This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Wall Hurdler Looking to Make His Mark at Group Championships

Track star Terrence Maliff looks to distance himself this weekend

After running at the front of the pack in three straight championship track meets, Wall High School senior hurdler Terrence Maliff will find himself in an unfamiliar position at Friday’s NJSIAA Group III championships at South Plainfield.

A runner who has already captured Monmouth County, Shore Conference and Central Jersey Group III gold medals in the 400-meter hurdles will be an underdog when he toes the line.

“I’m in good company, so it’s going to be hard to win,’’ he said. “I’m used to running out of any lane at this point, so I’m just going to try my hardest.’’

Find out what's happening in Wallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Maliff ran a personal-best 54.21 in the 400 hurdles to win the Shore Conference title despite entering as the fourth seed. That time is the fourth-fastest this season of any runner in Group III, so he will have to improve on his best race to date to have a shot at placing high.

Timber Creek’s Donnie House ran a 53.50 last week in the South Jersey Group III meet and enters as the favorite over Old Tappan’s Brandon Gregory, whose top time during the outdoor season is 53.71.

Find out what's happening in Wallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Maliff ran a 55.24 to win the sectional meet this past weekend but was running more to finish first than for a specific time because of the searing heat. On Friday, he will be focused on trying to run his first sub-54-second time of his career in an event that he only starting running seriously as a junior.

The goal is to earn a second straight trip to next week’s NJSIAA Meet of Champions, where he placed 17th as a junior. Maliff grew up primarily running the 1,600 meters before high school and then shifted over to the 800-meter race and the 400 hurdles to take advantage of his speed and long strides.

“I peaked at a young age in the mile (1,600), and I kind of got sick and tired of it,’’ he said. “My dad said that the 400 hurdles would be a perfect race for me because I have a long stride and I’m athletic enough to get over the hurdles quickly.’’

Last season, he relied primarily on that athleticism because he was so raw in the event, but feels that this season he is much improved.

“I’ve been working a lot on my hurdling technique,’’ he said. “I feel a lot cleaner with that, which saves time going over the hurdles. Last year was my first year, so it was more speed and talent, not the technical aspects of the race.’’

Maliff will also essentially be doing it alone, as he is the only male track athlete from Wall to qualify for the Group III championships, so none of his teammates will be competing at the meet. Only a pair of throwers from the girls side will be in attendance on Friday along with his coaches.

“I'm used to it,’’ he said. “I've always put the team first, and I ran in every dual meet that we had and never took a day off, but this is the time that it’s an individual sport. I’ve always been used to being independent for track because we haven’t had really strong teams.’’

The 400 hurdles and the 800 have also allowed Maliff to continue his track career at a high level, as he is headed to the University of Maryland. He hopes to cap his high school career by earning a high finish at the Meet of Champions in a state that routinely produces some of the top times in the nation.

“Last year my focus was on just making it to the Meet of Champions,’’ Maliff said. “Even if you’re a sectional winner, you can still not be ranked that high because New Jersey is so talented. I would like to be the best in the state, but if I’m close, then I’m good with that.’’  

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?