Union Catholic Girls Repeat As Champs, Boys Place Strong Second At Union County Conference T&F Championships
Written By Jim Lambert
The Union Catholic girls steamrolled their way to a repeat title, the boys finished a very strong second, and several athletes thew down personal best performances at the Union County Conference Track and Field Championships that concluded this past Friday at Gov. Livingston High School.
Competing in the Watchung Division, the UC girls received a sensational hurdle double from Taylor Cox, a great all-round performance from Alexandra Bonn, and the Vikings picked up several victories and produced multiple eye-popping results.
Cox, a sophomore, won the 100 hurdles in a meet record 13.95, just off her NJ No. 1 time of 13.87 that she ran last month at the Bullis Invitational. Cox, who helped lead the Vikings to a 178-105 win over runner-up Elizabeth, also won the 400 hurdles in 1:03.22, which is NJ No. 4 this season, and a huge personal record. Cox’s previous best was 1:05.79 from the Union County Relays last year.
In addition to the hurdle sweep by Cox, the Yale-bound Bonn won the triple jump with a leap of 38-8.50, which is NJ No. 3, placed second in the long jump (17-9.25), and was fifth in the 100 hurdles. UC also picked up victories from Seton Dill in the pole vault (8-6), Jimmiea King in the 800 (2:14.63), and from Ella Solarzano, who led a 1-2 finish for UC in the 3,200 with a winning time of 11:35.74. Caitlin Toy was second for UC in the 3,200.
In other highlights for the girls, Courtney Kaiser ran a big PR of 5:03.37 to get second in the 1600 for the Vikings. Maameyaa Nyinah placed third in the 400 with a PR of 5 6.65. Erica Dines ran a PR of 1:08.57 to place third in the 400 hurdles. Taylor Aska was second in the 100 in 12.36 and second in the 20 in 25.01. Emma Muir placed third in the javelin with a 105-3 and cleared a PR of 5-0 for second in the high jump. Victoria Urbaez ran a PR of 2:20.15 to place fifth in the 800, and Ajanae Thompson, who has had been sidelined since late February with a sore hamstring, returned to competition with a fifth-place finish in the 100 dash.
The UC boys had another great battle with rival Westfield, placing second with 129 points, just six points behind the Blue Devils.
The Vikings, who edged Westfield to win the Union County Relay title the previous week, will clash again with Westfield at the Union County Championships on May 16-17 at Hub Stine Field in Plainfield.
The UC boys received several outstanding performances.
Senior Matt Schutz continued his breakout season by leading a 1-2-6 finish for the Vikings in the pole vault by clearing a Watchung Division record 13-9, which is a huge PR. His previous best was 13-0. Next stop is 14-0 for Schutz!!! Joey Kilgannon was third with a PR of 11-0, and Aidan Reidy was sixth at 10-6.
Also picking up wins for the Vikings were junior Marcus McCoy, who ran a personal best of 54.26 to win the 400 hurdles and fifth in the 110 hurdles (PR of 15.39 in the trials), senior Javon McKay ran 11.04 to win the 100 dash, and sophomore Noah Cooper won the long jump with a leap of 22-5.
Sophomore Avery Atexide had a great meet for the Vikings. He placed second in the 400 with a PR and NJ No. 8 time of 48.66, and was second in the 200 with a PR of 22.37.
In other highlights for the Vikings, Justice Hicks was third in the long jump with a PR of 21-9, and fourth in the high jum (6-0). Max Gagneron placed second in the triple jump with a PR of 42-0.50. Emerson McKindra ran a PR of 49.59 to finish fourth in the 400 and PR’d in the 200 with a fifth-place time of 22.40. Evan Weber placed third in the 1,600 and 3,200, Alessandro Alvarez-Tullo finished second in the 3,200. Sean Wilson ran 1:57.17 to finish sixth in the 800, and Leo Wisnefski ran a PR of 1:59.56 in the 800. Raheem Williams (triple jump) and Caudell Cajuste (1,600) each finished fourth, and Bryan Tucker was sixth in the 100 with a PR of 11.38.
