The Elizabeth girls, and the Westfield and Dayton boys all captured titles at the NJSIAA Sectional Track and Field Championships this past weekend,.
At the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 meet at Ridge, the Elizabeth girls won its first title since 2003, and Westfield captured its first championship since 1978, and at the Central Jersey, Group 1 Championships, the Dayton boys won its second straight title.
Senior Colin Riley and sophomore Matthew Ware led the charge for the Dayton boys, finishing 1-2 in both 3,200 and 1,600 meters to lead the Union County school.
Riley turned in a 9:40.60 in winning the 3,200 with Ware running 9:55.72 to take second place on Friday night. The duo returned to the track on Saturday for a repeat effort in the 1,600. Riley sped to first in 4:28.81 with Ware finishing in 4:40.55. Riley’s 9:07.07 he turned in at the Colts Neck Spring Invitational is fourth in the state this year.
Dayton also received a boost from its relay teams, all of which earned the Springfield school points, and from 400hurdler Alex Jean-Baptiste, who took second in a personal best 57.81, fourth best in school history.
“We scored in a lot in of different events,” Dayton coach Matt Van Deursen said. “Everyone stepped up.”
At North Jersey, Section 2 at Ridge, Elizabeth, led by its strength in the sprints and jumps, put on a compelling performance as it scored 112 points to top second-place Hunterdon Central (58) and third-place Piscataway (49).
The title is the Lady Minutemen’s first since 2003.
The girls started off the meet with a strong win in the 4×100, finishing in 47.54, good for N.J. No. 3.
The team was led by none other than Cynthia Boakye, who should be a household name at this point in the season.
Boakye captured the 100 title on Day 1, posting an N.J. No. 1 time with a 11.78 in the prelims, finishing with a 11.85 in the finals. She came back for Day 2 to win the 200 (24.11) and the 400 (54.79), resetting her state lead in the 400.
Maisha Valme also tripled up in the meet sweeping the jumps with an 18-7 in the long, a 5-2 in the high and a 38-11½ in the triple. Her mark in the triple jump also becomes N.J. No. 5.
Valme also spoke about her team locking up their first title in 20 years.
“We’re usually the forgotten ones once it gets to the postseason,” Valme said. “This time, we all showed our hard work, we have good runners, good jumpers and I’m just so happy we got the win because I feel like we deserve it, we finally got the chance to really show who we are.”
The title is just Elizabeth’s second in school history.
In the boys, NJ, Sec. 2 Group 4 competition, the Westfield boys ended a 45-year title drought.
After trailing Elizabeth after Day 1, the Blue Devils had a big comeback on Day 2 to capture the title, scoring points with Piscataway jumping up to finish second and Elizabeth coming in third.
“That’s been on our mind for a long time,” said Coach Chris Tafelski. “There’s been a number of head coaches that have tried to put a dent in that, you wonder if there’s a curse or something,” joked Tafelski.
The team picked up a win in one of its best events, the 4×800, finishing in 7:57.55. The time becomes N.J. No. 6 this season.
Individually, Westfield had a thorough, balanced attack throughout the meet as it had wins on both the track and the field.
Joseph Pierro carried the team in the sprints, including a win in the 200 as he came across the line in 22.01. He also finished second in the 100. In the distance, Joseph Scalia captured a big win in the 800 on Day 1, finishing in 1:55.80.
Westfield was dominant in the throws, taking two out of three. Finn Mindak captured the discus title with a 159-1 and Mason Marino won the javelin after tossing a 159-0.
