A year ago, Daniris Calcano was an unsure junior on the Kearny High School track and field team, still trying to get comfortable being a hurdler after suffering a horrific fall as a sophomore, severely breaking her wrist.
At the same time, Maria Laverde was attending school in Queens, not knowing what her future held.
Today, the two are very close friends on the Kearny track team, but more importantly, they are both Hudson County Track Coaches Association indoor track champions.
Last week at the New York Armory in Harlem, Calcano and Laverde were crowned as Hudson County champions in their respective events _ Calcano in the 55-meter hurdles and Laverde in the 3,200-meter run.
It marked the second time in the history of the HCTCA Indoor Championships, dating back to 1981, that Kearny had two different county champions in the same meet.
Kearny has had its share of champions in the past, including some like Liz Duarte (1986, 1987 and 1989) who have won three county championships in two events. Duarte won both the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs in those aforementioned years.
But only back in 1984, when Laura Wronski won gold in both the 400 and 800-meter runs and June Sisenis in the 1,600-meter run, had Kearny crowned two county champs in the same meet.
So history was made last week.
Calcano became the first Kearny hurdler since Haley Durning won two consecutive titles in 2012 and 2013. Durning was also the county champ in the high jump in her senior season of 2013.
Laverde continued a long line of champion distance runners and was the first to capture gold since Cayleigh Solano won the 1,600-meter run in 2011. Solano won both the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs in 2010.
Other Kardinal county distance champs include Uloopi Desai (1988), Annmarie Richard (1991 and 1992), Denise Arocho (2005 and 2006) and Dariza Betances (2008), so Laverde falls into line with those all-time Kardinal greats.
So it was a memorable day for the two current Kardinal standouts.
“Winning the county championship is something we value very high,” said Kearny head track and field coach Al Perez. “Once you’re crowned the county champion, it’s always going to be there. No one can take it away.”
Calcano first became a hurdler as a freshman at the encouragement of current Kearny athletic director Vin Almeida, then an assistant track coach.
“I never say I can’t do anything,” Calcano said. “I’m always open to try new things. But it was something that I needed to practice. I was a sprinter before that and I still do those events. Being honest, being a hurdler is not easy to do. But after a while, it came naturally.”
However, while practicing before a meet as a sophomore, Calcano suffered a serious fall, fracturing her wrist and ending her season.
“I never thought I’d be good at the hurdles ever again,” Calcano said. “I never saw myself as being a county champ. I never thought I could achieve anything. But once I broke my wrist, it inspired me.”
Calcano surprised herself by winning the 55-meter hurdles in 8.98 seconds.
“It was the first time I broke nine seconds,” Calcano said. “I felt good coming into the meet. I took it easy in the trials and then in the finals, it just felt like a practice. I felt real good.”
A week later, Calcano broke Durning’s school record in the event, clocking 8.85 at the New York Invitational in Staten Island.
Calcano comes from a single family background. Her mother, Ana Gomez, raised three daughters alone. There’s older sister Liyeira, who attends Rutgers-Newark and little sister Milan Olivo, who is four years old, but wants to become a track star like her older sister.
“When I run, it makes me forget about other stuff,” said Calcano, who hopes to major in biology in college and study pre-med to eventually become an orthopedic doctor.
Calcano has to train mostly outdoors, so she has to set up the hurdles on the school’s main track despite the wicked winter weather.
“I love it,” Calcano said. “I love the winter. It doesn’t bother me. It’s become a routine now. Every Monday and Wednesday, we hurdle. I’ve gotten used to it. This is a rewarding feeling.”
Calcano and Laverde have become very close buddies on the track team.
“When I first met her, I knew that she was someone special,” Calcano said. “I knew she was a good athlete.”
“When she won, I think that motivated me,” said Laverde, who was second in the HCTCA cross country championships last fall. “She pushes me a lot. I learn a lot from her. She makes me work hard.”
Laverde was taking on rival Weeshamar Senatus of Hudson Catholic, the same girl who defeated Laverde in the cross country championships last October.
“I wanted to finish ahead of Weeshamar,” Laverde said. “I wanted that. I wanted to finish first. I went out pretty slow. I was fourth or fifth after the first four laps. But I saw her ahead of me.”
At that point, the impromptu coach took over. Calcano, already holding her county champion gold medal, ran to the track infield at the New York Armory to coach Laverde home.
“She was screaming at me,” Laverde said. “She told me I had to close the gap. I only hear Daniris and (Coach) Perez when I run. About the 10th lap, I saw Weeshamar and then I passed her.”
The drama wasn’t over, as Senatus regained the lead from Laverde, only to get it back from the reigning county champ with only two laps to go.
“In the final lap, I heard Daniris again, telling me that Weeshamar was catching up,” Laverde said. “I then saw Weeshamar’s white jersey shining right next to me. I then had to give it my all. She almost got me, but I wasn’t going to let her beat me. Daniris pushed me home. That last sprint happened because of her.”
Laverde crossed the finish line in 11:41.44, just a hair ahead of Senatus.
“It was really cool to beat her,” Laverde said. “She gives me good competition. She makes me work hard. I respect her a lot and respect that she came up to me after the race to congratulate me.”
And now the two friends are county champs together.
“Daniris always makes it a point of finding out when Maria runs,” Perez said. “It’s great that Maria has someone to model herself after.”
“She told me we could do this,” Calcano said of Laverde. “She said she had a plan for us. It’s a major accomplishment for us, to be honest.”
“Daniris deserves this,” Laverde said. “She works hard. It’s really nice to have two county champs at the school in two totally different events. (Coach) Perez kept running back and forth to the different events.
“We help each other,” Calcano said. “We had that connection. It helps us both at the end of the day.”
And Kearny has two county champions.
“It’s very promising,” Perez said. “Maria wasn’t even in the picture before this year and I didn’t know what to expect from Daniris. They fulfilled all expectations. They have such a mutual respect for each other.”
CAPTION
Senior Daniris Calcano (left) and freshman Maria Laverde (right) were crowned champions at the recent Hudson County Track Coaches Association meet at the New York Armory. It was the first time Kearny had two different county champions in the same meet since 1984. Photo by Jim Hague
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”