Winter Track Team Set For Big Season

With a roster that boasts a total of 80 athletes, the Cranford winter track and field team will be fired up to make some noise in the next few months under head coach Peter Kane.

While he was still working on a depth chart when Cranford Patch caught up with hm, he knows how important the early-season meets will be to determine where the strengths lie to put together the best team possible. As always, the goals are to peak their performances at the end of the season.

To that end, Kane will be assisted by coaches John Schiano and Galen Johnson, while a fourth coach, Eliza Kelton, will be volunteering her time to help the program as well.

They all bring something different to the table. Schiano has a background in distance running, and works great with the athletes in sprints, mid-distance and some jumps. Johnson ran distance in high school and at the College of New Jersey.

"Galen brings a lot of excitement to the team atmosphere and primarily trains the distance team," said Kane. "Often, he'll be out on the roads running with the kids and pushing them through workouts."

Meanwhile Kelton brings a hurdling background to the team and Kane works with the pole vault and horizontal jumps, as well as the sprinters and throwers. He was a pole vaulter and long jumper at TCNJ before getting into the coaching ranks as an assistant at Scotch Plains-Fanwood, eventually taking over the winter and spring teams in Cranford.

The boys' cross-country team is coming off a successful season this past fall, with the girls finishing second at the county tournament and the boys winning the state sectional crown, so expectations are high.

One athlete to keep an eye on is Kelly Burke, who owns the county and school records in both the triple jump and pole vault. She is one of the top performers in many of the field events and on the track for the Cougars.

"Kelly is looking to improve upon those events as she leaves her mark in Cranford and Union County," said Kane.

Generally, the Cougars have more success in the spring season with more of their stronger events being contested. But that's not to say this group won't thrive indoors, having finished third at the state sectionals last year by a few points. They also hold the Group 2 pole vault relay record and were the 2008 Group Pole Vault champions.

Natalie Englese won the state sectional 400 meter and set the county record during her campaign last season, which also included a victory in the Union County 400-meter dash in county-record time. Kane feels this years' group will feed off the success from last winter.

"We had a very strong push last year and this year we are looking to go above and beyond," he said. "We have several new additions to our boys and girls teams and also, just as important, we have experience and confidence under our belts. We are very much looking forward to see how high we can achieve this winter season."