the discus with an eighth-place throw of 119- 5 and is believed to be the first freshman to medal in that event at the MOC, where she qualified as a wild card selection.

"It was awesome seeing Deanne and Ryisha do that, and Katie Brunner is only a freshman, so what she did is incredible," said Stuto. "It was very emotional."

Hahn was looking to become the first female to double in winning the shot put and discus, the first to accomplish that in at least 20 of the meet's 29-year history. But it was the discus that upstaged her performance in the shot put - her "true love" - and could indicate what she'll be doing the next few years at the University ofMinnesota.

"I think she'll be a good college shot putter, but at 5-5, she's too short to be a great one where they're 6 feet and taller," said coach Brunner. "They throw 57 and 58 feet, and I don't think she'll throw that far. She'll throw in the low 50s. She can become an elite hammer thrower because she's quick. And the Minnesota coach is known for coaching in the discus."

Hahn has the agility to continue to excel in the discus, where she won every meet this spring and in the MOC threw 139 feet, 6 inches, well ahead of runnerup Christine Coppola of River Dell, who threw 136-6, and nemesis Mo Laffan of Toms River North, who threw 134-4.

Laffan turned the tables in the shot put as she did in the county meet, uncorking a throw of 46-6 ¼ inches on her first attempt. Hahn was second in 44-7 1/2. In the national rankings, Hahn came into the meet at No. 4 and Laffan at No. 5.

Over the past two years, Hahn won the shot put, throwing a meet record 47-6 last spring, and was second in the discus both years. But shewarmly congratulated Laffan after the shot put.

Stuto was fourth in the shot put at the MOC with a personal best 43-8 on her final attempt that moved her up two spots and past highly regarded ShannonWatt of Jackson. Her previous throw might have exceeded 45 feet, but she was called for a controversial foot foul thatmany bystanders, including rival head coaches, disagreedwith.

"I thought I didn't do that, but I tried not to let it bother me and I had to calm down," said Stuto.

Brunner said that Hahn "did not have a great day in the discus" but did well enough to win, having thrown a county record 153 feet in the countymeet and just 5 feet less in the Shore Conference meet. But he felt she was at her best in the shot put and had overcome some of the technical glitches she struggled with earlier this season.

Boyd turned in the stunning achievement of a second-place finish in the long jump, where she qualified as a wild card selection. She hit the runner-upmeasure of 17- 9 on her final jump - 4 inches behind Ridge's Josefine Krist - and was fourth in the 400 in a school record 55.6 seconds, which is one-tenth of a second faster than her previous best time in the county meet last month.

"She had a great night. Talk about a storybook ending to her career," said Brunner. "DeAnne has done great things for this school on a statewide level in her three years (after transferring from Lakewood) in the shot put and discus, but Ryisha is our most decorated track athlete, girls and boys included, in the school."

Boyd has seven school records, indoors and outdoors, in the 100, 200 and 400 as well as the long jump.

Boyd, who was fifth in the long jump at the MOC last year, was consistent, jumping between 17-4 and 17-6 on her first five attempts before hitting her winning one.

"She was incredibly consistent," said Brick Township boys coach Jim Calabro, who works with the long jumpers on the girls team as well, which is his area of expertise. "On her second jump, she was short of the running board by 2 inches, which would've put her over 18 feet. She miscalculated it a little. She put together as many things as she could to go right."

Calabro said Boyd has improved from last season.

"She has the ability to pick up speed going down the runway, and others are just looking to the board, which she doesn't do," said Calabro. "She was terrific about that in her sophomore year, and last year she struggled with that a little, but she refocused her efforts on that over the winter. She just settled back and relaxed and had fun in the MOC, which is what you should be doing."

DiGangi, the school record-holder in the boys pole vault, hit 13-6 for 12th place.

But Memorial's Brodeur, the recordholder in the 3,200 and who was third in the MOC indoors, ran 9:29.28 for 15th place. Brodeur heads to Duke University this fall after qualifying for eight out of a possible 12 MOCs indoors, outdoors and in cross country.

Brunner in some ways is glad the benchmark season is over.

"It was not my most enjoyable, but I know 10 years from now, I'll be looking back on this and all the great things these kids accomplished with a record set in every meet," said Brunner. "If there were team standings in the MOC, we would've won the meet, but it's so tough when you have kids going into the meets with bull'seyes on their backs. Sometimes it's better to be the underdog."

But Brick Township, which was runner up in the state sectionals and group meets as well as the Shore Conference championships, will be dangerous in the big meets again next spring. "We'll be extremely deep in the discus," said Brunner, since his daughter as well as Stuto and Deena Haluza return. His daughter also will look in the shot put to complement Stuto, who was one of the best in the state. And Katie Brunner also will throw the javelin with Rachel Marino, another freshman who performed well this spring.

Javelin throwerAlyssa Brown graduates and is headed to theUniversity of Delaware but will not compete there.AndAmberHessenkemper will try to walk on to a spot on the team at the University or Rhode Island, withMegan Schenk looking to fill that void.

The one gaping hole where there is no immediate answer is left by the departure of Boyd. "We'll find someone to run the sprints, but no one who can do what she's accomplished for the school," said Brunner. "That may not happen for a long while."