NJRunners is proud to present our Boys' All-State selections for the indoor season - 2010 - 2011. Our selections were made by a panel of people - the same group that made the girls' and relays selection which will appear soon. We subscribe to the Track and Field News criteria for choosing All-State, which are, in order of importance, honors won, head-to-head competition and marks.
This year presented some unique challenges especially with respect to the lack of a Meet of Champions for some candidates. We would normally consider MOC and the nationals as the ultimate honors for a New Jersey track and field athlete. However, the weather in February resulted in a scenario where athletes could opt to compete at the Brooks PR meet in Seattle the same weekend as MOC. So while on one hand the selection process should have been made easier by the demise of NSIC resulting in only one national meet, on the other hand we were forced to decide how to treat the Brooks meet. To say that the members of our panel had differing opinions is an understatement but we finally arrived at a consensus that had us considering a strong performance as a very high honor indeed.
The following then are the NJRunners selections for the Boys' All-State First and Second teams and Honorable Mention, Boy Athlete of the Year and Boys' Coach of the Year.
(click on links throughout this article for full stats, videos, articles and pictures)
First Team All-State
55/60 Meters: Damiere Byrd, Timber Creek - Senior
Altough he raced sparingly, Damiere made his races count. He set not one but two New Jersey state records in the final at the New Balance Indoors Nationals with a 6.70 at 60 meters and a 6.26 en route. The fact is that given his record, a very strong case can be made for Byrd being the best short sprinter in the US this past indoor season.
400 Meters: Najee Glass, St. Peter's Prep - Junior
Najee did well at 500 meters as well as 400 with his 1:02.22 at the New Balance Games which is faster than the recognized record for that distance but the mark will not be listed as a record due to lane violations. He came back to make another try for the record at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational and although he fell short his 1:03.33 was still stellar. Both times were well under the previous New Jersey state record. He was under 48.00 twice and sub-49.00 another two times including an a very impressive 48.48 for the win at MOC and the venue record on the flat floor at the Bennett Center.
800 Meters: Justin Hill, Seton Hall Prep - Senior
Justin waged two battles with Alan Eke of Union Catholic at Groups and MOC winning by 0.08 seconds both times. He was under 1:55.00 three times and sub-1:56.00 twice more. His season best is also his PR - 1:54.12, 0.66 seconds better than his outdoor best and it was run on the flat track at the bubble. His 1:58.84 took the measure of Edward Cheserek at the NJISAA Prep Championships in mid-February.
Christian started laying down wins right out of the gate: Merli, followed by GMC, a rare loss to teammate Andre Davis at the Sectionals, Groups and MOC. The sequence of marks was impressively progressive: 7.70, 7.57, 7.61, 7.44, 7.36 and finally 7.50 en route to 8.10 at 60 meters at NBIN. In addition Boateng was third at Merli, second and GMC and second in the Sectionals at 55 meters.
Torchia and his staff orchestrated a season for the ages, leading the Colts to season-long, team-wide performances that rank with the best NJ teams of all-time.
Most teams would have been thrilled with what the Colts accomplished prior to the meaty part of the season, but CBA was just getting started. They won the Non Public A state title, which included six state group champions in the 55H, 1600, 3200, HJ, Shot Put and 4x4, and then saving the best for last, won the 4x Mile and Shuttle Hurdle Relay, and finished a very close second in one of the best Distance Medley races ever at the New Balance Indoor National Championships. There they finished 2nd in the team scoring.
Relay
Time
Rank
4x400m
03:22.78
NJ #1, U.S. #17
4x55HH
30.37
NJ #1, U.S. #1
4x1Mile
17:37.01
NJ #1, U.S #1
DMR
10:02.99
NJ #1, U.S. #2
4x800M
07:56.4
NJ #4, U.S. #16
4x200M
01:33.0
NJ# 11
SMR
03:40.2
NJ# 11
A magnificent team performance, and clearly one of the best ever in
Second Team All-State: