Full Results | Race Videos | Photos
The Haddonfield girls brought their turbo engines to the Bennett Center in Toms River and the Delsea boys leaned on a big-shouldered quartet of field event athletes to secure their respective state titles at the NJSIAA Group 2 Relay Championships on Friday evening.
Haddonfield's distance medley, sprint medley and 4x800-meter relays slammed their school's name in the top 10 of the state's performance list, and by doing so they helped run away with the program's third title in seven years. The Bulldawgs, which scored 52 points to runner-up Holmdel's 25, previously won in 2014 and 2017.
On the boys side, pole vaulters Marco Morales and Dylan Caceci and shot putters Joe Ferguson and Rick Kurczeski won their field event relays and pushed Delsea to its first boys relays title since 2011.
To put it simply, the Haddonfield girls enjoyed an amazing meet. The all-junior team of Payton Weiner (3:54 1,200), twins Lindsey (1:00.9 400) and Allison Colflesh (2:23.3 800), and Sara Naticchia (5:14.9) won the DMR in 12:33.00, third fastest in the state this season. Westfield (12:25.35) and Colts Neck (12:28.28) top the state's girls DMR list this season.
Another NJ top 10 performance for Haddonfield came in the 4x800 when juniors Olivia Stoner (2:27.5) and Weiner (2:25.6), senior Katherine Rice (2:32.3) and Allison Colflesh (2:25.4) won in NJ#8 9:51.15.
The Dawgs struck again when Lindsay Colflesh, seniors Rachel Bonnet and Grace Kegler and Natacchia (2:21 800) won the sprint medley in NJ#4 4:19.01. Only Union Catholic (4:16.08), Egg Harbor (4:17.48) and Kingsway (4:17.96) have run faster this season.
Haddonfield pole vault junior Robin Rosen topped the field with a 10-6 (a mark shared by Seneca's Julia Greeley) and teamed with Kegler (8-0) to win the event. Rosen's overall PR is 10-9 which she cleared last month.
On the boys end, Morales, a senior, led all boys pole vaulters with a 15-0 and teamed with Caceci, a junior with a PR 12-0, to win the event. Junior shot putters Metzger (third overall at 48-2 ¾) and Kurczeski (43-10) led Delsea to the team relay title there as well.
Morales' 15-6 from the Freedom Games earlier this month is NJ#2 behind only the 16-7 ¼ cleared by Watchung Hills senior Bradley Jelmert.
Delsea scored in six of nine events -- including a runner-up finish in the sprint medley (3:42.93) -- to top the field with 44 points, easily besting runner-up Deptford with 26.
Now That's Moving!
The Lakeland and Haddonfield boys distance medley relay teams finished a tight 1-2 in 10:44.20 and 10:44.39, respectively, good for No. 4 and No. 5 in the state. Only Kingsway (10:28.30), Mendham (10:37.33) and West Morris (10:40.19) have run faster DMRs this season.
For the all-senior Lakeland quartet, it was Mason Murphy (3:27 1,200), Carlos Cuevas (54.0 400), Zach Voll (1:59 800) and Jesse Campoverde (4:21 1,600).
For Haddonfield's DMR, it was senior Steven Kasko (3:22 1,200), senior Thomas Mollis (51.0 400), sophomore Seth Clevenger (2:06.5 800) and senior Martin Riddell (4:24 1,600).
The Haddonfield boys chalked up another NJ Top 10 time at the meet when the all-senior crew of Mollis, Arthur Keegan, Aidan Kamp and Riddell won the sprint medley in NJ#9 3:42.00.
The Deptford boys 4x200 relay -- junior John Adams, senior Donovan Clement, senior Richeid Fawkes and junior Steven Rios -- won in 1:32.99, just 0.70 off the meet record which Deptford set in 2017.
Doubling Up
Rahway's boys snagged a pair of relay crowns Friday. The 4x800 team of senior Steven Campbell (2:07.5), sophomores Elijah Ojo (2:08.2) and Nicholas Penton (2:10.8) and junior Michael Laskowski (2:07.4) won in 8:33.97.
Rahway secured its second relay gold when juniors Angelo Aguilar (53.7), Kristian Rogers (54.4) and Rashon Bradford (53.3) and senior Steven Campbell (51.9) won the meet-concluding 4x400 in 3:33.36.
Individual Bests
Dover senior Aleksey Samuylov heaved the shot 51-9 to not only top the field but log the first 50-foot throw of his career. His previous best was 49-0 earlier this month.
Pinelands senior Elizabeth Makar was the only female to surpass 40 feet in the shot put when she logged 41-0 ½. She and sophomore Saige Pharo (29-11 ½) teamed to win the relay. Makar's overall PR is 42-5 ½ from last month.
Seneca junior Julia Greeley tied Haddonfield's Rosen for best pole vault at 10-6, tying her overall personal best which she first got last spring and cleared again this winter.
Pascack Hills senior Kaia Paulsen led the high jump field with a 5-2 and teamed with Allie Canciani (4-10) to win the relay. Paulsen's overall PR is 5-4 which she got earlier this month at the NY Armory.
Jackson Liberty senior Cameron Wilson cleared 6-0 in the high jump and was the only jumper to get over the bar at that height. He's got a 6-4 PR from the sectionals last spring, but that was his first six-footer indoors.