Alex Kessler continued his torrid start to the season with another javelin bomb to spark his Cranford squad to a county record performance, the Brearley boys made a huge statement, and Nathan Simonich of Union Catholic threw down a huge breakthrough anchor leg to highlight the action on the openoing day of the 82nd Union County Relays on Tuesday on a steamy day at Gary Kehler Stadium in Westfield.
The second and final of competition is scheduled to get underway on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Kehler Stadium.
KESSLER MASSIVE THROW IGNITES CRANFORD
The biggest highlight of the meet came from Kessler, who sent the spear soaring 211-7 to break his own Union County record and move up to No. 10 in NJ history and No. 5 in the nation this season!! The junior's big throw propelled Cranford to a combined total of 490-7 to shatter the 3-man meet and county record. Junior Caleb Mallo unloaded a PR of 140-0 for Cranford and junior Adam Connell added a 139-0 for the Cougars.
"Our goal as a team is to get 500 feet, and we know we all have more in us,'' said Kessler.
Kessler, who broke the county mark of 208-10 that he recorded on April 1 at the Penn Relays Qualifier at CBA in Lincroft, is well aware of the Junior Class state record of 224-1 by Kaleb Zuidema of Midland Park in 2011, and the NJ record of 227- set by Nick Mirabelli of Rancocas Valley at the 2018 Meet of Champions.
"Those are some of the biggest goals I have set for myself and I'm going to work hard as I can to try to break those records,'' said Kessler.
Unlike most throwers, Kessler is a versatile athlete who does it all for Cranford.
Right after the javelin he hustled across the street from the throwing area to the track and ran 60.04 in the 400 hurdles, the 6th fastest time of the meet. Kessler, who has all he tools to be a great decathlete, will be back in action today in the pole vault and the 4x400.
BACK ON THE MAP
Another team that made a huge statement on Day 1 was the Brearley boys, who won the team 400 hurdles as Enrique Corona (57.95), Romeo Carreto (1:01.19) and Ramiro Rodriguez (1:01.33) ran a combined winning time of 3:00.47. Its the first time Brearley won aboys event at the country relays in several decades!!
"We wanted to do something to put Brearley back on the map,'' said Rodriguez. "We are small school running against the bigger teams, but we have a lot heart and have been working hard for this and we showed we can compete with those big schools.''
BIG ANCHOR
One of the most impressive performances of the meet came in the boys sprint medley when Union Catholic sophomore Nathan Simonich NJ, who grabbed the baton about 25 meters behind, reeled in the leader and then hammered his way home to complete a huge 800 PR split of 1:56.5 to bring the Vikings across the line first in 3:32.95.
FIELD EVENTS SPARK MINUTEMEN
The Elizabeth boys, seeking its first championship since 2004 when they won their 22nd title, the most in meet history, won the long jump and discus to help the Minutemen take a 41-35.5 lead over defending champion Westfield.
In the long jump, Ezekiel Penick led the way with a 22-0.5, the best mark of the meet. Roodkerry Barthelemy was fourth (21-5.25) and Nicholas Echevarria was sixth (a PR of 21-1). 64-6.75
Elizabeth also finished first in the discus as Darren Sanvil (2nd, 133-4), Bryan Palamar (4th, 124-6), and Jamesly Zamor (11th, 108-9) teamed up for a combined total of 366-7.
REACHING THE SUMMIT
The Summit girls scored an impressive win in the distance medley as Dudrey Carrigan (3:49.2 PR on the 1,200), Cameron Horev (60.34 on the 400), Violet Becker (800 PR of 2:24.95) and Ella Ryan (5:15.7 anchor) combined to run 12:30.69. Summit's goal is to hit the qualifier for nationals, which is 12:25. It looks like it's just a matter of time before this talented group hits that goal!
VIKINGS HEADING FOR HISTORY
The Union Catholic girls, who are riding a meet record streak of 10 straight titles, hold a commanding 56-27 lead over Westfield as the Vikings seek to break the girls' meet record for most overall titles won. UC's 10 total titles is tied with Plainfield for the most girls titles all-time. Plainfield won its 10th championhip in 1998.
Despite holding out many of their biggest stars who are coming off multiple races at the Arcadia Inviatinal in California this past weekend, UC flexed its remarkable depth and won 4 events, two on the track and two in the field.
The Vikings won the 400 hurdles (a combined 3:27.18), the sprint medley (4:12.03), the shot put and the pole vault!
Priscilla Hylton led the charge for UC. She had the top time of the meet in the 400 hurdles of 65.18, a new PR, and the No. 1 long jump mark of 17-0 to lead the Vikigns to a runner-up finish in the LJ.
In the girls pole vault, UC's Lorena Fajardo, one of the top gymnasts in the county, cleared a meet-best and personal best 9-0 and teammate Ervnie Jules-Vincent, also a gymnast, made 8-0 tor a winning total of 17-0.
Alyssa Kenol (a meet-best 37-0), Jasmine Bryant (a big PR of 31-9.50) and Alessia Vagnone (28-10.50) combined to give UC the victory in the shot put with a combined total of 98-2.50.
MORE HIGHLIGHTS
Nicholas Dena of Westfield had the top discus throw (144-5).
The Westfield and Union Catholic boys have combined to win every boys' title since 2010. During that span, UC has won all 11 of their titles and Westfield has finished first 4 times. The meet wasn't held in 2020 due to COVID. The last boys' team other that UC or Westfield to win was Union in 2014.