By ELLIOTT DENMAN

   The Franklin Township, NJ track and field story is long and lustrous.

   The list of the Garden State’s record-breakers and major achievers includes Franklin athletes such as Carlos Roberts, Clark Waddell, Clayton Gravesande, Jerry Young, Clinton Bell, Hanif Kendrick, Muna Onyejiaka, Tony Bolden, Tarick Brooks, Jennifer Wade, Jocelyn Harris, Jenna Harris, Toneisha Friday, Symone O’Connor, Coryn Gomez and Angela Lee. The very first NJ State Meet of Champions cross country winner – back in 1972 – was Franklin’s Harry Kronick. 

   Perhaps the most notable athletes would be twin brothers Jeff and Joe Porter. Jeff hurdled his way to an NCAA championship at Michigan and the 2012 London Olympic Games, running on the world pro circuit for years.  Joe stayed closer to home, attending Rutgers, before excelling as a NFL player for nearly a decade. 

   They’re all illustrious Warriors, assured of their places in the Franklin archives.

   Then again, Mario Heslop, the latest in the long line of notables, may be destined to surpass them all.

   Armory fans can surely offer expert testimony.

  The 2018 edition of the Eastern States Championships at the Armory saw Heslop sprint off with both the 55m (6.26) and 200m (21.09) titles in decisive fashion. A year later this past Tuesday, Heslop was back to do it all over again.

   This was the 85^th edition of the historic Eastern States meet, and Heslop was back to make some major history of his own.

   Just as he’d done in 2018, Heslop took both races, making him the only athlete in the building, male or female, to go home with two individual gold medals. In the span of four hours, Heslop took to the oval five times including preliminary heats, and was never beaten. He claimed the 55m and 200m titles in times of 6.35 and 21.11, trouncing second place in both events. James Bivins (Donavan Catholic) was second in the 55m (6.46), and Jessie Parson (New Rochelle) took runner-up in the 200m (21.91

.  Heslop took it all in stride, in typically modest fashion.

  “No, I guess not, I think I’ve been in about 12,” he said when asked if he had lost a race this season.  “But I hadn’t even thought about that.”

     Well, what’s next?

     “I’ll be in the MOC (New Jersey Meet of Champions) this weekend in Toms River (as defending champion in the 200), and then I’ll be back at the Armory for New Balance Nationals Indoor (March 8-10) to do the 55-200 double, again. My coach (Dashaun Gourdine) thinks I can

break 21 on this track, it’s that fast; he was really screaming for me on the backstretch today.”

    Heslop has also dabbled in football, but only through his middle school days.  Now he’s fully committed to the track, where leading collegiate suitors include LSU, Rutgers and Ohio State. Heslop hopes to eventually compete at the professional level and run at the Olympics.

  Franklin coach Gourdine has full faith in Heslop’s ability to get it done.

  “Athletes like Mario Heslop come around once in a lifetime,” he said.