Notebook: End-of-the-Year Nominations

(Pub June 7)
Only so much is expected from coaches when they sign up for the job. They should be knowledgeable, respected, well clean and on time for practice. But many went beyond their call of duty this year. Here are the top five nominees for the Courier-Post

COACH OF THE YEAR

COY Nominees–
Chris Grottini, Timber Creek –
After six years of building and rebuilding, Grottini fielded a team deep in athleticism and long on drive. Grottini conditioned the unbeaten Chargers to win their first division, their first sectional championship and their first state championship in school history, but perhaps superceding all that, also helped them believe they could through constant encouragement and a personal touch.

Keith Landgraf, Absegami
– It's tough convincing a 5-3 team that it could win a state championship, but, sure enough, Landgraf did just that, leading the Braves to win their first-ever sectional championship and state championship by narrow margins. Landgraf got the most out of his three studs – Geoff Navarro, Demetrius Rooks and Ford Palmer – but knew the team was more than that as shown by javelin thrower Paul Lonergan's decisive two points at sectionals. After his 4x400 relay team got beat by Winslow Township at the state championship, Landgraf adjusted at the Meet of Champions, rotating the order of Navarro, Palmer, Santiago Galeano and Rooks for the state's fastest time (3:15.77) to cap the season.

Tom Mason, Penns Grove
– Here's the storyline: the team's best sprinter, Aaron Hayward, comes down with an injury mid-season. Mason keeps order and the team keeps believing. The loss of Hayward might've cost the Red Devils a win against Glassboro and the subsequent division, but athletes like Steven Brown, Shawill Green, Stephon Bell and Tyree Rudolph rose to the bigger challenges, defending their Group 1 sectional championship and placing second at the Group 1 state championship – better than their third-place showing in 2007.

Steve Shaklee, Cherokee
– When everyone thought it was time for the Chiefs to move over and hand the division to rising Washington Township, Shaklee and crew said 'Not this year,' downing the Minutemen to start the season and then coasting to another divisional title. By sharpening its sprints, led by the tandem of Kevin Merrigan and Will Rapp, Cherokee became one of South Jersey's most complete teams as made evident by its 5-0 record and its first-ever Burlington County Open win.

Matt Martin, Haddon Heights
With senior Mickey Borsellino ailing with mono and fellow distance runner Josh Black shelved with a bad back to start the season, the Garnets didn't look like a team that would knock off defending division champ Haddonfield or beat contender West Deptford, but Martin made sure of it, building a team that went far beyond distance with a good vaulter, a decent sprinting cast and a great jumping duo in Chris Roundtree and AJ Toliver. And a healthy Borsellino and Colin Lynch went the distance.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

The season had its share of great performances and a few athletes had more than their share of them. The three contenders for the Courier-Post Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year:

AOY Nominees

Montez Blair, Timber Creek, Jr. – We knew the junior high jumper had hops last season when he cleared 6-8, but after clearing 6-10 in a dual meet and then 7-0 at the Woodbury Relays, Blair got us thinking: maybe the sky really is the limit.

Unbeaten up to the Meet of Champions, when he cleared 6-10 but placed second on misses, Blair was dominant when his team needed him to be.

Along with winning the high jump (6-8) at the Group 3 Championship, Blair took sixth in the long jump (21-0) and fifth in the triple jump (43-2) to help the Chargers blow by the field en route to their first state championship.

"I just wanted to do my part - there's nothing more to it," he said. "I just had to go out there and perform my best."

Brett Johnson, Ocean City, Jr. – The junior distance runner didn't wait to raise eyebrows this season, running 1:52.8 in a dual meet and splitting 4:10 in the 1,600 portion of a distance medley relay at the Woodbury Relays.

He threw down a 3:53.71 to win the 1,500 at the Ironman Invitational and then he got serious, sweeping the distance events at the South Jersey Group 3 Championships, remaining unbeaten at the State Group 3 Championships by taking the 1,600 (4:14.55) and 800 (1:53.49) and then breaking the Meet of Champions record of 4:09.20 in the 1,600, held by 2002 Ocean City grad John Richardson, with a 4:09.03.

Johnson came back to run the 800, but against stiff competition, fell for the first time this season by running a 1:57.86. He knows losing is the risk you take when going for greatness.

"If I'm afraid of losing, why compete? Like here," Johnson said at the state championships last week, "if there was a chance I could've lost, why would've I run it? There's always going to be a chance of losing, but I just try to give myself the best chance to win."

Geoff Navarro, Absegami, Sr. – Navarro was flanked with similarly great talent throughout the season, but noone from South Jersey shined brighter than the senior sprinter during championship time. Needing a perfect weekend from Navarro to even consider winning their first sectional championship, the Braves – sporting all of five scorers -- received it.

Against a tough field, Navarro won the 100 (10.72), the 200 (21.97), the 400 (48.55) and saved the best for last, anchoring Absegami's 4x400 relay team to a 3:17.27 win.
"I try to work my phases through, the drive phase, all my phases and believe that sets me up," he said. "My start sets me up to get up tall and then to finish it strong with some high knees."

The win vaulted the Braves past Egg Harbor Township to win the South Jersey Group 4 Championship by a single point, 70-69.

The following week Navarro helped score 30 of Absegami's 48 points, including 10 off a 10.57 win in the 100, to win the State Group 4 Championship by four points.

Young distance
Of the top seven finishers in the Meet of Champion's 3,200 Thursday, only one was a senior. The other six – all below 9:16 – were made up of two juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen.

Shawnee sophomore David Forward was South Jersey's top finisher in 9:10.28.
Millburn sophomore Tyler Udland won in 9:04.80 and said the strong field helped for such strong times.
"The depth is just incredible this year," Udland said. "But it's not going to make doing this again any easier."