Prep Relays and Rebel Relays Recaps
April has arrived, and with it came the first invitationals of the outdoor season. Almost every Mercer County school was in action this weekend! The largest number of local schools were at the TCNJ High School Invitational – keep an eye out for a separate recap on that. In this article, I’ll highlight some results from the Prep Relays and the Rebel Relays.
NJISAA Outdoor Track Relays
Lawrenceville hosted the Prep Relays on Friday – fortunately before the rain and cold air rolled in the next morning! Hun, Peddie, Pennington, Princeton Day, and Stuart Country Day also attended and brought some strong relay teams.
Girls Results
Lawrenceville star Sofia Swindell kicked off her last high school season with a national-caliber 400mH of 1:02.58, just a second off her PR. She also helped pace Lawrenceville’s incredible 4x400m team, which essentially time trialed a NJ #1 3:51.90 to win this meet. Along with Swindell, that team included Rhianna Scott, Jael Gaines, and Yasmin Willie.
Elsewhere in the 400mH, Princeton Day’s Della Gilligan, who was a major contributor on the Panthers’ undefeated girls ice hockey team this past winter, impressed on solid ground also with a 1:10.89 to take 2nd place.
Stuart Country Day ran a very strong 4x100m team that took 2nd place in 52.68. Pennington finished just a second behind, in 53.54 for 3rd place. Princeton Day won the shuttle hurdles relay in 1:15.08.
Lawrenceville’s 4x800m team (Jael Gaines, Yasmin Willie, Rory Laubach, and Blair Bartlett) lit up the track with a 9:36.60, the top time in the state so far this year. The Big Red also ran a very strong DMR of 12:58.07 for the win. Peddie’s 4x800m team took 3rd place in 10:26.34.
The 4x200m was a tight race against the clock, with Lawrenceville and Peddie both winning their separate heats easily. Lawrenceville took the win after their time of 1:49.05 in Heat 1 narrowly withstood Peddie’s 1:49.67 from Heat 2.
Lawrenceville’s Audrey Cheng established herself as the early-season state leader in the pole vault, clearing 11-6. In the high jump, Princeton Day’s Kara Vandal tied her PR of 4-8 to take the win. Vandal also set a PR of 16-3.75 for 2nd place in the long jump.
Several local throwers had good days. Lawrenceville’s Jesslyn Bentum won the discus after launching a 15-foot PR of 117-0, and then she took 2nd place in the shot put with another PR of 33-3.5. The winner of the shot put was Hun’s Anna Casciano with a 40-1, and Casciano finished 2nd in the discus with a 100-0. Casciano also had a great performance at last week’s Delsea Crusader Field Meet, which she won with a big throw of 40-10.5, just an inch off her indoor PR.
Pennington freshman thrower Eden Ashiavor introduced herself as a major competitor, taking 3rd in the discus with a throw 99-9 and then getting 4th in the shot put with a 31-3. Lawrenceville’s Madison Boone finished 3rd in the shot put in 31-11, and Hun’s Mya Smith won the javelin with a PR of 87-8.
Boys Results
In the only individual track race of the day, Lawrenceville’s Aj Diallo narrowly won the 400mH over Seton Hall’s Malcolm McCloud, 1:01.54 to 1:01.72. That’s a new PR for Diallo.
The Peddie sprinters got their season rolling with a 2nd-place finish in the 4x100m, running a 44.16. Pennington’s sprinters also had a good day, getting 4th place in the 4x100m with a 44.92 and 3rd place in the 4x200m with a 1:37.31.
Lawrenceville’s 4x800m team (Ayodele Joa-Griffith, Naren Maharana, Arunav Sarkar, and Bastian Bocklage) dominated in 8:23.69, winning by 27 seconds. Just a short while later, the Big Red also took 3rd in the DMR with a 11:31.
Peddie’s Dasyer Bullock, Jelani Cine, Baker Pott, and Luke Chon teamed up for an impressive SMR, running 3:39.10 and winning by 10 seconds over Wardlaw-Hartridge. Pennington finished just ahead of Lawrenceville for 3rd place, 4:00.50 to 4:01.85.
Lawrenceville’s Ayo Britto picked up where he left off in the winter, jumping 6-4 to win the high jump and match his PR from Eastern States last month. Princeton Day’s Avery Hall became the newest member of the 6’ club, clearing that PR and tying for 3rd place.
In the discus, Lawrenceville’s Ben Lahlou opened his season with a massive throw of 154-1, which is a 9-foot PR. He finished 2nd place only behind Delbarton star Peter Donini, who was the Nike Indoor National shot put champion last month. Lahlou also set a PR in the shot put, throwing 42-10.5 for 5th place. Elsewhere in the shot put, Peddie’s Parker Hamilton took 2nd place in 47-8. Just behind him was Hun’s Luke Wafle, who set a PR of 47-6.5 on his first throw in two years.
Social Media Highlights
Rebel Relays
In another big relay meet, Allentown, Hightstown, and Trenton traveled to Howell for the Rebel Relays on Saturday.
Girls Results
Trenton’s Tomaisa Tard earned a 2nd-place medal in the 400mH with a nice 1:08.27. She was also part of Trenton’s 2nd-place 4x400m team, which ran 4:22.19.
Hightstown and Allentown were the top two teams in the 4x100m, though they ran in separate heats. Running second, Hightstown took the win after narrowly beating Allentown’s time from the first heat, 51.74 to 51.99. The Hightstown girls came back to run a great 4x200m relay and earn 2nd place in 1:52.18.
The Allentown girls got top-5 finishes from their SMR team (5th in 4:45.49), 4x800m team (5th in 11:00.73) and DMR team (3rd in 13:48.97).
Trenton’s Sonjay Baylor-Reeves went 39-1.3 in the shot put for the 2nd-best throw of the day. Allentown’s Makayla Rodinielli also had a great throw of 32-5, which was 4th-best.
Boys Results
Hightstown’s Burke Thompson started off his spring season with a strong 4:32.22 1600m, which got him 4th place. Thompson also had two teammates join him in the top 10. Mateo Abad-Delgado was 8th in a PR of 4:45.28 after a convincing win in Heat 2, and Mason Johnson edged Allentown’s John O’Leary for 9th place in a photo finish, 4:47.96 to 4:47.97. That was an outdoor PR for O’Leary and an outright PR for Johnson.
Allentown’s 4x100m team took 2nd in a very quick 44.17. The Trenton boys weren’t far behind, running 45.24 for 6th. Hightstown stacked their 4x200m team instead and took 3rd place there in 1:34.85.
In the SMR, Hightstown placed 3rd in 3:49.01, and Allentown took 4th overall in 3:52.74 after winning their heat. Those two schools were also top-5 in the 4x800m, with Hightstown 3rd in 9:03.80 and Allentown 5th in 9:09.83.
Hightstown’s DMR team came away victorious after a close race with Toms River East. They ended up winning by 3 seconds in 11:18.72.
Allentown’s Mason Marcantonio won the javelin with a nice throw of 136-2, less than a foot off his PR from last spring. His teammate Evan Miller was 4th in 128-7, and Hightstown’s Jonathan Kecskes was 5th in 123-5.