Guzman Earns Two Medals in Mercer County Tournament

While he was hoping for an off day by Hopewell's Sam Snyder and a chance at a Mercer County title, 's Angel Guzman knew second place was his for the taking.

While competing at the Mercer County Track Championships on May 14 at Hamilton's Steinert High School, Guzman took second. In fact, he took second twice.

Guzman placed second in the shot put with a distance of 48 5 1/4". Guzman also placed second in the discus with a distance of 150 feet. Snyder won both the shot (52' 5") and discus (157' 2").

"Second place is exactly where I thought I'd be," Guzman said. "I was hoping I would have a chance to get first in the discus, but Sam did well.

"This feels pretty good. My coach dedicates so much time to me in practice, I was happy I could put a good performance together."

Guzman scored 16 of the 26 points Hightstown produced as a team. Tyler Foss also earned eight points for Hightstown by placing second in the 800.

Lawrence's Tom O'Rourke won the 800 with a time of 1:56.1. Foss was second with a time of 1:56.7.

"I'm not surprised by the places, but the performances were better than I expected," Hightstown Coach Jim Firtek said. "A 1:56 is a phenomenal race."

Eric Anderson also scored a point for Hightstown when he placed sixth in the 400 with a time of 50.2

Marcus Lawrence placed sixth in the discus with a distance of 123' 11".

Hightstown finished in eighth place in the 16-team field. Hamilton's Nottingham High School won the title with 117 points.

Hightstown, 6-0 in the regular season, will have to figure out a way to beat Nottingham today, Wednesday, if it wants to win the Valley Division. [Editor's note: Due to the rain, the meet has been rescheduled for tomorrow, Thursday.] The winner of that regular season meet will earn the Valley title.

Fortunately for Hightstown, it's a team that might match up better with squads in regular season meets because of its depth.

"I think we have both really talented guys and depth," Firtek said. "From a coaching standpoint, that's ideal. The team continues to replenish itself for the future.

"The kids are responding to this time of the season. All the hard work is showing."