Jordan Very Happy With Boys Track and Field Team's Performance This Season

High jumper  Joe Hardy, who finished third in outdoor track and field in the state last spring, took his first step to return to the NJSIAA Meet of Champions when he and about 16 other Central Regional boys track and field athletes competed in the Group III Central Jersey sectionals this weekend.

The Group III finals are the following weekend.

"They've made a ton of improvement. I can't ask for more than what they gave me," coach Michael Jordan said.

Jordan's team finished 3-2 in dual meets and in third place in Shore Conference B South. They lost to eventual division champion Manchester, 73-67, and runner-up Barnegat, 72-68.

Jordan expected his team to compete well in the state sectionals after three athletes won medals in the Shore Conference championships on May 21, including Hardy's winning 6-feet, 4-inch measure in the high jump. John Azeceta, a junior, threw the javelin a personal best 168 feet for fourth place and sophomore Rachid Zidani clocked a personal best :15.18 in the 110 high hurdles for sixth place.

Junior Keith Stokes, a junior, threw the discus 135 feet, five feet shy of a medal at the Shore Conference championships. Junior pole vaulter Eliot Perez, competing in track and field for only the second year, cleared 12 feet, the qualifying height. He finished in seventh place, six inches shy of a medal.

"Last year, Eliot did not hit the qualifying height in jayvee (junior varsity) until the last meet when he made 9-6, so you could see his major improvement," Jordan said.

"He's such a hard worker who believes in himself and does everything he can," the coach added. "He went to a pole vault camp in North Jersey every Tuesday during the winter to practice at a facility there, since there was no place at our school for practicing that and it shows that he is a totally committed athlete and so is his family."

Jordan said he has gotten that sense of commitment from the six seniors who number among the 66 boys on the roster, especially Hardy, who also excelled during basketball season as one of the most prolific scorers in the Shore Conference.

Hardy has jumped as high as 6-8 this season, the height he cleared in the Meet of Champions last year,. He swept first place in every meet last season on the road to the MOC, which is on June 9 this year.

"If he goes 6-4 in the sectionals, he'll win it but that may not score in the groups," Jordan said. "He may have to go 6-6 or 6-8. I definitely think he's capable of that."

Jordan said the highest hopes for this weekend come with Hardy, who also competes in the sprints and long jump, as well as with Azeceta and Zidani.

Hardy did not compete in the Ocean County championships because he went to the senior prom. Azeceta was third in the javelin at the county meet at 157 feet and Zidani was third in the high hurdles in :15.4. Stokes was fourth in the discus at 135 feet.

Jordan said junior hurdler T.J. Denbleyker also can score at the sectionals. He just missed a medal at the Shore Conference championships in the 110 high hurdles in :15.47. He was sixth in the 440 intermediate hurdles in the county meet in a personal best :57.9.

Four other seniors will look to finish their high school careers strongly - Charlie Schlottfeld who leads the team in the 400 meters; Parker Oris in the mile and 800; Nico Scadavecchio in the intermediate hurdles and 800 and distance runner Anthony Giannico. Oris is heading to Rowan University this fall to continue his soccer career.