Several athletes from Bridgwater-Raritan High School’s indoor track and field team competed at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 4 Relay Championships on January 25.
It was held at the Rothman Orthopaedics Sports Complex in Toms River.
The track and field team showcased their strengths in select relay and field events chosen for competition.
The boys participated in three events, consisting of the 4×800 meter relay, sprint medley relay, and shot put.
The girls competed in only two events, the 4×800 meter relay and sprint medley relay, but delivered strong performances in each.
The boys’ 4×800 relat team consisted of Michael Braswell, Zachary Urbanowicz, Mukund Vegunta, and Tyler Malatesta. The team competed in heat two, though their effort was nothing short of exceptional, placing eighth out of 29 relay teams with the time of 8:47.13.
Manalapan High School won the event with a time of 8:23.67, followed closely by South Brunswick High School, running a time of 8:27.07, while Livingston High School took bronze, marked at a time of 8:36.11.
Proving to be another intense challenge for the boys’ team, was the sprint medley relay, which followed the order of a 400-meter first leg, two 200-meter legs in between and an 800-meter anchor.
The relay team began with Jeremiah Wiley in the 400 meter leg, continuing with Bryan Wilkinson in the 200-meter leg, then proceeding to Justin Reid in the next 200 meters and finally anchoring with Anthony Ciminelli in the 800-meter leg.
The relay concluded with a time of 3:57.90, earning the boys the position of 16th place out of the 29 teams participating in the event.
Washington Township High School took first place in the sprint medley relay with a time of 3:38.29, while Edison High School finished nearly behind in second with a time of 3:40.11.
An alternate for the 400-meter leg in the Sprint Medley Relay, Jonathan Vijay, attended the meet and reflected on the performance of the team.
“I think we had pretty good performance in the Sprint Medley Relay, but there is definitely room for improvement in our time at Sectionals,” he said.
Shot put was the final event in which the boys had competed in. Unlike the relays, shot put was an individual event, where athletes Shaun Nelson and Jordan Estomata showcased their individual skill and technique.
Senior Shaun Nelson truly demonstrated his impressive skill and strength, placing 16th out of 56 competitors in the event and recording a mark of 41-10.75.
Sophomore Jordan Estomata, trailing behind Shaun Nelson, placed 36th out of 56 competitors. Despite it being only his second year as a part of the team, he recorded a mark of 37-2.50.
Jordan Estomata reflects on his experience attending the meet and his performance alongside Shaun Nelson.
“The state relays were fun to go to, but they were very nerve racking,” he said. “The competition was strong but I feel like me and my teammate Shaun did what we could.”
The girls’ performance in the 4×800 meter relay was truly a remarkable achievement, finishing in fourth place among a pool of 22 teams.
The relay team featured athletes Dahlia Adams, Carina Mastropasqua, Jessica Borchert and Diya Inta, recording a final time of 10:10.48.
The team trailed behind Egg Harbor Township High School, who achieved a time of 10:01.51 and secured third place. Second place went to Morristown High School, which recorded a time of 10:00.95, and fthe champion wasCherokee High School with a time of 9:57.24.
The girls’ sprint medley relay followed the same order as the boys’ event, with Stacey Yang running the 400-meter leg, Tynisa Medallon taking the first 200-meter leg, Meera Buddhikot handling the second 200-meter leg, and Lana Guelich anchoring the 800-meter leg.
With strong efforts from all the runners, the girls’ Sprint Medley Relay team secured 12th place out of 30 teams in the time of 4:43.62.
Eastern Regional High School claimed the throne with a time of 4:17.73, subsequent to Vineland High School, who finished with a time of 4:22.63.
Bridgewater-Raritan will focus on the state sectional championship meet on Snday, February 16.
