Brick Twp. shot putter advances to championship

BRICK TOWNSHIP — The township has a state champion shot putter for the third year in a row.

Lisa Stuto, who is headed to Eastern Michigan University this fall, secured a return trip to the Meet of Champions after leading the field in Group III from start to finish. Her third throw of 40 feet, 6 ¼ inches was good enough to win but she surpassed that on her final throw, a 40-11 ¼ measure, about 2 ½ feet beyond the rest of the field. DeAnne Hahn had prevailed in the shot put for the Green Dragons the past two winters before heading to the University of Minnesota.

Stuto will return to the Bennett Athletic Complex bubble in Toms River on Saturday morning for the MOC.

"Lisa was out sick for three days with bronchitis last week and had only 36 hours to get ready for the meet and was throwing a little better on Friday," said coach Bill Brunner, who has developed 23 individual throwing state champions indoors and outdoors over the past 34 years. "She didn't go in overconfident because she knew if she didn't throw well, there were girls there who would compete with her."

Now Stuto gets to face a familiar competitor in Jackson's Shannon Watt on Saturday. Both split their head-to-head matchups this year, with Watt prevailing in the Shore Conference and Stuto winning the Ocean County meet.

Katie Brunner, who also qualified for the Group III championships in the shot put for Brick Township, failed to advance to the MOC as she threw 31 feet which her coach, and father, said was below what she was hitting in practices last week. But young Brunner is a sophomore and looking to continue the tradition of championship throwers when Stuto graduates this spring.

Megan Schenk of Brick Township ran a personal best in the 3,200 meters of 11:59, 12 seconds better than her previous fastest clocking, but fell just short of advancing to the MOC with a ninth place finish. She is expected to play a leading role in the Green Dragons fortunes in the distance events during the outdoor seas