2004 USATF-NJ Youth Athletes of the Year Named
USATF-NJ recently named its athletes of the year. The NJ Striders had four individuals who were given this prestigious honor. Zachary Pollinger from Mahwah, Brittany Blake from Hackensack, Kristen Traub and Alana Pantale from Wayne and Shaye Wisse from Saddle Brook.
Zachary Pollinger - named in the Young Men's Distance Category
The 2004 year was just as exciting and successful as was 2003 season. Zac won all three High School National Championships; The Nike Indoor in Maryland, The National Scholastics in New York and The Adidas Outdoor in North Carolina, which, when adding the same three wins in 2003, made him the first high-schooler to win six National Championships in a row.
Zac was fourth at the Millrose Games Racewalk event. He won the Brown Invitational and set a new meet record. He was the #1 High School walker at all distances. He won the Bucknell Invitational 3000 indoor and the Dartmouth Relays one mile as well as the Metropolitan High School Classic at the Armory in New York. Zac won the USATF Youth Athletics National Championship for the third time and won the USATF Junior National Championship held in College Station, Texas and was named to the USA Junior National Team for the third time.
Zac also won the World Cup Trials in Kansas and was named to the USA Junior
World Cup Team. He then competed in the IAAF World Cup in Naumberg, Germany
where he finished 48th in a huge field. Zac was second at this year's
Junior Olympic Nationals and second at the USA v. Canada meet in Edmonton,
Canada, where he led the USA to a team victory and set a 10K PR. Finally,
Zac was honored at this year's USATF National Convention when he was awarded the
Henry Laskau Award as the Junior Elite Race Walker of the Year.
Kristen Traub - Named in the Bantam Girls Distance Category
In 2004 Kristen accomplishments included winning the 1500m in 5:43 and 800m in 2:47 at the USATF-NJ pre-lims in Ridgefield. At the state meet she won the 1500m in 5:25 and at the regions where she also won, she ran the 1500m in 5:25. At the nationals in Oregon in the 1500 she placed 4th in a time of 5:16 and ranked her 7th fastest time for bantams in the United States for the 2004 outdoor season.
In x-c she won the state meet at Stockton State in 11:42, the regions at Ithaca in 12:22 on a real muddy day. At the nationals in Illinois she placed 3rd in 11:21. She also ran an open 3000m indoor race against college girl's and placed 3rd in 11:27.
Shaye Wisse - Named in the Sub-Bantam Girls Field Category
Shaye is eight years old and has been a member
of the Saddle Brook Junior Track Team for two years.
Shaye has always been an outstanding member of the track team at
practices and at track meets. Shaye
has always set a good example by working hard at practice, while still having
fun. She has also consistently
placed in the top three places in every event she has entered, qualifying for
regional and national level track meets.
Shaye’s accomplishments for the 2004 track season include finishing first in the long jump in every meet she attended. Shaye finished in first place at all five of the New Jersey Striders Developmental Meets this year. Shaye finished in first place at the USATF Junior Olympic Preliminary Meet and went on to a personal best jump of 11’08” and another first place at the State Meet at Montclair High School. Shaye competed at the Region 2 Junior Olympics at Slippery Rock University again finishing in first place.
Alana Pantale - Named in the Midget Girls Field Category
Alana won the USATF-NJ prelim at Ridgefield in the shot with a throw of 31'02.00". From there she won the shot at the Association meet with a throw of 10.21m and won the discus with a throw of 21.50m. She went to the USA Youth Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Maryland and won the shot-put with a distance of 35'02.50". also placed 4th in the discus with a 21.08m throw.
Brittaney Blake - Named in the Sub-Bantam Girls Sprint Category