JUNE 12, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY GREG TARTAGLIA
SPORTS EDITOR |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD — The phrase was repeated throughout Monday evening, as it has been for the past 44 spring seasons.
“Thank you, Mr. Brown.”
The Ridgewood High School girls track and field team held its season-ending dinner that night, an annual tradition sure to continue. Yet this year’s edition took on added significance, since it was the last presided over by head coach Jacob Brown, who founded the Maroons’ program in 1972 and will retire from his post, effective at the end of the school year.
Before his historic era officially ends, Brown will get to coach one more meet. He’ll accompany RHS senior Carleen Jeffers to next weekend’s New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C., after the distance standout broke the school’s 3,200-meter record in capturing a bronze medal at the June 3 State Meet of Champions (SMOC).
Jeffers’ time of 10:29.97 (third-fastest in Bergen County history) bettered the mark set by 1994 state champ Jenna Rogers (10:33.9) in her senior season at Ridgewood.
“The neat thing about track is, you don’t have this sudden end, where the whole team loses a game and it’s over,” Brown said as he addressed the team’s 16 seniors. “Track kind of fades out as your top kids continue on. And this year, Carleen was pretty good, so we get to go down for one more meet.”
