Perez, Tom Set Meet Records to Lead Hillsborough to 2nd-Place Finish

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the boys track & field team. But with wins in the sprint medley, 4 x 200 meter, intermediate hurdles and triple jump relays, the Raiders finished a surprising second Saturday at the Skyland Conference Relay Championships at Ridge High School.  

Going into the final event, the 4 x 400-meter relay, the Raiders led North Hunterdon by one point for second place overall. The Raiders finished second in the race with a time of 3:32.8 to secure the overall second-place finish. North Hunterdon finished fifth.

Rob Perez and Kevin Tom set a meet record in the triple jump relay with a combined total of 82-feet-7½ inches. The previous mark was set by Hillsborough in 2007. Both Perez and Tom set personal bests with 40-foot-7 and 42-foot-½ jumps. 

Mike Shipley ran a personal-best 1:58.3, anchoring the winning spring medley relay. He also anchored the second place 4 x 400-meter relay and the winning 4 x 200-meter relay. Shipley’s teammates on the sprint medley relay were Matt Leddy, Mike Williams and C.J. Boon.

Perez, Vince Giralo, and Kevin McAlister all broke 60 seconds, winning the intermediate hurdle relay. Perez led the way with a 58.6, Giralo was clocked at 59.7 and McAlister 59.5.

The Raider 4 x 200-meter relay team of Steve Sharo, Mike Williams, Matt Leddy and Mike Shipley surprised everyone by winning their event. Their winning time was 1:33.6.

In addition to the four winning relays, the Raiders took second in the 4 x 400 meter, third in the shuttle hurdles relay, fourth in the 4 x 800 meter, fifth in the discus relay and sixth in the 4 x 100 meter, long jump relay and javelin relay.

Coach's Take

“Coming in, I told the team that our goal was to finish in the top-three. I was hoping for third place and am pleasantly surprised with second. The team really stepped up with wins in four events, including a meet record.”—First-year head coach Eric “Rosey” Rosenthal. 

They Said It

“I’m happy with today’s result but I know we can do better. I only got one really good jump off as I had to go back and forth to do the hurdles”—Perez on their meet-record in the triple jump.

“We both PR’ed and beat our seed by 6 feet. I can’t wait for counties next week."—Tom.

Team Scores  

1. Franklin, 82
2. Hillsborough, 63
3. North Hunterdon, 56
4. Bridgewater-Raritan, 46
5. Montgomery, 38
6. N. Plainfield, 33
7. Hunterdon Central, 30
8. Somerville, 25
9. Bound Brook, 18
10. Phillipsburg, 18
11. Ridge, 18
12. Watchung Hills, 15
13. Bernards, 10
14. Manville, 6
15. Pingry, 1
16. Warren Hills, 1

Up next—The Raiders have a tri-meet with Bridgewater-Raritan and Hunterdon Central Tuesday at Bridgewater-Raritan High School at 3:45 p.m. The Raiders will get another shot at Franklin at the Somerset County Relay Championships next Saturday at Ridge High School at 9 a.m.