2013 Lady Minutemen
Track & Field - Honor Roll
**MVP**
Natalie "Nat-Man" Antunes - Sr.
Deciding end-of-the-season awards are an extremely difficult endeavor. "Who has earned what?" "What is the determining criteria?" As I was deciding the MVP (Most Valuable Person) award, I decided to throw away statistical criteria. Sometimes it's not always about who threw the farthest or who ran the fastest or who has won the most races. Loyalty, dedication, commitment, and heart are not variables that can be measured through time, length, or height. They are immeasurable character traits that we all most likely are capable of, but very few us can achieve them.
Natalie Antunes just completed her 11th running season (a record during my tenure) for the Lady Minutemen (3 cross country, 4 indoor track, 4 outdoor track). With no prior experience in organized track & field, Natalie displayed a smooth, articulate running gate that every coach would love as a model for all. She consistently churned out 21:00 5k's, 5:30ish 1600's, and 2:20ish 800's over a 4 year period like clockwork. I can count on one hand the meets that she has missed (barring injury) over that same span. She never complained about how long she had to run or how many times she had to tow the line for her team.
Her final outdoor season was no different. She clocked the team's fastest outdoor 800m out the blocks (2:27.50), the 2nd fastest 1600m (5:46.50), and the 2nd fastest 3200m (12:56.22). None of them personal bests, but solid, consistent performances when her team needed them. She participated on record squads in the 4x1600, Distance Medley Relay, and 4x800m relay during her tenure at EHS (3 records this season alone).
Natalie was also a stellar student, as evident when she matriculates at Rutgers University in the fall. She will probably never run organized track again, but it doesn't matter. She never cheated the sport. Thanks, Nat-Man!
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Natalie Antunes just completed her 11th running season (a record during my tenure) for the Lady Minutemen (3 cross country, 4 indoor track, 4 outdoor track). With no prior experience in organized track & field, Natalie displayed a smooth, articulate running gate that every coach would love as a model for all. She consistently churned out 21:00 5k's, 5:30ish 1600's, and 2:20ish 800's over a 4 year period like clockwork. I can count on one hand the meets that she has missed (barring injury) over that same span. She never complained about how long she had to run or how many times she had to tow the line for her team.
Her final outdoor season was no different. She clocked the team's fastest outdoor 800m out the blocks (2:27.50), the 2nd fastest 1600m (5:46.50), and the 2nd fastest 3200m (12:56.22). None of them personal bests, but solid, consistent performances when her team needed them. She participated on record squads in the 4x1600, Distance Medley Relay, and 4x800m relay during her tenure at EHS (3 records this season alone).
Natalie was also a stellar student, as evident when she matriculates at Rutgers University in the fall. She will probably never run organized track again, but it doesn't matter. She never cheated the sport. Thanks, Nat-Man!
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Star Award (Track)
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Star Award (Track)
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Brown Shatters Watchung Conference Meet Record;
Scores 12 of The Lady Minutemen's 19 Total Points on Day One
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May 10th, Berkeley Heights - The cold, blustery northeast air doesn't sit well with Tamoya Brown. The Jamaican-born student-athlete is more accustomed to the soothing sun and balmy breeze of her homeland. Friday's summer-like temperatures were like the much needed rains to a thirsty lawn, and Tamoya took full advantage of it's hospitality at the Union County Conference Championships at Governor Livingston High School.
Running out of lane 3, the EHS senior made quick work of the field, and even quicker work of the meet record that she established last year. Her winning time of 1:04.81 sliced nearly a second off of the 1:05.72 she recorded in 2012. Tamoya also soared a near personal best 17' 1 1/2" in the long jump to finish 5th in that event.
Esther Jean-Louis (5:34.31) and senior Natalie Antunes (5:46.50) picked up 3rd and 6th place medals respectfully in the 1600m. Esther's performance was a personal best and #3 All-Time in school history.
The all-freshmen sprint crew of Nia Sturgis, Shanique Davis, and Nakiyiah McClain contributed solid performances in 100m dash. Shanique also scared the 30 foot barrier in the shot put with a toss of 29' 2 1/2".
May 10th, Berkeley Heights - The cold, blustery northeast air doesn't sit well with Tamoya Brown. The Jamaican-born student-athlete is more accustomed to the soothing sun and balmy breeze of her homeland. Friday's summer-like temperatures were like the much needed rains to a thirsty lawn, and Tamoya took full advantage of it's hospitality at the Union County Conference Championships at Governor Livingston High School.
Running out of lane 3, the EHS senior made quick work of the field, and even quicker work of the meet record that she established last year. Her winning time of 1:04.81 sliced nearly a second off of the 1:05.72 she recorded in 2012. Tamoya also soared a near personal best 17' 1 1/2" in the long jump to finish 5th in that event.
Esther Jean-Louis (5:34.31) and senior Natalie Antunes (5:46.50) picked up 3rd and 6th place medals respectfully in the 1600m. Esther's performance was a personal best and #3 All-Time in school history.
The all-freshmen sprint crew of Nia Sturgis, Shanique Davis, and Nakiyiah McClain contributed solid performances in 100m dash. Shanique also scared the 30 foot barrier in the shot put with a toss of 29' 2 1/2".
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Penn Relay Success!
EHS Lady Minutemen Post 2nd Sub-4:10 Mark In 8 Years
April 24th, Philadelphia - Success is not always guaranteed at the biggest, most famous track meet in the world, but the Lady Minutemen carved themselves out a small piece of team history in the process.
Capitalizing off of the 59.5 lead-off leg from senior Tamoya Brown, the 2013 edition of the EHS Lady Minutemen 4x400m squad clocked in a nifty performance of 4:08.32, the 2nd best run in the past eight years at the Penn relays for Elizabeth (The Lady Minutemen posted a 4:06.1 back in 2008). Juniors Esther Jean-Louis and Giorvania LeRouge handled the 2nd and 3rd legs, while team captain and senior Natalie Antunes brought home the baton in sub-4:10 fashion. The Lady Minutemen also earned a bronze medal for their efforts, finishing a close 3rd in their section.
The Lady Minutemen will be back in action on May 2nd-3rd at the 2013 Union County Relays. Look for Tamoya Brown to lead Elizabeth in the hurdles, jumps, and sprints, while Esther Jean-Louis, Giorvania LeRouge, and Natalie Antunes bolster the Lady Minutemen's hopes in the mid-distance relay races.
The meet will be hosted by Westfield High School. Start time on both days is at 4:00PM.
Capitalizing off of the 59.5 lead-off leg from senior Tamoya Brown, the 2013 edition of the EHS Lady Minutemen 4x400m squad clocked in a nifty performance of 4:08.32, the 2nd best run in the past eight years at the Penn relays for Elizabeth (The Lady Minutemen posted a 4:06.1 back in 2008). Juniors Esther Jean-Louis and Giorvania LeRouge handled the 2nd and 3rd legs, while team captain and senior Natalie Antunes brought home the baton in sub-4:10 fashion. The Lady Minutemen also earned a bronze medal for their efforts, finishing a close 3rd in their section.
The Lady Minutemen will be back in action on May 2nd-3rd at the 2013 Union County Relays. Look for Tamoya Brown to lead Elizabeth in the hurdles, jumps, and sprints, while Esther Jean-Louis, Giorvania LeRouge, and Natalie Antunes bolster the Lady Minutemen's hopes in the mid-distance relay races.
The meet will be hosted by Westfield High School. Start time on both days is at 4:00PM.
Jean-Louis Sparks Record Relays At Blue Devil Invitational April 20th, Westfield - The Lady Minutemen always display a knack for turning potentially poor runs into record accomplishments. This trend continued yesterday at the 25th Annual Blue Devil Classic in Westfield.
Competing in stiff, swirling winds most of the day, the Lady Minutemen were looking just to compete and not chase records. In the distance medley relay, stalwart senior Natalie Antunes led-off the charge with a 1200m leg of 4:04.7 (a personal best). She handed the baton to Giorvania LeRouge who zipped the 400m leg to keep the Lady Minutemen in contention. Relied upon for her unwavering strength and versatility, senior Tamoya Brown handled the 800 leg, vaulting her squad from 6th place to 4th before entrusting the baton to junior Esther Jean-Louis. Jean-Louis circled four brisk circuits of the track in 5:35.0, a personal best for 1600m. She also stopped the clock at 13:20.24 seconds, #2 EHS All-Time and five short seconds from the school record set back in 2010. Look for the Lady Minutemen to challenge the school record of 13:15.86 at the 2013 Union County Relays on May 2nd and 3rd at Kehler Field in Westfield. Meet commences both days at 4:00PM. ******************************************** |
Lady Minutemen Youth Serve Notice Of Future Success April 20th, Westfield - Despite the absence of super-soph Gabrielle Gilbert and top freshman sprinter Nakiyiah McClain, the young Lady Minutemen let it be known that they are coming soon with stellar perormances at the 25th Annual Blue Devil Classic in Westield.
Running from the second section of the freshman/sophomore 400m relay (the top teams are usually grouped in the first section), freshmen Nia Sturgis and Shanique Davis joined sophs Ayyanna Council and Iyanah Hawley to win their section in 54.28 seconds. They fell .16 seconds short of the winning time of 54.16 seconds run in the first section. The same foursome combined to finish 6th in the freshman/sophomore 800m relay. Sophomore Ayyanna Council posted the relay's swiftest split of 27.3. In the meet concluding 1600m relay, sophomore anchor Monica Flores (1:07.1) replaced Shanique Davis to help that relay team place 2nd overall. The other legs were run by lead-off Iyanah Hawley (1:06.9), 2nd leg Ayyanna Council (1:04.9), and 3rd leg Nia Sturgis (1:08.3). The freshman shot put team (Shanique Davis and Naema Meilad) picked bronze medals. ******************************************** |
Lady Minutemen Shine At The Pawlowski Relays
April 6th, Ridgewood - The Lady Minutemen continued their 2013 campaign in style, as they hauled in 3 sets of gold, 3 sets of silver, and 5 sets of bronze medals at the 2013 Pawlowski Relays in Ridgewood, NJ.
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Varsity Girls 4 x 200m - 1st Place
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Novice Girls (Juniors) 4 x 400m
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