Some schools that have been open for decades have yet to record a national track-and-field championship in any event, but Colts Neck High School in central New Jersey accomplished this feat in just seven years.
The Cougars won the boys distance medley relay at the 2005 Nike Indoor Championships with a time of 10:15.08. The next year would be the girls' year; their 4x-mile relay won a national championship in the 2006 indoor season.
Younger runners are now looking to keep Colts Neck on the national scene, and, this time, they will have their chance in individual events at this year's Penn Relays.
Colts Neck High School, founded in 1998, boasts the top seeds in both the girls' and boys' 3000-meters, and the No. 3-seeded runner in the girls' 3000m as well.
Junior Craig Forys is at the top of the boys' list, while freshman Briana Jackucewicz and junior Ashley Higginson are the first and third seeds, respectively, in the girls' race.
"We normally run a relay," coach Jim Schlentz said. "But everything has been about relays; ... I wanted to give them a chance to win a major event individually."
Although Forys has put up stellar 1600m times, recording a 4:05.7 in February, he and his coach have instead opted to place him in the 3000m at the Penn Relays.
"He's going to run the mile in a lot of big races in May," Schlentz said. "When you're that young, you can't run a fast mile every time you go out. You have to try different events to keep it fresh."
The Cougars are also coming off a big string phase in their training, which Schlentz says makes the runners stronger but might compromise their speed.
Forys has had a good amount of success in the 3200m, though. During the indoor season, he ran an impressive 8:59.88.
By doing so, he became the second junior in U.S. indoor history to run under 4:10 in the mile and under 9:00 in the two-mile.
Forys, who is also involved with junior ROTC at his school, doesn't have a single preference between these events.
In the two-mile, "there are a lot of opportunities to run away from the rest of the guys though," Forys said.
As for the girls, Jackucewicz and Higginson are best friends, on and off the track.
"They have to beat each other sometimes, but they wait for the other at [the] finish line," Schlentz said.
Even though top-seeded Jackucewicz is a freshman, this won't be her first time competing at the Penn Relays.
"I ran the Olympic Development 10k two years ago," Jackucewicz said.
She is glad, though, that her first high-school Penn Relays race will be with Higginson.
"It's pretty cool to run with my teammate, ... to run with someone that you run with everyday," Jackucewicz said.
The Relays event's top seed took third in the 3000m this winter with a time of 10:44.42 at the National Scholastic Indoor Champs and was also part of the winning 4x-mile relay.
This will be Higginson's second high-school Penn Relays, and she says there's no meet quite like it.
"You don't need to motivate yourself," Higginson said. "The moment you walk on the track, you enjoy the experience and, every moment, run better."
Higginson may have an opportunity to run more frequently at Franklin Field in the coming years; she has begun her college search process and is interested in Penn.
Perhaps the success of the Colts Neck track program can be attributed to the dedication and enthusiasm of Schlentz, who built the program from scratch.
"The first year, we just started with a group of freshmen and sophomores," Schlentz said. "I knew it was a program we wanted to aim nationally for."
The New Jersey native was previously a track coach at LaSalle and Wagner before becoming involved in coaching club teams.
Schlentz "knows how to breed them," Forys said. "That's the main reason that we have so many kids coming out [into college programs]."
The Colts Neck team is young and has a bright future. For now, three all-stars will try to leave their individual marks at the Penn Relays this week.
