By STEFAN BONDY
HARDYSTON — Joe Martinek is visually bigger than he was at this point last year, packing on muscle with the at-home training program provided by his future school — Rutgers.
He is preparing for his future as a Division-I football player, something that demands size. The other benefit to his additional 20 pounds is extra distance to his javelin throw, which is now the best in New Jersey. The Hopatcong senior — also known as the leading rusher in state history — is throwing over 200 feet almost every meet, a mark that he couldn't achieve once in his three previous years.
His season-high of 206 feet is No. 1 in the state, and farther than the winning tosses at the last six Meet of Champions.
Martinek was at it again Wednesday, beating a strong field at the SCIL Relays with a throw of 201-1. He said his best is yet to come and, with the state meets approaching, Martinek is still waiting to "pop one" and break the SCIL record.
"That's when everything comes together on one a throw — a perfect throw," he said. "It's usually 20 or 30 feet further than your regular throws."
The boys javelin was a highlight event at the Relays because three of the competitors — Martinek, Jefferson's Cody Unger and Vernon's Mark Lisa — are ranked top-5 in the state. Unger has thrown 195 feet and Lisa has tossed 185-0. The fourth-place finisher at the Relays, Newton's Kevin Rheinheimer, is consistently in the 160s, which would be a top-20 throw at last year's MOC.
Wallkill Valley throwing coach Mike Boyle said he has never seen such a strong group in one league, and is impressed by their different styles.
"Martinek is by far the best athlete out there. I mean, he could go out there and compete in any event and win, and he's doing this on natural ability," Boyle said. "Unger's got a powerful arm and Lisa has tremendous speed.
"When I teach my kids how to throw, I tell them to watch the different steps of those guys."
Martinek said he is motivated by his opponents and is glad when he is not "winning by 30 or 40 feet all the time." He will face them all again next week at the Festival, where he is gunning for a third straight javelin title.
That's one of many goals still remaining on Martinek's lofty list. He wants to win his first MOC championship next month and, in the process, break the county record of 223-10 set by Hopatcong's Bobby Smith.
"If I pop one, I think I can get it," he said.
While Martinek highlighted the field events — also finishing first individually in the long jump (21-0.5), second in the triple jump (41-6.75) and fourth in the shot put (45-9.25) — it was Pope John that dominated the track.
The Lions won 16 of the 20 running events (including all the girls), sweeping the team titles for a fourth straight time. The girls beat High Point by 36 points.
The boys meet was closer — a 16-point victory over Vernon — but the Lions clinched victory with first-place in the sprint medley.
"It's big," said Jon Juleus, who anchored the time of 3:45.18. "We knew coming in we were going to have to beat Vernon."
One of the more exciting events involved the newest addition to the meet — the 800-meter medley relay — which the Jefferson boys captured with an outstanding anchor run by Pat McCarney.
The Jefferson senior started his 400-meter run in fourth place, way behind Newton speedster Jordan Wardle. But down the stretch, McCarney ran down his tired opponent and finished a second ahead of his opponent.
"I didn't think I could catch Wardle," McCarney said. "But on the final turn I saw him look back and that usually means you're getting tired."
McCarney ran a 50-second split — a personal-best.
"It feels great," he said. "Our distance medley team was winning at the Ranger Relays but we lost in the last lap. That time we got the silver, so it feels good to get the gold."