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Union Catholic captured seven titles, Lindsay Hausman turned in a sparkling distance double, Westfield swept the boys 3200-meter run, and Julia Jackson smashed a record at the Union County Track and Field Championships this past weekend.
Senior Braden Stryker of Westfield and junior Jada Mia Puryear of Union Catholic got things started at Saturday's shot put competition in Elizabeth.
Stryker led a 1-2-4 finish for the Blue Devils in the boys shot put with a winning bomb of 55-8, No. 3 in school history and No. 5 in the state this season.. Stryker surpassed his previous PR of 53-10 by nearly two feet.
Puryear won the girls shot put by unloading a throw of 38-5. Puryear is the UC school record holder with the NJ No. 4 39-2 she threw earlier this season.
Then on Sunday at the Bennett Center in Toms River, Union Catholic grabbed six of the 10 track titles (four boys and two girls).
On the boys side, UC juniors Nick Givan, Myles Plummer and Shane Brosnan, and senior Connor Cooper led the charge for the Vikings. Givan won the 55-meter hurdles in a personal best 8.01, No. 7 in the state this season. Plummer, No. 2 in the state in the 800 with a 1:55.79, won the half-mile for the second straight year in 1:58.79. Brosnan ran a personal best 4:23.06 to win the 1600m, and Cooper captured the 400 in 52.64.
The two victories for the UC girls came from senior Morgan Williams, and sophomore Ajanae Thompson. Williams ran 2:19.88 to win the 800, and Thompson led a 1-2-3 finish for UC in the 55 hurdles with a winning time of 8.58, the second fastest time in the state this season. Thompson also placed fourth in the 55 dash in 7.40. Thompson's 7.35 in the dash trials is No. 5 in the state.
One of the top performers of the meet was Hausman, a sophomore at Kent Place. She won the 3200m in 11:13.24, and placed second in the 1600m with a big PR of 5:01.6, the fifth fastest time in the state this season. In the 1600m, Hausman was edged by Duke-bound Katie Hamilton of Westfield, who ran a NJ No. 3 5:00.69. Hamilton won the 1600m at the indoor Meet of Champions last year.
In the girls 400, Jackson, a junior at Scotch Plains-Fanwood, blasted a 57.15 to break her own school record of 58.14, and move into No. 3 in the state's 400m rankings this season.
Westfield put together an impressive 1-2-3 in the boys 3200m as senior Will McGlynn led the charge with a PR of 9:44.28 to win the race.
In the sprints, senior Joy Enaohwo of Union won the girls 55m for the second straight year in 7.32, just off her NJ No. 3 7.31, and junior Greg McQueen of Elizabeth, second last year, matched his season best time of 6.74 to capture the boys dash.