Braves' Big Three unite, come back to win close championship

(Pub May 25)
Group champs: Absegami won the South Jersey Group 4 title with 70 points and Penns Grove won the SJ Group 1 title with 104 points.

Kwabena the giant: Washington Township senior Kwabena Keene came away from his Egg Harbor Township weekend with two personal bests; a 59-3 hurl to win the shot put Friday and a 156-7 bomb for second in the discus Saturday

Chief win: Cherokee senior Alex Yersak won the Group 4 3,200 in 9:37.16 – his first sectional title -- by holding off Washington Township senior Chris Kelly (9:38.16).

Quote: "I'm trying to race the right way – be as relax as you can and then kick at the end," Yersak said. "The last 500 meters, that's when I wanted to go."

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – It was a championship won by inches and split seconds, by a team short on depth and long on odds.

It was won by a single point.

To win its first South Jersey Group 4 Championship Saturday, Absegami needed to overcome a shortage of throwers, jumpers and pole vaulters and rely on its three track stars, who, by the way, emit enough wattage to power a small city.

Basically, in a sport built on a winning balance, it needed to do the unthinkable.

Consider the unthinkable done.

While the South Jersey Group 1 Championship was in Penns Grove's pocket midway through Saturday's meet, the crowning of the Group 4 champs hung on the outcome of the final event, the 4x400 relay.

Behind three points to Egg Harbor Township, Absegami stormed back, riding the backs of Geoff Navarro, Demetrius Rooks, Ford Palmer and Santiago Galeano to a South Jersey-best 3:17.27 win, momentarily turning Egg Harbor into the home of the Braves.

But the Braves didn't leave as champs until Egg Harbor Township's relay team (3:19.77) fell to runner-up Winslow Township (3:19.23) on the homestretch, winning with 70 points. Egg Harbor finished second with 69 points and Washington Township third with 64.

It was only fitting to see the baton end in Navarro's hand. After all, he contributed 40 points.

Against the strongest field in South Jersey, Navarro won all four of his events this weekend, coupling his wins in the 100 and 400 Friday with victories in the 200 (21.97) and 4x400 Saturday.

"Everything I've worked for has come down to this," said Navarro, who had previously never won a sectional title. "I work hard with all of these guys every day. We've built a camaraderie and a certain level of team together. I can depend on Demetrius to do his job, Ford to do his and for [Santiago] to give us a good position.
"Seeing them on a daily basis work so hard makes it so much easier to do my job."

Finding a new internal gear, Palmer grabbed the lead during the third leg of the 4x400 – and then went back to cheering on Navarro and Winslow's anchor.

"I was so pumped," said Palmer after giving some celebratory chest bumps to his teammates. "I usually jog a little bit of the 400 but that time I sprinted my fastest for as long as I could."

Palmer didn't hold onto every lead, though.

Pairing his Friday victory in the 1,600, Washington Township junior Xavier Fraction nipped Absegami Palmer (1:55.88) at the line to win the 800 in 1:55.76, barreling down the homestretch shoulder-by-shoulder.

As great as the race was, it was just another chapter in the Fraction-Palmer rivalry.

"I love racing Palmer," Fraction said. "Every time you race Palmer, you're going to get a good race out of it. The kid never runs a slow 800. He's so consistent."

Egg Harbor Township had its share of studs, or as coach George Wilkerson said, a "whole stable of them," led by senior jumper Stevenson Cajuste.

After winning the long jump Friday, Cajuste won the triple jump in 43-8.25 and took second in the 110 high hurdles (14.46) to Winslow Township senior Keith Robinson. Those medals will hung nicely next to the ones earned by Navarro, his future roommate at Monmouth University.

"Right now I think he has a little edge," said Cajuste, smiling. "But it's all great competition."

While Navarro led the Braves, the difference in the meet could be seen as junior Paul Lonergran, who notched fifth in the javelin by throwing 165-11 – 20 feet farther than his previous best.

"Without those two points, we're on the other side of the score," fourth-year coach Keith Landgraf said.

For the second straight year, Penns Grove won the South Jersey Group 1 Championship, scoring 104 points. Pennsville and Paulsboro tied for second with 51.

Penns Grove's team of Charles Thornton, Steven Brown, Darrin Moore and Stephon Bell fended off Palmyra's team (3:29.10) on the homestretch to win the 4x400 relay in 3:29.07.

Senior thrower Tyree Rudolph won the shot put Friday and the discus (147-0) Saturday and junior Shawill Green won the pole vault by clearing 12-6.

"Those guys set the tone yesterday and carried it over today," coach Tom Mason said. "We got off the bus today, and I told the guys if we do what we've done all season we should come out here OK. And they did."

With one giant leap for Riverside, Sean Jimoh broke a Group 1 record in the triple jump, outleaping Lindenwold junior Perry Asare (44-3.25) with a meet-best 44-10.5.
Coming off a runaway 1,600 Friday, Pennsville senior Mark Kearney flirted with a meet record in the 3,200, but came one second short. Kearney won the race last year.

"I was a little sore from yesterday's mile, but I just tried to keep a certain pace," Kearney said.