The results are locked and the winners have been chosen by you! Below lists the boys and girls Athletes of the Season voted on for a weeks time between the best of their peers. The top athletes poll was chosen after full NJTough "All-Star" teams were chosen. You can view the full teams by clicking on the appropriate article buttons below.
With a whopping 53% of the votes Olivia Baker of Columbia HS wins the Athlete of the Season Honors after being chosen by her fans and peers!
Top 3 Vote Winners:
1. Olivia Baker - 53.64%
2. Josette Norris - 17.23%
3. Keturah Orji - 15.05% Other finalists - Morgan Harvey, Jess Woodard.
Great timing too, since just yesterday she finished 2nd at World Youth Championships in Ukraine representing Team USA in the 400m!
"What can you say, seeing her name on repeat in this article so far is exactly what you hear when the fantastic announcer Reuben Frank is reading results over the PA system "Olivia Baker, Olivia Baker, OLIVIA BAKER". At the New Jersey Meet of Champions she won the 100m, 200m, 400m, and was part of the winning 4x400m winning team! She quadrupled her way through sectionals, and groups to get there, which included 800m victories at Sectionals and Groups.
At Penn Relays she put on one of the most amazing shows on the oval I've seen, the ability to reel in another runner like this is a rare thing (Proceed to video below then return to reading after shock and amazement). So she is your sprinter of the season, if I was putting together a team and was looking for the best to fill the events, even quadrupling Baker has shown she has the stuff to win and win consistently. Doesn't hurt that she is a great individual off the track as well."
Full NJTough Girls Team List and Honors - Full Article Olivia Baker - 100m, 200m, 400m, Top Sprinter, Athlete of Season Morgan Harvey - 100m Hurdles, Top Hurdler Madison Holleran - 800m Josette Norris - 1600m, Top Distance Runner Sarah Disanza - 3200m Jess Woodard - Shot Put, Discus, Top Thrower Lisa Sesink-Clee - Javelin Noel Jancewicz - High Jump Keturah Orji - Long Jump, Triple Jump, Top Jumper Katlyn Rymarzow - Pole Vault Winlsow Twp 4x100m Relay Team Columbia 4x400m Relay Team - Top Relay Columbia 4x800m Relay Team
With 24% of the votes Ben Malone of Pascack Valley HS wins the people's choice for Boys Athlete of the Season!
Top 3 Vote Winners:
1. Ben Malone - 24.26%
2. Zyaire Clemes - 21.30%
3. Isaac Clark - 20.41% Other finalists - Jabrill Peppers, Dylan Capwell, Braheme Days Jr., Dominique Irons.
Write ups from the first Boys NJTough Team Article: "Ben Malone didn't take part in the awesome spectacle that was the NJSIAA State Meet Tournament, but that didn't stop him from running amazing times. He is NJ#2 and US#6 with a converted 1600m time of 4:04.17 from the 4:05.59 mile time he ran at Penn Relays placing second. He took down one of the best distance runners in state history Edward Cheserek at Glenn D. Loucks Games winning with a meet record 4:09.73 in the mile. Consistently hitting under 4 minutes 10 seconds in the mile all season, Malone will be attending Villanova University next fall."
"He didn't race too often this season, but the quality of the performances and the range this runner has in events pushed him to the top. It took me the longest to choose this award between Isaac Clark and Malone. Clark had an amazing year individually and helping his team's 4x800m relay to amazing times. Malone didn't go after the 800m this season, but still pumped out a NJ#10 time of 1:52.80 at the Bergen Co Meet of Champs, he is NJ#2 and US#6 in the converted 1600m, ranks NJ#22 in the 400m with a 48.94. He set the state record in the 1500m run this season clocking in a 3:46.97 US#2 (which would convert to a 4:05.06 for the full mille!). So he picked and chose his races, went after the mile, and performed well all season. I wish, as I'm sure other track fans do as well, that he ran in the state meets so I could see him tear it up with the other fine performances we saw from the rest of NJ into early June but that's past now. Good luck to you Ben Malone at Villanova next fall, we'll be keeping tabs on your career."
Ben Malone competing in the record breaking 1500m
Full NJTough Boys Team List and Honors - Full Article Jabrill Peppers - 100m, 200m Zyaire Clemes - 400m, Top Sprinter Sydney Scruggs - 110m Hurdles Dylan Capwell - 400m Hurdles, Top Hurdler Isaac Clark - 800m Ben Malone - 1600m, Top Distance Runner, Athlete of Season Kyle Levermore - 3200m Braheme Days Jr. - Shot Put, Top Thrower James Plummer - Discus Chris Mirabelli - Javelin David Njoku - High Jump Antwan Dickerson - Long Jump Dominique Irons - Triple Jump, Top Jumper Craig Hunter - Pole Vault Timber Creek 4x100m Relay Team Union Catholic 4x400m Relay Team, Top Relay Pleasantville 4x800m Relay Team
