At the start of the 2011 season, East Brunswick’s veteran Winter Track coach KevinMcEvoy suspected his squad might be the best he’d ever coached during his 34 years at the school.
By the end of the season, nothing had yet occurred to prove him wrong.
On Feb. 18, the Bears boy’s winter track squad earned the first state championship of their coach’s tenure, scoring 33 points in the team event to best second-place Cherry Hill East in the New Jersey Group 4 State Championships at theBennett Center in Toms River.
Find out what's happening in East Brunswickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“I’ve been here 34 years and we never won the state championships before,” said McEvoy. “This is the best we’ve ever had as a team.”
The team championship was earned largely as a result of three stellar efforts. Junior shot putter Sam Mattis placed first in the group with a throw of 55-10, approximately two feet off of his season best throw of 57-11. Senior speedster Leonard Lockhart-Robbins won the event’s 400 meters with a time of 49.86, and the Bears’ mile relay squad of Donny Urschel, Evan Walton, Tom Marciante and Lockhart-Robbins also placed first.
Find out what's happening in East Brunswickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
These three wins alone brought the Bears 30 points. Alex Malveaux’s fifth place finish in the 55-meter hurdles and Donny Urschel’s sixth place finish in the 55-meter dash brought the Bears their additional three team points.
A few days later, the top six competitors from each event in each group in the state squared off at the Meet of Champions, yielding more track glory for the Bears. Lockhart-Robbins came in second overall in the 400-meters with a time of 49.03, and the mile relay squad came in fourth overall at 3:25.48.
They weren’t done just yet.
“We just finished up (Tuesday) night at the Eastern States Track and Field Championships in Manhattan,” McEvoy said. “It’s an event for individuals, the cream ofthe crop from the metropolitan area.”
At the event, East Brunswick’s mile relay took fourth overall, setting a new school record with a blistering 3.24.12. Lockhart-Robbins came in second in the 200 meters and Malveaux placed seventh in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.71.
While McEvoy considers it too early to ponder what next season may bring, the early indications are strong. He will lose seniors Walton and Lockhart-Robbins to the collegiate ranks but returns a strong core including Mattis. While neither Walton nor Lockhart-Robbins has made a final decision regarding college, Lockhart-Robbins is leaning toward the University of South Carolina.
Even now, McEvoy barely has time to enjoy his first state championship before the next challenge presents itself.
“We start the spring season on Monday,” he says. “We should be just as strong going into the state meet for the spring as we were for the winter. That’s the team goal we’ve set.
“If each individual kid meets the goals they’re set for themselves, we’ll be in good shape.”
