The Scotch Plains-Fanwood and New Providence girls, and the the Elizabeth and Dayton boys all captured NJSIAA Sectional Track and Field Championships this past Saturday.
At the North Jersey, Sec. 2 Groups 1-4 meet at Ridge high School, the Elizabeth boys and Scotch Plains-Fanwood girls captured the Group 4 Championships.
In the boys competition, Elizabeth scored in 14 of the 18 events and defeated runner-up and Union County rival Westfield, 93-84. It’s the first title for Elizabeth since 2019 and its 14th overall. Elizabeth was led by sprint star Greg McQueen and distance star Lucas Reguinho. McQueen ran on the winning 4×100, won the 200 in,22.13, placed second in the 400 in 48.04, and was fourth in the 100. Reguinho was third in both the 3,200 (9:13.57) and the 1,600 (4:19.00).
On the girls side, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, led by quadruple winner Julia Jackson, rolled to 104-78 victory over Ridge. It’s the first title in Group 4 for SPF, and its first championship since 2002. SPF won four titles in Group 3, so the Raiders have now won a total of 5 sectional titles.
Jackson was her usual scintillating self. The Duke-bound sprint star won the 100 on Friday in 12.19, then on Saturday she burned a N.J. Sec. 2 record (all Groups combined) in the 400 with a 53.69 to lead a 1-2-3 finish for the Raiders. Jackson later won the 200 in 24.82, and then split 53.24 as the anchor on the winning 4×400 (3:51.16). Jackson 53.69 broke the sectional record of 53.74 that all-time great Oliva Baker of Columbia ran in 2014.
At the North Jersey, Section 2, Groups 2-3 meet at Randolph, the New Providence girls outpointed Lyndhurst, 104-77, to win its first championship since 2018 and its 15th title overall.
Leading the way for the Pioneers were a pair of freshmen distance runners, Madeleine Merrick and Miranda Bournique.
Merrick won the 1,600 and was third in the 800, and Bournique placed seocnd in the 800, second in the 3,200, and sixth in the 1,600. Seniors Sabrina Boyle and Kalina Kornacki also came up big for New Providence. Boyle led a 1-2-3 finish for the Pioneers by clearing a personal best 10-0 to finish first, and Kornacki placed second in the discus and fifth in the javelin.
At the Central Jersey, Group 1 meet at Howell, Dayton dominated the competition, rolling to a 105-59 victory over Florence. It’s the 7th overall title for Dayton and its first since 1992.
A total of nine athletes scored for the Bulldogs, who were led by triple-winner Colin Rley.
Riley, a junior, won the 800 in 2:00.28, the 1,600 in 4:21.99, and the 3,200 in 9:27.33. Dayton also received a victory from senior Marlon Villalobos, who win the 400 in 51.60.
