Hot Times, Gutsy Team Performances Rule At Groups 1-4 Meet

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Sianni Wynn and Yashahya Brown left lots of smoke on the track with jaw-dropping and record-smashing races, the Hasbrouck Heights girls and Woodbury boys repeated, the Westfield boys ended a long drought with a masterful performance, and the Hillsborough and Eastern girls waged a dramatic battle to the wire at Saturday's NJSIAA Groups 1-4 Championships at Franklin High School.

TAKE A LOOK AT EACH OF THE 13 TEAM CHAMPIONS THAT WERE CROWNED

Brown came into the meet targeting a sub 13.40 in the 110 hurdles, and he nearly pulled it off when he blasted his way over the barriers in a wind-legal 13.43 (0.1)!! That equals the third fastest time in NJ history and tied the All Groups record (All Groups combined).

Brown's 13.43 tied him for No. 3 in state history with Danyne Brown of Camden, who ran his 13.43 at the 1999 State Group 3 Championships, and it also broke the Group 4 meet record of 13.45 that Nate Rayan of Scotch Plains-Fanwood ran to win the Group 4 title last year.

BLUE DEVILS BREAKTHROUGH

It's obviously very difficult and rare for any team to have a perfect meet, but Westfield came about as close as you can to it when the Blue Devils leveled up and ended a 47-year drought in dominating fashion as the Blue Devils outscored runner-up Toms River North, 77-59.

This is the first state outdoor title for Westfield since football/sprint stars Butch Woolfolk and Frank Kelly led the squad to the 1977 Group 4 Championship, and its the third title overall for the Blue Devils, who also won the State Group 3 Championship in 1940.

Westfield received several clutch performances on Friday, including a huge runner-up finish in the discus from junior Noah Rubenstein (a 13-foot PR of 153-5),  to grab a 36-28 lead over TRN. On Saturday, the Blue Devils leaned on their deep and talented stable of distance runners to close it out.

Westfield won the 4x800 when James Hamilton, Kaleb Stoeckmann, Eamon Mason, and Jimmy Gildea combined to run 7:54.22. How about what Hamilton did on the lead off, splitting 2:01.59 despite running the last 600 meters with one shoe after someone stepped on his heel!!! 

After Rowan McMahill finished fourth in the 200 for Westfield, Avery Keith (4:11.18), Alexander Valencia (4:11.48) and Ryan Daly (4:13.48) went 2-3-4 in the 1,600 for 18 points to put the meet away.  

Westfield put the finishing touches on its remarkable performance by placing second in the 4x400 in 3:22.02.  

4X400 FIREWORKS

The best team battle of the meet came in the girls Group 4 competition as Eastern and Hillsborough battled right to the very end of the 4x400 before being crowned co-champions.

Heading into the third and final heat in the meet-concluding 4x400, Hillsborough was on top of the standings with 46 points. Washington had 43 and Eastern had 40.

On the final exchange, Eastern was in second place and Hillsborough was in sixth. But Eastern sophomore star Natalie Dumas, who had sensational meet, dropped a 54.55 to rally past Franklin and cross the line first, stopping the clock at 3:53.32 and giving Eastern 10 points to finish with 50.

Meanwhile, senior Sabrina Sardar, who split 57.13, passed two teams and grinded hard over the final 100 to secure fourth place as she brought the Red Raiders across the line in 4:00.29.  Hillsborough's fourth-place was worth four points to give the Red Raiders a total of 50 points.

But there's more to this.

Union ran 4:00.69 to win the second heat, which means Hillsborough earned a share of the state title by 4-tenths of a second!!! 

This is the first state title for Hillsborough, which has racked up numerous Somerset County, Skyland Conference, and Central Jersey Group 4 titles in its great history.

For Eastern, this was the first state title for the Vikings since winning its first two titles in 2002 and 2003.   

Dumas was simply spectacular for Eastern. She won the 400 hurdles on Friday in 1:01.83, and on Saturday she was second in the 400 in 54.75, split 2:11.27 as the anchor on the runner-up 4x800, and then blasted the 54.55 anchor carry to close out the meet. 

Eastern also picked up a big 10 points from senior Zoe Goldberg, who won the javelin with a 140-9, and fifth place finishes from Samantha Osei-Kyei in the 800 and from Aniyah Smith in the javelin.

In addition to her clutch anchor leg, she ran a 2:19.05 second leg on the winning 4x800 that ran a school record 9:27.46, and she finished fourth in the 400 in a school record 56.77 and was fourth in the 400 hurdles in 1:03.57.

Hillsborough also received a big victory from Ella Karolewski, who cleared 11-0 to win the pole vault. Laina Denys was fourth in the 800 in 2:15.26 and split 2:18.61 on the anchor leg of the 4x800. Michaela Ruffa placed fourth in the shot put and sixth in the discus, Angela Volkova was second in the discus, and Chloe Montgomery finished sixth in the long jump. 

DYNAMIC DUO

Peyton Shute and Marquis Taylor always perform their best when their team needs them the most.

So knowing it would take everything they had to defeat favored Glassboro, Shute and Taylor answered the bell like they always do with a pair of dazzling performances as the dynamic duo had a hand in 76 of Woodbury's 78 points to lead the Herd to their second straight title and 13th overall, the fifth most in state history. Woodbury avenged its loss to Glassboro at the South Jersey Sectional Championships, 78-57.    

The Cornell-bound Shute poured his guts out as usual in the distance races. 

On Friday, he ran a PR of 1:52.05 to win the 800, and won the 3,200 in 9:26.98. He came back Saturday to split 1:54.5 on the runner-up 4x800 and then won the 1,600 in 4:16.43.     

Taylor, who burned up the track in the sprints, also won three gold medals.   

He won the 400 in 48.23, anchored the winning 4x400 with a 48.27 anchor carry, anchored the victorious 4x100, and placed fourth in the 200 in 21.67.

AVIATORS SOAR TO BACK-TO-BACK TITLES

Hasbrouck Heights received points from several athletes as the Aviators used their remarkable balance ton the way to a 70-52 victory over runner-up Audubon.

Versatlie star Alexandra Samperi, thrower Elliot Eddy  and hurdler Ellie Shkreli  led the charge for Hasbrouck Heights.

Samperi, a senior, soared 18-5 to win the long jump, ran 12.56 to finish third in the 100, and was fourth in the 200.

Eddy, a senior, placed in all three throws with a third in the shot put, fourth in the discus, and a fourth in the shot put. 

Shkreli, a junior, won the 100 hurdles with a 15.38, and junior Lexi Powers was fourth in the 3,200, freshman Gina Minichiello placed fourth n the 400 hurdles, and Samantha Russo finished fourth in the shot put. 

Hasbrouck Heights also placed third in the 4x100, fourth in the 4x800, and fifth in the 4x100. 

TRIPLE WINNERS

Jamir Brown of Riverside and Kylie Castillo of Ridgefield put on great shows in Group 1 by pulling off sensational triples.

Brown soared a meet record 23-8.75, No. 4 in the state this season, to win the long jump, and swept the hurdle with times of 13.81 and 53.53.

Castillo, who the 200 and 400 last year, successfully defended those titles and also won the 100 and to give her five outdoor state titles in her amazing career.     

DOWN GOES KEINO

Luke Pash not only won the boys Group 4 1,600, but he took down a school record held by a legend, Bob Keino!!!

Pash, a  junior, pulled the trigger on his wicked kick at the start of the bell lap and threw down a 59.28 final 400 to stop the clock at 4:09.00!! That broke the school record of 4:09.35 that Keino ran back in 1994.

Pash, who ran 8:59.77 when he won the 3,200 at the Indoor Meet of Champions in March, added his name to a very prestigious list of distance runners in NJ history who have run sub 4:10 for 1,600 and sub 9:00 for 3,200!! Note-I'm working on getting all the names on that list.  

Pash is still undecided about whether he will run at the Meet of Champions. He said he will choose between the 1,600 at the M of C and the two-mile on Friday at the New Balance Nationals.