Seton Hall Prep repeated as champion, the Montclair girls recaptured their title, and Livingston's Jessica Oji launched another massive throw at the Essex County Relays on Friday night in Livingston.
In the boys competition, Seton Hall Prep dominated on the track as expected by winning four won events, and also picked up victories in the shot put and high jump on the way to a 98-68 victory over a very strong Livingston squad.
Seton Hall Prep won the 4x100 in 41.93, the second fastest time in the state this season (Bergen Catholic has gone 41.78), the 4x200 in 1:28.84, the 4x400 in 3:17.34 (minus two of their regulars), and captured the SMR in 3:36.38.
Xavier Donaldson, Ryan Matulonis, and Jaylen McClain all each ran on the winning 4x100, 4x200, and 4x400 for Seton Hall Prep. Donaldson was his splendid self for the Pirates, anchoring the 4x100, and splitting 47.1 as the anchor on the 400, and running 20.8 as the second leg in the 4x200.
On the girls side, Montclair edged defending champion Livingston, 89-84, and Oji sent the shot put soaring 46-1 to reset her NJ No. 1 throw.
Montclair did most of its damage on the track, winning five of the nine events and placing in two other events on the oval to rack up 66 of its 89 points.
The Mounties won the 4x100 in 49.58, the 4x200 in 1:44.39, the 4x1,600 in 23:25.02, the SMR in 4:17.88, the 4x800 in 9:54.96. Montclair also scored well in the horizontal jumps, winning the long jump, and placing third in the triple jump.
Sophomore Kennedy White led the charge for the Mounties in the field with a meet-best leap and huge PR of 17-7, and she went 34-6 in the triple jump, the third best mark of the competition. White's previous best in the long jump was 15-10.
BOMBS AWAY
The individual highlight in the girls competition was the outdoor PR of 46-1 by Oji in the shot put, the No. 1 throw by a sophomore in the country this season. Oji's 46-1 is No. 14 all-time in state outdoor history, No. 2 all-time in state history for a sophomore, and is No. 19 in the country this season. Oji's all-time PR is the 47-2.25 she threw this past indoor season. The only sophomore in NJ history to throw further than Oji is Alyssa Wilson of Donovan Catholic, who unloaded a 51-7.75 as a sophomore in 2015. Wilson also owns the state outdoor record in the shot with the 58-1 she threw in 2017.