OCHS Teams of the 90's


Kellie Adams top Raider girls track athlete of the 90s!


By TOM WILLIAMS
Gazette Staff Writer

The 1990s was quite a decade for Ocean City High School girls track. The Raiders were a combined 89-3 in dual meets, winning five South Jersey and two state championships.

Mike Naples directed the Raiders throughout the decade. His teams won five straight (1990-94) South Jersey Group 3 championships and were state champs in 1992 and 1994. They also finished second in three other South Jersey meets and were in the state top three a total of seven times. Ocean City also won the overall Cape-Atlantic League title the first nine years of the decade, settling for one-third of a division title the final year.

Absegami ended OC's 90-meet CAL winning streak in 1999, the first loss since the previous decade. The Raiders also lost to conference champion Oakcrest in 1999. The only other loss in the decade was to Willingboro in 1996, when the two teams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in South Jersey.

There were a number of athletes who contributed to this success, including two who won titles in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions - Megan Hartman and Lauren McHale. During the 90s, a dozen of the 14 school records were set, including Lora Stutzman's mark in the discus during 1999. One of those OCHS marks, Mandi Wolicki's 5 feet, 9.25 inches in the 1995 high jump, is still the all-time South Jersey record.

The best of these terrific athletes from the 1990s was Kellie Adams, who graduated in 1994 with three school records that still stand. She is our Girls Track Athlete of the Decade. Adams is still the school's fastest in the 100 hurdles (14.4) and the longest in the long jump (17-6.75). She also was the leadoff runner on the record-setting 4x400 meter relay team and was part a key part of the school's two state championship teams.

Two other girls who graduated in the 1990s still hold school records. They include Hartman, who ran 4:54.71 in the 1600 meters and 10:54.8 in the 3200 meters. And Carla Roberts, who ran the 200 meters in 25.6 seconds and the 400 hurdles in 1:03.4.

Other school record-holders on the All-90s Team include Shelly Solheim (56.72) in the 400 meters, McHale (2:12.77) in the 800 and Ayanna Reed (38-5.25) in the shot put. Adams and Solheim also joined Mary Beth Wendorf and Janine Minehan to set the standard in the 4x400 relay.

As in boys track, we've selected two athletes in each event and limited each athlete to a maximum of four events on the team. The only exception is the "Dream Relay" selected by Naples, four runners who may have never run together but would probably be the best OCHS could offer during the decade.

"I would lead off with Nikki Holzer," he said, referring to the 1996 grad. "Then it would be McHale (1998), Roberts (1990) and Solheim (1995) would be the anchor. Boy, this is fun. It would be great to see this team compete."

It will be quite a challenge for future girls track teams to match the success of the 1990s. In fact, it is hard to imagine any Raider sports program ever having a better decade.

OCHS Girls Track in the 90s
Season....Record....Coach

1990........9-0..........Mike Naples......county, CAL & South Jersey champions
1991........9-0..........Mike Naples......county, CAL & South Jersey champions
1992........9-0..........Mike Naples......county, CAL, South Jersey & state champions
1993........10-0........Mike Naples......county, CAL & South Jersey champions
1994........9-0..........Mike Naples......county, CAL, South Jersey & state champions
1995........9-0..........Mike Naples......county champions, 2nd in state meet
1996........9-1..........Mike Naples......county & CAL champions
1997........9-0..........Mike Naples......county & CAL champions
1998........9-0..........Mike Naples......county & CAL champions
1999........7-2..........Mike Naples......county & CAL champions

The All-90s Raider Girls Track Team
100 Meters.....Sue Gibble, Megan McNulty
200 Meters.....Carla Roberts, Megan McNulty
400 Meters.....Shelly Solheim, Nikki Holzer
800 Meters.....Lauren McHale, Shelly Solheim
1600 Meters...Megan Hartman, Danielle Salvia
3200 Meters...Megan Hartman, Abbey Hartman
4x400 Relay...Kellie Adams, Mary Beth Wendorf, Janine Minehan, Shelly Solheim
100 Hurdles....Kellie Adams, Abbey Woolley
400 Hurdles....Carla Roberts, Kellie Adams
Discus.............Lora Stutzman, Ayanna Reed
Javelin............Shelly Meister, Serena Dice
Shot Put..........Ayanna Reed, Kim Lesko
High Jump......Mandi Wolicki, Joi Johnson
Long Jump.....Kellie Adams, Abbey Woolley

Napes' Dream 4x400-Nikki Holzer, Lauren McHale, Carla Roberts, Shelly Solheim