Just three years ago, the girls’ track and field team at Snyder High School had just five athletes.
Not much you can do as a team with just five competitors. But those five would trudge to meets, knowing that they were carrying the weight of an entire school on their shoulders.
Two years ago, Robert Arena entered the scene as an assistant coach.
“It was not good,” Arena said. “It was ridiculous. We had five or six girls.”
Frank Dooley, Jr., the son of the long-time Dickinson High School principal, also became a coach at Snyder. Dooley and Arena set forth to form a competitive track team at Snyder, at a school that once dominated on the local and state level in track.
“We knew that it could get done,” said Arena, an eighth grade math teacher at P.S. 15.
When Dooley left to become an administrator in the district, it left Arena to carry the torch as the head coach.
“Karima [McKenzie, the Snyder athletic director] gave me a shot to coach the girls’ team,” Arena said. “I then started recruiting girls in the school and those I taught in eighth grade. I started to get girls interested in competing. I showed them what the program was all about.”
Arena knew that the strength of his new group would be the returning veterans, people like Simone Womack, Shania Robinson, Vanessa Saiboo and of course, the incomparable Nyoki Jones.
Jones already had made her mark as a top competitor in a host of events during indoor and outdoor seasons. She already had gained the respect of her peers and opposing coaches with her stellar performances.
But now, Jones was being called upon to be a leader on the Tigers _ and it was a role that Jones wore like a queen wears a robe.
Now fielding a full squad, the Tigers went into last week’s Hudson County Track Coaches Association’s championships at the New Balance Track and Field Center in the 168th Street Armory in New York with a chance to compete for the top prize.
“We knew that we had a chance,” Jones said. “We knew that if we came together and executed the plan, we had a shot.”
But there was one huge obstacle, namely perennial favorite St. Dominic Academy, which had captured a slew of county championships over the years. To call SDA a local dynasty in Hudson County would be a gross understatement. It has been SDA — and then the rest –for many years.
“It was going to be tough,” Arena said. “I figured we had a shot.”
Led by Jones, who captured three gold medals, winning the 400-meter run, the 800-meter run and running the third leg in the 4×400-meter relay, the Tigers captured their first HCTCA title since 1998 and only the second since 1985.
“It feels really good,” Jones said. “All our hard work has paid off. It actually feels overwhelming. It really hadn’t sunk in yet that we’re county champs. We’re able to leave Snyder this year, being part of the team that won the county, is an amazing feeling.”
Jones also ran the 1,600-meter run, which is not her strength, and managed to finish fifth in the race. That’s 31 team points that Jones accounted for alone — quite an impressive meet indeed.
Jones didn’t win the county title alone. Sierra Craig contributed by winning the shot put with a throw of 31-1 ½ with teammate Alicia Campbell fourth.
Campbell is just a freshman competing on varsity. So is Karizma Solomon, who was in the thick of things in the 1,600-meter run and the 800-meter run.
Womack was also a contributor, finishing second in the high jump and sixth in the long jump.
After the Tigers won the last race of the night, the 4×400 relay, they moved into the top position overall with 58 points, followed by North Bergen with 54 and St. Dominic with 52. It was that close, coming down to the final event. The Tigers were third going into the relay.
“It means a lot to me, but it also means a lot to the girls, especially the ones who stuck it out,” Arena said. “I know they work hard. The seniors deserve this.”
“We knew we had to win that race to win the team championship,” said Jones, who just received her recommendation from Sen. Cory Booker in order to attend the U.S. Military Academy in West Point in the fall. “I had to open it up and give us a lead and that’s what I did.”
And Jones was able to create a little history in the process.
Some of the other girls to win HCTCA gold include Sabrina Ozoria of Union City (55-meter dash), Malia Gray of St. Dominic (55-meter hurdles), Weeshamar Senatus of Hudson Catholic (1,600 and 3,200-meter runs) and Idalis Maldonado of North Bergen (high jump).
St. Peter’s Prep won the boys’ team title, holding off a challenge from McNair Academic, 89-71. William Woltmann of Prep won the shot put to lead the way for the Marauders. The Marauders also collected gold in the 4×400-meter relay.
Other HCTCA gold medal winners among the boys include Pierre Bervensky of Dickinson (55-meter dash), Younass Barkouch (3,200-meter run), Haig Rickerby (400 and 800-meter runs) and Fahd Nasser (1,600-meter run) of McNair Academic, Victor Cotto of Bayonne (long jump) and Samuel Opaleye of Hudson Catholic (high jump)…
Congratulations to Jaineris Rodriguez of Dickinson, Avianna Myskowski of Snyder, Kayla Diaz of University Charter and Lynn Djombo of North Bergen for being their respective schools representatives at the annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day at Seton Hall University last Sunday.
Sponsored by the NJSIAA, the event honors the top female student/athletes in the state and those four were the local representatives. Quite an honor indeed…
On a sad note, Weehawken lost a legend when long-time coach Joe Wisniewski passed away last week. Not only was Wisniewski a giant in the sports field, but he also became the superintendent of schools in the district for 15 years. A good man and a good soul, Wisniewski will be missed…
Hudson Catholic junior Luther Muhammad had scored his 1,000th career point a few weeks ago, prior to teammate Jahvon Quinerly getting to the milestone. Apologies to Muhammad for the oversight. There are a lot of local boys reaching the 1,000-point plateau this season…
St. Anthony suffered a heart-breaking 48-46 loss to Newark East Side last week, giving the Friars their fourth loss of the season. It has been a long time since the Friars lost four games in a season…
Hudson Reporter Boys’ High School Basketball Top Five: 1. St. Anthony (15-4). 2. Hudson Catholic (19-3). 3. St. Peter’s Prep (14-5). 4. North Bergen (17-4). 5. Snyder (12-7)…
Hudson Reporter Girls’ High School Basketball Top Five: 1. Marist (17-0). 2. Lincoln (13-3). 3. Bayonne (14-4). 4. Secaucus (16-3). 5. Weehawken (16-2)…-Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com
