NJSIAA Group 1 & 4 State Championships Highlights

Group 1 State Champions

GROUP 4

BOYS HIGHLIGHTS

Westfield won a wild one over Union County rival Union to repeat as champion, Akshay Vadul of Edison hammered out a fast distance double, Gabriel Rodriguez was spectacular for Union, and Washington's Yashahya Brown burned a hot time in the hurdles in a meet loaded with great performances. 

Let's start with the thrilling finish.

Heading into the 4x400 relay, the final event, Westfield held a 32-24 lead over Union.

In order to overtake Westfield and win the title outright, Union had to win the race and have Westfield not place in the top six. Union could also earn a tie for title by placing second and having Westfield not place in the top six.

Westfield, which got a slow seed time because of a fall in the sectional race, had to run in the first of the four heats while Union was in the seeded heat. 

Westfield won its heat in 3:29.71 and then had to anxiously watch the remaining three heats to see if they did enough to score.

In the seeded heat, Union (3:29.28) was second behind Toms River North (3:24.85) to place second in the event to earn eight points. Westfield erupted in euphoria when they saw the live results of the race pop up on their phones, which showed it placed fifth for two points to edge Union, 34-32.

Westfield's relay team consisted of Emanuel Gayanilo (53.5), Ryan Daly (53.0), Jonathan Scalia (51.7), and Joe Pierro (51.2).

Joe Pierro, who didn't run the 4x400 at sectionals, was inserted back into the lineup and came through with a clutch anchor carry. 

All of Westfield's other points came in the distance races as multiple runners ran PR's!

Junior Avery Keith had a sensational double, finishing second in the 1,600 (a big PR of 4:15.87) and the 3,200 (9:20.77). In the 800, Scalia (1:57.67) and Liam Maurillo (a PR off 1:58.50) finished 3-4. Scalia, who got bumped to the back of the pack at the start, worked hard to move up and then exploded past three runners with about 100 meters to go to get third. Westfield's Tage Mehta (a PR of 4:17.19) and Ryan Daly (a PR of 4:18.73).

This team championship was especially sweet for Mehta and Pierro, who have battled through lots of injuries and adversity during their careers. These guys epitomize grit and resilience

Mehta, a junior, tore his ACL in May of 2021, and missed the entire XC and indoors seasons as a sophomore before coming back last spring and running 4:20. Pierro, a senior, only ran three races last winter because of a hamstring injury, and then he missed the entire outdoor season with a lumbar stress fracture in his back. What comeback by Mehta and Pierro!!!          

One of the top performers of the whole weekend was the Georgetown-bound Vadul.

Vadul won a pair of classic battles with Keith by running 4:14.15, which is NJ No. 4  in the 1,600, and 9:18.34 in the 3,200. Vadul's 4:14.15 was the fastest time of all the Group Championships meets combined. 

The Rutgers-bound Rodriguez, poured everything he had onto the track to try to lead Union to the team title. He won the 800 in 1:57.17, placed second in the 400, and then split 49.1 as the anchor in the 4x400!! Rodriguez is the state leader in the 800 with a 1:53.30.  

Brown, a junior at Washington, earned the top seed in the hurdles for the Meet of Champions by running 7.37, just off his PR of 7.36, which is US No. 5 this season. It should be one heckuva battle between Brown and Nate Rayan of Scotch Plains-Fanwood at the M of C. Rayan is US No. 2 with a 7.30.       

Junior Jason Meza of Morristown, the state leader in the 400 with a Morris County record 48.20, won the two-lapper in 49.78. Meza won the state Group 4 400 hurdle race last spring. 

Senior R.J Smith of Linden, competing indoors for the first time this season, made a PR of 6-6 to win the high jump.

Group 4 Champions

GIRLS HIGHLIGHTS

Piscataway, behind star Brooke'Lyn Drakeford, broke through to win its first title, Jessica Oji launched a massive bomb in the shot put, and Emma Zawatski won two titles in a meet loaded with electrifying

Drakeford, the state leader in the 400 with a 56.51, had a hand in 30 of Piscataway's 36 points to spark the Chiefs to a six-point win over runner-up Eastern. The University of Virginia- Drakeford, who is headed to the University of Virginia, won the 400 in 57.28, the fastest time of all the Group Championships combined, placed second in the hurdles in a PR and NJ No. 7 time of 8.27, fourth in the dash in 7.34, and anchored the runner-up 4x400 relay. Drakeford, the Meet of Champions winner in the 400 hurdles last June, is favored to win the 400 at the M of C on Match 5 at Ocean Breeze.

Piscataway's remaining six points were scored by senior Enobong George, third in the 55 dash with a PR of 7.32.

The most earth-shattering moment of the entire weekend came when Oji, a sophomore at Livingston, sent the 8.8-pound shot put soaring 47-2.25 on her final throw of the trials!!! That's not only the No. 1 throw in the state this season, it's also No. 3 in the nation this season, No. 2 in state history for a sophomore, No. 6 in US history for a sophomore, and No. 12 in NJ history.

Alyssa Wilson of Donovan Catholic, the greatest thrower in state history, is the only girl in NJ history who has thrown further indoors as a sophomore than Oji. Wilson set the state sophomore record of 48-6.50 in 2015. In case your wondering, the national sophomore record is 51-5, set by Becky O'Brien of Greely High in Maine in 2008.

Oji, who previous best was the 43-4.50 she threw to win the North Jersey, Section 1 title, has come a long way since throwing a season-best of 41-7 last spring. The reason? She started spinning this season, and she has become more and more comfortable with the new technique.

Zawatski, the state leader in both the 800 (2:13.12) and the mile (4:48.71) won both of those races with times of 2:16.92 and 4:50.26. The 4:50.26 represents the top time from all the group meets.

Zawatski, who has won Meet of Champions titles in the 1,600 last spring and in cross-country this past fall, will be favored to add an indoor M of C title to her resume in whichever race she chooses.

Julia Scrudato of Montgomery, Quaycian Davis of East Orange, Samantha Strydesky of Howell, and Cynthia Boakye of Elizabeth, also provided big highlights.

Scrudato, a junior, placed second in the 1,600 with an indoor PR in 4:54.89, and came back to win her first state title by running 10:49.02.

Davis, a senior, ran a PR of 8.07 to win the hurdles and move up to No. 3 in the state rankings this season.

Strydesky, who won the high jump at the Meet of Champions as a junior last spring, cleared 5-6 to win her second straight HJ title.

Boakye, a senior, smashed Elizabeth's school record by dropping her PR all the way down to 7.16 to win the 55 dash, the No. 6 time in the state this season. Her previous best was 7.26.   

Group 4 Champions