Six Spartans are running and jumping into college

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

High School athletes have only a few times each year when they can sign their national letter of intent to attend and continue their athletic careers in college. Ocean Township High School had six track and field athletes all announcing which college or university they will be attending in the fall.

Chelsea Kipnis, a senior at Ocean Township, and her family on the day she committed to running at Eastern University.

Chelsea Kipnis is a young lady with a huge smile and personality. She is a distance runner competing in the 3200, 1600 and 800 meter races in the spring and cross country in the fall. “I have been on varsity for both cross country and track and field all four years of high school. I also decided to compete on the indoor track and field squad and the swim team for three years,” said Kipnis.

Many elite athletes are superstitious or have certain pre-game rituals. “I make sure to wear my lucky socks, always eat pasta the night before a race, and have my hair in some kind of braid,” Kipnis said. She also listens to upbeat music, typically Drake or 21 Savage. “Occasionally Pitbull or Flo Rida songs. I usually don’t eat much the day of a race, but I do need some fuel, I always have unsweetened applesauce or a banana.”

When asked what her favorite memory was as a Spartan athlete Kipnis spoke about friendships. “Meeting my two lifelong best friends, Ella and Sara. These two sisters have shaped me into the person and runner I am today. They showed me that racing is supposed to be fun and running with a friend is always the best way to practice,” said Kipnis. .

Eastern University in Philadelphia is where Kipnis will be running. “Academics are super important to me, so that is the first reason I selected Eastern University. Their nursing program is ranked seventh in all of Pennsylvania and the teaching was absolutely amazing. I could tell the professors really want to connect with the students and they love teaching,” Kipnis said. She added that the track coaches were passionate. They stay in touch with her on how her high school track season was progressing. “I am going to be studying nursing with the hope of becoming an operating room or orthopedic nurse.”

Paul Looney, trach coach at Ocean Township High School had said something to Kipnis that resonated with her. “It’s mind over matter. Coach Looney said this to me when I was dealing with such a tough mental block the beginning of spring season. This quote is so simple yet it means so much to me because of how mental track can be,” Kipnis said. She added that a track athletes needed to be just as prepared mentally as they do physically before they compete.

Fun facts about Kipnis is she loves the color blue, favorite food is sushi, watches Dancing with the Stars and listens to country music. During the summer she is a lifeguard and appreciates the amount of training and conditioning required. Her favorite movie oddly enough is Jaws.

Luke Molyneux and his parents at Ocean Township High School when he committed to run for Caldwell University.

Luke Molyneux Is another Spartan who goes the distance. Molyneux has been a three-year varsity team member who competes in the 800, 1600 and 3200 meter races. “My pre-race routine is I eat pasta before every meet,” said Molyneux. His times are 2:03 in the 800, 4:33 in the 1,600 and 9:57 in the 3,200.

When he was asked about his favorite memory as a Spartan his answer was winning the NJSIAA sectional championships. Molyneux concentrates all his efforts into running and does not participate in any other sporting activity.

“Qualifying for the groups individually twice and once in a relay were my personal achievements,” said Molyneux. And he is planning on adding to those personal goals next season as he competes as a collegian.

“I chose Caldwell University. I really liked the coach and it has a nice campus,” said Molyneux. It also had another benefit as its close to Ocean Township, so family can go watch him compete. He will study business management.

Fun facts; his favorite color is blue, loves eating Rigatoni Bolognese, and his favorite TV show is Two and Half Men. The quote he likes; “The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.”

Ocean Township senior Raegan Goldex and her parents as she commits to jumping at The College of New Jersey.

Reagan Goldex Is the Spartan who jumps into competition. She is a high, long and triple jump athlete and has competed all four years of high school as a varsity athlete. “I am superstitious. Something I do is wear the same warm up gear every meet,” said Goldex. And she listens to the same playlist that consists of different types of music.

“My favorite memory is when the team had a snowball fight during one winter track practice,” said Goldex. Her high jump height is 4’10”, she had jumped 14’9” in the long and 32”1” in the very difficult triple jump. “Some of my personal accomplishments includes qualifying for the Group 3 championships all three winter seasons and junior spring season.”

Next year she will be jumping as a Lion for The College of New Jersey. “I will be majoring in speech pathology. I hope in five years to have had a successful college track career and will be entering graduate school,” said Goldex.

Fun facts; favorite color is pink, loves to eat pizza and Friends is the TV show she enjoys watching. Pop is her music of choice and How to Lose a Guy in 10 days is her favorite movie. She has two quotes that she likes; “Even if your flat on your face remember-you’re still moving forward,” and “Everything will be ok in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”

Georgian Court University is where Zachary Spoonire will be running next season. He and his parents at Ocean Township HS for the signing of his letter of national intent.

Zachary Spoonire is another talented distance runner that the Spartans have produced. He has run cross country and competed on the track and field teams. “I am a middle and long distance runner and have competed for all four years of high school on varsity,” said Spoonire.

He is not superstitious, but does have a pre-race routine. “I like to lock in and play lots of hype music to get myself prepared and ready,” Spoonire said. He has lots of good memories as a Spartan, but here is his best. “Winning the 4×800 meter at the NJSIAA sectionals last year. My least favorite memory was coming up three seconds short of the 4×1600 meter school record.”

His personal accomplishments were breaking two minutes for the first time in the 800 meters last year at the Monmouth County Championships. Next year he will be a member of the Lions squad at Georgian Court University.

“I chose Georgian Court University because it is close to home and has a very solid track program, which I want to be a part of,” said Spoonire. He will be studying exercise science. “In five years I see myself graduating with my master’s degree and working in physical therapy.”

Fun facts about Spoonire; favorite color is red, chicken tenders are the food he loves to eat, Breaking Bad is the TV show he watches, Whiplash is the movie and he listens to Kendrick Lamar. Spoonire loves this quote; “You won’t wake up one day and be great at that certain thing. You are going to have to work hard if you really, really want something. No matter what life has to throw at you, deep down, you need to find the motivation, determination, and courage to fight back.”

The Segal family is all smiles as Eve, senior at Ocean Township HS, signs her letter of national intent to throw at UMass Amherst.

Eve Segal Is the thrower on the Spartan squad. She tosses the discus and throws the shotput. “I have competed all four years on the varsity track and field team and three years on the winter track team,” she said.

Segal is very superstitious in her preparations for a meet. “I wear the same socks, blue on my left foot and red on the right for every meet. I have the same hairstyle every time, go on a walk and get chocolate soft serve with rainbow sprinkles the night before every meet,” said Segal. She also listens to country music to get into the zone.

Her favorite memories have nothing to do with her throws. “My memories are as a team, talking and just laughing with each other in between throws at practice,” Segal said. As for her personal accomplishments, she broke the outdoor shotput and discus records. Her discus throw was 133’9” and the shotput is 44’5”.

Next season she will go from the red and white of Ocean Township to the maroon and white of University of Massachusetts Amherst. “I selected UMass Amherst because it provided me with the great opportunities for both education as well as competing as a track and field athlete,” added Segal. At this time, she is undecided on her educational career path. “In five years I hope to see myself still competing and very much involved with track. I only started throwing last winter and I cannot imagine it ending in only six years.”

Fun facts about Segal, she does not like movies, but her favorite TV show is Station 19. Neon green is her color and Nutella is her go to food. Country music is what she enjoys listening to. “Jared McCain, the basketball player from Duke is my main inspiration for working hard. When I first knew that I loved throwing and I wanted to be good at it, I was watching YouTube videos and I came across Jared McCain,” Segal said. She watched lots of his videos as he constantly talked about how you need to work harder than anyone else in the room. “He said that you need to work past exhaustion and put in everything you have into every workout. He also talked about how working hard on the court, or in my case, in the pit, isn’t enough. You need to be obsessed.”

Segal also said that McCain also stressed how to be an elite athlete, one would need to sacrifice. “He said that going to parties, hanging with friends, was not something to do if you want to be successful or getting better in your sport. He also stressed eating well, getting good sleep, stretching, and making sure your mind is in a good headspace for competing,” said Segal.

Stevenson University is where Ocean Township High School senior Frank McCann has commited to run. He is joined by his parents when he signs his letter of national intent.

Frank McCann Is one of the speedsters on the Ocean track team. He has been a member of the varsity team for all four years of his high school career. He is not as superstitious as others, but he enjoys a pre-race ritual. “I take a warm bath the day before, or I’ll feel tight the day of the race,” said McCann. He added that his pre-race practice is a cold bath and warm pasta with chicken.

His favorite memory as a Spartan was when they broke the indoor school record and how the team celebrated. “My least favorite memory is when I strained my hamstring,” said McCann. As a sprinter he ran the 400-meter race in 49.70, 200 meters in 22.9 and the 100 in 11.7.

My personal accomplishments were setting a school record at the Monmouth County Championships in the 400 and the 4×400 and winning the NJSIAA sectional championships in the 400 and the 4×400,” said McCann.

As a sprinter, it is fitting that he will be a Mustang next season at Stevenson University in Maryland. “I liked the facilities and the track program. I plan on studying business,” McCann. He also said that he still sees himself running in five years.

Fun facts for McCann, tan is his favorite color. As far as food goes, it’s mac and cheese with Fallout as his TV show and Ford vs Ferrari as the movie he likes the best. The quote that McCann likes is; “Success isn’t given. It’s earned on the track, on the field, and in the gym. And the blood, sweat and the occasional tears.”

Additional photos of this day can be viewed at www.Facebook.com/TheLinkSports