Day 1 Results | Videos | Photos | Live Updates
Union County's finest, feeding off an energetic crowd and competing under ideal conditions, put on a sizzling show on the opening day of of the 77th Union County Relays on Thursday at Gary Kehler Stadium in Westfield.
The electricity in the air that has been missing at meets for so long was back in full force, and it certainly fueled the athletes and relay squads, who threw down some of the greatest performances in meet history and dropped several NJ#1 times!
Let's take a look at some of the highlights -
The UC boys dropped the first big bomb of the meet by hammering out a 10:23.92 in the DMR, that's No. 2 all-time in meet history, No. 1 in NJ this season, and No. 11 in the U.S. Junior Myles Plummer led off with a 3:04.9 carry to open a big gap, and junior Shane Brosnan closed it out with a 4:18.1 anchor. They will be back to run the 4x1,600 on Friday.
In the most anticipated races of the day, the UC girls, with first-year runner and sophomore Kaleigh Gunsiorowski anchoring in 2:17.1, came from behind to win the girls SMR in a NJ#1 and US#5 4:08.12, the seventh fastest time in meet history. Gunsiorowski certainly doesn't run like someone who ran the first race of her career just two weeks ago. She showed great race tactics and savvy as she timed her decisive move just right.
Westfield, with Duke-bound Katie Hamilton anchoring in 2:13.5, was second in a US#7 4:09.62, and Scotch Plains-Fanwood was third in a US#8 4:10.22. State 400m leader Julia Jackson split 54.8 on the quarter leg for SPF.
The Union girls made a big statement with its red hot 47.94 victory in the 4x100 as the top three teams ran the three fastest times in the state this season, and all cracked the top 10 in meet history.
Junior Leyila Fadael, senior Joy Enaohwo, sophomore Sierra Latonnel, and senior Azariah Grantham shared the baton for Union, whose 47.94 is No. 4 in meet history. Scotch Plains-Fanwood, which came in as the state leader with a 48.59, was second in 48.39 (No. 6 in meet history), and Union Catholic was third in 48.59 (No. 9 in meet history).
That same foursome for Union will be coming back in the 4x200 on Friday, and they said they are going under 1:40!!! Look out for the Farmers-they are bringing the heat.
The biggest comeback victory came in the boys SMR when junior Charlie Stock blasted a 1:55.4 anchor to come from 40 meters behind to to give the Blue Devils the win in a NJ#1 and US#7 3:34.26. Elizabeth was second in 3:36.12. That capped a huge day for Stock, who split 4:21.5 earlier in the meet when he rallied to give Westfield a runner-up finish in the DMR.
Elizabeth, seeking its first title since 2004, won the 4x100 in a NJ#2 43.29. Antonio Roopchand ran a big anchor leg for the Minutemen, and then he came back and ran 49.8 on the runner-up SMR.
In the team competition, Westfield, chasing its first boys title since 2016, holds a 48-41.33 lead over Elizabeth. Union is third with 32, and Union Catholic, which has won the last three titles, is fourth with 24.
On the girls, side, Union Catholic is in command with 58 points as the Vikings pursue a sixth straight title. Scotch Plains-Fanwood is second with 40, Westfield is third with 35, and Union is fourth with 26
The second and final day of competition is scheduled to start on Friday at 4:30 p.m. NJ MileSplit will be trackside once again to provide coverage.
