For the first time in its Girls Track and Field history, LHS, a mere 8 years old, has produced a STATE CHAMPION in Marielena Rivera!! Enroute to her victory in the 400m Hurdles, the junior smashed the school record with a winning time of 63.4. Considering that New Jersey yields many of the most elite scholastic runners and hurdlers in the nation, Marielena placed herself in prestigious company with her performance. In fact, many past and current track Olympians honed their cleats on South Jersey scholastic tracks, including 2008 1500m runner Erin Donovan, a graduate of Colonial Conference rival Haddonfield; Dennis Mitchell, a 3-time Olympian from Edgewood Regional High School (who still holds several school records); and, of course, Carl and Carol Lewis, Olympic Track and Field phenoms from Willingboro.
Marielena (Elena) would be the first to acknowledge that she did not reach this apex alone, but that the entire girls team contributed to her success and that of the entire season. Brittany Sinclair, another top junior, also continued to challenge the school record for the 400 meters in every meet, smashing it at Sectionals with a 58.2 and then placing 10th in the State meet. Coach Mike Egan credits Assistant Coach Camila Harris with having a “major impact and taking Rivera and Sinclair from good to great!”
Elena and Brittany joined with first leg Lanaysia Smith and Destiny Moore in the 4 x 400 relay to qualify for the “Meet of Champions,” the highest of all scholastic meets in the State. As a relay that has run together for 2 years now, they have become “the” team to beat in the Colonial Conference, and earned both All-Conference 1st Team and All-South Jersey Group I: 1st Team honors at the end of the season. Coach Egan also cites freshman Andrea Lloyd as an “impact sprinter” and expects her to challenge the other sprinters next year for her own place on the relay.
Not to be ignored are the field events, in which Destiny Moore, a triple-sport junior, broke yet another school record, establishing a mark of 117 feet in the Javelin, 10 feet farther than previous record holder Micaela Moore. After losing 3 senior throwers to graduation last year, Coach Farid Syed took this year’s throwers under his wing and created champions in Micaela Moore, Stashia Johnson, Destiny Moore, and Krystal Bowen. Yes, LHS has definitely “arrived” as a Colonial Conference contender and as a training ground for State Champion performances, as the Team finished the 2009 season 3rd overall in Sectionals and 5th overall in States.
Not to be ignored is the team GPA, bolstered in particular by Lena’s and Brittany’s, both of which exceed 3.0 in an Honors curriculum, along with various school leadership roles. According to Coach Egan, “All four relay girls have great opportunities for NCAA athletic track scholarships upon graduation.”