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Plenty of sparks were flying in the sprints, and two of the best jumpers in the state clashed at the 33rd Blue Devil Classic on Saturday at Gary Stadium in Westfield.
Piscataway made a big statement by winning the 4x100 in 42.56, the fourth fastest time in the state, and placing second in the 4x400 and second in the 4x400 in 3:26.1, and third in the 4x200 in a NJ No. 7 1:29.70.
Junior Deshaun Stephens, senior Dallas Jones, junior Xavien Dukes, and sophomore Noah Grant shared the baton for Piscataway in both the 4x100 and 4x200.
St. Peter's Prep had a huge meet as well.
In the shuttle hurdles, St. Peter's was facing a huge deficit after the first two legs, but then sophomore Corey Greenfield and senior Chad Trammell went to work. Greenfield cut the deficit in half, and then Trammell passed Piscataway just before the finish line, stopping the clock at 62.46, a new school record, to give the Marauders the victory.
Greenfield also ran 57.26 in the 400 hurdles to help St. Peter's win that event, and St. Peter's Prep, with junior Del Lindsay blasting a 48.4 anchor, won the 4x400 in 3:23.58, and took second in the 4x200 in a NJ No. 8 1:29.77.
Rancocas Valley, using three freshmen and a senior, led three teams under 1:30 in the 4x200 with a NJ No. 5 1:29.49. St. Peter's Prep was second in a NJ No. 7 1:29.66, and Piscataway was third in a NJ No. 8 1:29.70.
Linden also made its presence felt with senior Rabae Smith winning the 400 in a PR of 49.24, No. 5 in the state, and junior Kerdel Moses running a a meet best and NJ No. 9 56.62 in the 400 hurdles. Smith cleared 6-6 indoors in the high jump to win the Group 4 high jump title.
Westfield prepared itself for Thursdays DMR at the Penn Relays by finishing 1-2 in the DMR in 10:39.20 and 10:42.00. Westfield used the race to get senior Liam Maurillo, who has never run a 1200 before, ready for the 1,200 leg at the Penn Relays. So Maurillo was matched up against teammate Avery Keith, who made sure the pace was honest in an attempt to simulate the race at the Penn Relays.
Maurillo looked very strong, running 3:08 and change and handing off slightly ahead of Keith, who split 3:09 low. Keith will anchor the DMR for the Blue Devils at Penn.
Senior Ryan Cichocki of Union Catholic wasn't very happy after he ran 4:27.22 in the 1,600 last week at the East Brunswick Invitational. He knew he was capable of running much faster, so this time he pushed himself to stay right near the front the whole way and then unleashed a 61.5 final 400 to win the Jack Martin Mile with a big PR of 4:17.95. George Andrus of Haddonfield was second in 4:19.36.
The Jack Martin Mile is named after the legendary retired Westfield T&F and XC coach, who was one of the state's most successful coaches during his long run at the helm for the Blue Devils. Fittingly, Martin (pictured above) fired the starters pistol for the race named in his honor!
Sophomore Noah Cooper of Union Catholic and senior Damarion Potts of South Brunswick, two of the state's best jumpers, put on a great show in the field.
Cooper, who was second to Potts in the long jump on a tiebreaker at the Indoor Meet of Champions, avenged that defeat when he soared 22-10.50 to take over the state lead.
Potts of South Brunswick, who also won the high jump at the Indoor Meet of Champions, went 22-7 in the long jump and soared a NJ No. 2 46-1 in the triple jump. The 22-7 by Potts helped South Brunswick break the meet record in the team long jump with a combined 62-2. The former record of 61-9.25 was set last year by Union Catholic.
Brian Butler NJ, a junior at Piscataway, continued his breakout season in the high jump by clearing a personal best and NJ No. 3 tying 6-6. Butler, who came into the season with a PR of 6-2, keeps getting better every week. Could he become the third jumper to make 6-8 this season? The sky is the limit!