Last year, the Rams completed a back-to-back run of Mountain Conference championships. The divisions in Union County are as follows: The lowest is the Valley, then the Mountain, and the top division is Watchung. The Rams are now in the top division with Union Catholic, Elizabeth, Westfield, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Rahway, and Linden. While a division title is out of reach, the Rams’ plan was just to compete. On the first day, the weather couldn’t have been better. 55-60 degrees and partly cloudy. This allowed some great times to come.
The points at the meet were simple: 10 points for first, 8 points for second, 6 points for third, 4 points for fourth, 2 points for fifth, and 1 point for sixth place. The Rams racked up 36 points on the first day, so let’s break down how they got that.
First, on the track. In the 400m hurdles, Flynn Breeze just missed out on scoring with a seventh-place finish, but in his return race, he ran 59.51. Bernie Holmes also ran over a second PR in this event.
In the 1600m, Connor Bassolino ran in a crowded race. With over 20 participants, he split a 2:08 last 800m and 62 last 400m to win the Conference title. His time was 4:23. This got the Rams their first 10 points of the night. Stephen Polefko ran a six-second PR in a time of 4:50, and Chad Vassallo ran a 4:52 for an outdoor PR.
In the 100m dash, Brody Sheehan ran 11.42 to move on to the finals. Robin Peterson ran a PR in a time of 12.08. In the finals, Brody ran 11.38 for a fourth-place finish and a twenty-seven-year-old senior record. This brought the team’s total points to 14.
In the field events, Joey DeMarco threw the discus. He threw 152-5 feet for a six-foot PR and broke the school record. This was enough to give him 10 points for getting first. Later in the shot put, he got into the finals after his first three throws. Then he threw 49-1.25 in the finals to grab third place. This brought the team’s total points to 30.
In the triple jump, Brody Sheehan participated. The jump section was hype with everyone clapping and cheering. Elizabeth and Union Catholic both had a runner jump over 47 feet. With the competition being fierce, Brody stepped up. He jumped 42-2.50 feet for a PR and third-place finish.
In the open 400m, Marko Kvesic ran a PR of 55.79, breaking 56 for the first time. Then, Alexander Kieschke ran 58.32 for a PR as well.
After day one, the Rams had 36 points and were sitting in third place. 9 PRs and 2 Conference Champions made day one very strong.
Day two started with the 800m run. Jack Ebert, Robert Dudley, and Jordan Hotra were all set to run. Hotra ran a five-second PR in a time of 2:07 to win the second heat. Dudley finished right behind him.
In the 3200m, sophomore Henry Salaki, freshman Greyson Astle, and senior Chase Lynch all ran. In the first 1600m, all three Rams were together. Salaki and Astle went out at 5:14-5:15. In the second mile, Henry exploded. He ran 5:12 to negatively split the race. His time was 10:26. This was 6th place overall, scoring a point for the Rams. This is number 8 all-time for OP sophomores. Greyson Astle is number 9 for the OP freshman after his performance. Chase Lynch also had a 5-second PR.
In the 200m dash, the last event on the track for the Rams, Brody Sheehan and Marko Kvesic both ran. Sheenan ran 23.21 for a Senior Class record at OP. Sheenan also scored a point in 6th place. Marko Kvesic then ran 23.9 seconds for a one-second PR.
Off the track, javelin scored seven points for the team. Lucas Costa threw 135-3 for a third-place finish. Jordan Hotra threw 124-3 for a 6th place finish.
In the long jump, Brody continued his insane weekend. He scored two more points and set another school record. I had the luxury of watching this event. The energy was high, and Union Catholic jumped twenty-three feet and nine inches. Brody, however, held his own against the competition. He jumped 21-10.25 feet. This broke his own school record!
In total, the Rams scored 47 points and finished in fifth place. It was a great weekend of PRs, and a lot more is to come at Counties.
