Prep's Morrone enjoys great end to track season

Joey Morrone grew up in lower Manhattan and became introduced to the sport of track and field at a very young age. "I guess I was about nine years old," said Morrone, the multi-talented St. Peter's Prep track standout. "My grandfather (Ben Jefferson) was very fast and ran track. He also played a lot of football, but he was my coach in track. He gave me a lot of support and motivation. He also helped to give me confidence." Incredibly, the first event that Morrone became tied to had nothing to do with being one of New Jersey's top sprinters and hurdlers. In fact, it was far from it. When Morrone joined a club team in New York called the Chelsea Greyhounds, Morrone threw the shot put. "It was everything to me back then," Morrone said. "I had some great coaches. I learned a lot through the years. I got a really strong base to the sport." Morrone was also a fine football player, but then had to make a decision on which sport to concentrate on. Of course, Morrone chose track. His genes came shining through. "I guess I was about 12 when I started to take it seriously," Morrone said. "I had a coach Ron Guialdo, who was a great hurdler in his day and his two sons are great hurdlers. I knew I could learn a lot from him. When I first started hurdling, I was a bit nervous, but I was also excited about it. For some reason back then, the hurdles always looked higher than what they were. I was nervous, but once I got to my first meet, I was fine. I learned how to handle my business on the track." Morrone wasn't an instant success with the hurdles. "In the beginning, it was a little difficult, because it was all new to me," Morrone said. "It took a little time." As a freshman, Morrone had to overcome a serious torn hip flexor muscle that set him back a little. "I made sure that when it was my time to compete, I was ready to go all out," Morrone said. Morrone certainly went all out during the final few weeks of his high school career. At the NJSIAA Non-Public A championships two weeks ago, Morrone took home four medals, winninng the gold in both the 110-meter (14.42 seconds) and the 400-meter (54.66 seconds), while finishing second in the 200-meter dash (21.85 behind teammate Fitzroy Ledgister and second in the 400-meter run, giving the Marauders a much needed 36 team points in the pursuit of trying to knock off perennial state champion Christian Brothers Academy. As it turned out, the Marauders fell just eight points shy of knocking off nationally-ranked powerhouse CBA, the closest the Marauders ever came to defeating CBA. A week later, Morrone finished second overall in the 110-meter hurdles (14.32 seconds) and third in the 400-meter hurdles (52.93), completing a rare double for a hurdler at the Meet of Champions. Morrone would have been a fine way to close out the weekly Athlete of the Week feature, but he's a fine example of how athletic prowess needs to be shaped and developed like a mound of clay on the spinner's wheel (check Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in 'Ghost'). So Morrone earns the distinction of being the first-ever Jim Hague Sports Athlete of the Week, a tradition that will continue here on the blog when the scholastic season begins again in September.

Morrone is headed to Sacred Heart University in Connecticut to continue his brilliant track and field career. It would not be a surprise whatsoever if Morrone continues his development and becomes either a decathlete or a heptathlete in the future. Morrone is undecided about what course of study he will pursue, but more than likely in the business field or perhaps sports management. "That's the direction I'd like to go," Morrone said. "It's a little weird that high school is almost over." Morrone will compete at the East Coast regionals this weekend and will head to the NIKE/United States Track and Field High School Nationals in Eugene, Oregon next weekend. "That's a historic place," Morrone said of the U.S. Nationals. "I'm excited to get a chance to go there." Needless to say, Morrone collecting two golds and two silvers at the NJISAA state sectionals is more than impressive. In fact, it's awe inspiring. "I was in four events and my thought was, 'Why not win them all?'" Morrone said. "I felt like I left my mark." "It's a historical performance," Prep head coach Chris Caulfield said. "It's not easy to win one event in Non-Public A. But to win two and get second in the other two? It's just amazing. Incredibly, he wasn't 100 percent healthy going into the meet, but he made the most of it. I was confident that he could win both hurdles races." Caulfield was asked how he thinks Morrone will be remembered. "He's an absolute competitor and performer," Caulfield said. "That's in the truest sense of the word. He has a lot of talent, but there's also the mental side. Any time you can put then talent and the mental aspect together, it becomes a coach's dream. Joey competed time and time and time again. I'll say when you look at a kid like Joey, it's more than talent. He put in all the work and consistently stepped up to the plate when called upon. It's a legacy that will live on for sure." Added Caulfield, "The legacy that he leaves is that he was ultra competitive and handled everything we asked of him." And that's all a coach can ask for in an athlete. Make that a two-time gold medal winner in a state sectional, perhaps the most competitive sectional in the entire state. That's also not a bad legacy to leave.