Last year, the Rams had one of the best track seasons ever. This spring, after losing a lot of seniors last year, was bound to be difficult. Getting moved up into the top division, the Watchung, it was going to be a battle. Top talent in the nation was in the division, such as Union Catholic. However, the Rams still have a lot of talent. Senior captain Connor Bassolino is a Division One Commit. In the winter, a strong group of underclassmen and the senior class was shown. This talent has so far been shown in the spring.
To open up the season, a batch meet was held at New Providence. A new group of guys learned the ropes at a meet. Many new freshmen and sophomores competed. The day after, Joey DeMarco, the indoor shot put record holder, threw 50 feet 9 inches. This is an outdoor PR and number two all-time outdoor for OP. He was able to place fourth with this performance.
Then, a Rahway Rising Stars Meet was held. This meet was for a bunch of underclassmen to show off their talent. The first events were the 4x800m races. The sophomore crew of Henry Salaki, Brendan Terrone, Chad Vassallo, and Jordan Hotra placed first overall in a time of 9:04. The Rams freshman team was in third place for Freshmen with 100 meters left. Sprinter Graham Ferguson was put in for the first time in this event. He outkicked both runners at the line for the Freshman crew to grab first. Many other PRs were grabbed at this meet!
The first big Invitation of the Season was the Blue Devil Classic. This meet is known for running fast times early in the season. However, at this meet, many teams didn’t run their best. It may be the wind, or the injury bug the Rams seemed to have caught. That doesn’t mean there weren’t great moments. Will Foldy had two PRs on the throw side in Discus and Javelin. The three-man long jump relay of Brody Sheenan, Marcus Johnson, and Ben Oniwinde placed fourth. Sheenan also PR’d in the triple jump.
Union County Relays is where the Rams first saw great success on the varsity level. The long jump relay of Brody Sheehan, Marcus Johnson, and Ben Oniwinde broke the school record, placed third, and had Brody get the school record for individual jump. The discus relay also placed 5th overall. The Rams ran a 4x200m race on Thursday that was strong, with all four runners PR’ing. Then the 4x1600m race was broken, meaning it was individual. It was made up of all freshmen and sophomores, unlike the other teams with upperclassmen. Robert Dudley placed strongly and was followed by Jordan Hotra who ran a six-second PR. In the second heat, Stephen Polefko and Greyson Astle finished highly in the race, leading the team to a third-place performance. It was also a spring track record for the broken 4×1600.
That Friday, at the Rahway Rising Stars Meet Two, Brendan Terrone ran a huge PR with a 2:13!
The team then went to the Penn Relays Carnival. One of the most prestigious events in the country. National record holders such as Quincy Wilson ran. College stars also run, such as Simeon Birdbaum and Marco Langon, two huge runners in the distance world. Teams come from Jamaica to run in these events. A 4×4 team of Jack Ebert, Ronin Peterson, Marko Kvesic, and Brody Sheehan went. Unlike a normal 4×4 with teams in lanes, to get as many in as possible, Penn has it as a waterfall start. This makes the races super crowded, and handoffs messy. Jack Ebert took out the race and ran 55 seconds. The team ran 3:40 while missing multiple guys to injury.
That same day, the team competed at the Paul Beck Relays. It was a rainy and miserable day, but Joey DeMarco was able to PR in discus.
Looking forward: the Rams are competing at Conferences on April 30 and May 1st. Captain Connor Bassolino will be racing for the first time this spring. Many PRs and great memories are to come!
