3 Hopatcong Stars Ready for Meet of Champions

As the 2011 high school track season winds down, the biggest meet of the year awaits three track athletes.

Seniors A.J. Cook and Joe Prestifilippo and sophomore Dylan Capwell will compete in the Meet of Champions in Old Bridge on Thursday.

The three qualified for the Meet of Champions by finishing in the top six in their event in sectionals. Head coach Mike Juskus had a feeling all three athletes were worthy of qualifying for the meet.

“All of them I thought were capable (of getting this far),” Juskus said.

Capwell, who qualified for the Meet of Champions for the first time in his high school career, will be competing in the 400-meter hurdle and 800-meter sprint races. Capwell finished first in the hurdles, and second in the 800 at sectionals to qualify. Capwell has his eye on breaking the school record, which is 56.7 seconds, for the 400 hurdle race.

“As a sophomore, that would be pretty cool,” Capwell said.

Cook, who will be representing Hopatcong in the discus, has his eye on eclipsing 160 feet at the Meet of Champions.

“I know I can do it, (Juskus) says I can do it, so that’s what we’re hoping for,” Cook said.

Cook is extra excited about making the Meet of Champions this year, as he has missed qualifying by the slightest of margins in the past couple seasons.

“The past couple of years I was just a foot or two behind the qualifications, so now that this year I’m able to qualify, it’s exciting,” Cook said.

Prestifilippo, who will be competing in the 3,200-meter run at the Meet of Champions for the second straight year, is looking to improve from his performance last year. Prestifilippo finished 23rd overall in the race last season.

“It was not where I wanted to be, but I made it there, so I was happy,” Prestifilippo said.

There are two heats for the 3,200 at the Meet of Champions. Prestifilippo is expecting to be either in the back-end of the faster heat, or near the front of the slower heat. Depending on which heat he falls in will determine his expectations for the day.

“My goal is to win that (the slower) heat,” Prestifilippo said. “In the faster heat, my goal is to stay up with the faster guys as long as I can.”

Juskus explained how the feelings of the seniors Cook and Prestifilippo will probably differ from the feeling of Capwell, who is only a sophomore.

“We’re just looking for (Capwell) to get into that competition, feel it and experience it,” Juskus said. “The other two boys are seniors. For them, it’s the thrill of being there, and trying to have their career bests in the last meet of the year.”

This will be the last meet of the high school careers of Cook and Prestifilippo. While neither senior admitted to feeling overly sad about their last high school meet being just a couple of days away, Juskus made it clear they will be sorely missed.

“Any coach that coaches talented kids, when you lose that kid, it always stinks,” Juskus said. “They’re moving on, so you’re excited you’ve had an effect on them.”

Got some advice for the boys? Tell us in the comments.