Hold Onto Your Seat: We're in for Thrilling Race to the Finish

Outstanding performances from the track and bowling teams this weekend set the tone for what figures be an exciting finish to the winter season for Livingston High School.

The Lancers bowling team earned it second consecutive sectional crown, while the boys track team posted one of the highest finishes in school history, second, at its sectional.

The bowling team completed its personal "triple crown" when it took its second consecutive NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 championship on Saturday. Senior Scott Sperling and junior Brandon Gershon each shot 626 series to help gain the title, which comes in addition to winning the Essex County Tournament and the Colonial Division of the Super Essex Conference, also for a second straight year.

Livingston's sectional triumph at Jersey Lanes in Linden, in which it outscored runner-up Union, 2,03-2,849, was boosted by Sperling, with a 215 high game, and Gershon, with a 230 high game.

Other contributors to the sectional championship, which came on the 13th wedding anniversary of coach Griff Hughes and his wife Linda, included a 233-579 from sophomore Howard Hsu, a 192-538 from senior Scott Hochberg, and a 193-534 from senior Michael Holderman. Senior Jacob Emert also chipped in, rolling four frames and delivering three strikes and a spare.

All six of those bowlers were named first-team on the nine-bowler All-Colonial Division. All averaged between 192-213.

"We have a big infusion of talent here. We practice a lot, and work on our consistency," Sperling said. "We're pretty quiet when it comes to most teams, but when we need to get energized, we can always count on Jake Emert. We can feed off that."

Livingston's regular season record was 43-2, including 42-0 in the Colonial Division. The Livingston junior varsity went 42-0, setting up another big season next year.

"We're looking for our first Group 4 championship on Friday (Feb. 18). Before the sectional, I told them they were defending champions and to not let someone else take it from them. And they came through," coach Hughes added.

The team will be competing in the state finals at Carolier Lanes in New Brunswick on Friday.

On the track, the return of German Valdez, the distance running of Jeramy Elkaim, and lifetime best performances by many of its runners added up to one of the best performances in school history on Saturday.

Competing against some of the top teams in the state, Livingston kept itself in the hunt to win the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 title throughout the meet, ending up with a very strong runner-up finish at the Bennett Center in Toms River .

Ridgewood outscored the Lancers, 77-59. It’s the best finish ever for Livingston at the sectional championships.

Valdez, who returned to action last week after a broken cheek bone suffered in soccer kept him sidelined, provided a nice spark. The senior won the high jump by clearing 6-0 and just missed scoring in the 55 hurdles, placing seventh (the top six score) in 8.16.

Elkaim didn’t let a very minor left knee issue keep him from being his usual sensational self. He won the 1,600 in 4:18.18 and the 3,200 in a meet record 9:26.40.

While Elkaim has certainly been the face of the Livingston program the last couple years, he was quick to point out that his team is much more than a one-man show.

"I scored 20 points, but the rest of the team scored 39,’’ said Elkaim. "We had a lot of guys come through today and I think we showed that we have a program with a very bright future.’’

Elkaim was referring to guys like seniors Andy Jung (13-0) and Mike Lazar (11-6), who went 1-2 in the pole vault, junior Nick Fogarty, third in the 800 in 2:00.74 and fourth in the 1,600 in a personal best 4:26.77, and senior Dave Coleman, sixth in the 800 in a personal best 2:03.10. Although junior Kieran Tonero didn’t score, he continued to show steady progress, dropping his personal best down to 4:46.60 by winning his heat of the 1,600.

Elkaim said he knows his team surprised some people.

"Even though there are probably a lot of people that didn’t think we had a chance at winning, we gave it all we had and hung right in there until the end,’’ said Elkaim, who is not sure if he’ll run the 1,600 or 3,200 at this Friday’s state Group 4 Championships at the Bennett Center.  "We are all very proud of how we performed.’’

The brackets for the boys and girls basketball state tournaments were released by the NJSIAA last week. The boys received the top seed in North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 and will play 16th-seeded Morristown in the first round on Feb. 28. The same night, the girls team, 11th-seeded in the same bracket, will travel to face sixth-seeded Union City in their first round match.

The boys fencing team, which won the first state playoff match in school history last Wednesday, will take on Montclair in Montclair tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinal round. Livingston, seeded 13, downed Montclair, the fifth seed, 16-11 in a regular season match last week.