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Kinnelon boys repeat, Morris Catholic girls earn first NJAC small-school track title

jane havsy, morristown daily record
·10 min read
Kinnelon celebrates after defending its Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference boys track and field title on May 11, 2022.
Kinnelon celebrates after defending its Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference boys track and field title on May 11, 2022.

HAMBURG — Hannah Schofield knew what the Morris Catholic 4x400 had to do when it stepped on the track at the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference small-school championships on Wednesday afternoon.

They crossed the line first, wrapping up Morris Catholic's first girls NJAC title. The Kinnelon boys placed in all but one track event to defend their championship by 5½ points over host Wallkill Valley.

The Colts had squeaked out a victory last spring without winning an event last spring – but junior Jack Ahart came up with a single gold medal at the two-day meet this time. Ahart won the 400 meters in a school-record 49.8 seconds on Tuesday, as Kinnelon placed in all but one track event.

"It feels good," he said. "I'm putting the team first. I'm more happy winning as a team than individual wins. I put a lot of pressure on myself, because I want to constantly be better than I was."

Morris Catholic had just 10 girls, six of whom scored. Sophomore Vonya Gould was the Crusaders' other gold medalist – in the long jump – as they earned points in 10 of the 16 events.

"We looked up the points, and we knew we had to win it all out," said Schofield, a Crusaders senior who won the 100-meter hurdles and was part of the winning 4x4.

"We didn't think we were going to win it. It was a goal, but we actually got it. It's super cool."

Hometown hero

Chris Ross had a simple goal at the NJAC Championships: to get personal bests in all his events. Ross surpassed that plan, winning the 100 and 200 meters in school-record time – in front of a hometown crowd at Wallkill Valley.

On Tuesday, Ross won the 100 in 10.85, quicker than John Ramos' mark of 11.1 from 2006 – almost as old as Ross himself.

He took down one of the Rangers' oldest records on Wednesday, taking first in the 200 in 22.34 as the top three finishers came in 11 hundredths of a second apart. Paul Foxson had set Wallkill Valley's hand-timed record of 22.9 in 1989.

"I broke the records because the guys running next to me are so fast," said Ross, a junior who was also the All-Herald boys basketball Player of the Year.

"I had to give them respect. Those guys are animals too."

Out-racing illness

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Track & Field Championships at Wallkill Valley HS in Hardyston on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. Grace Wills, of Mountain Lakes, at the start of the 800-meter final.
Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Track & Field Championships at Wallkill Valley HS in Hardyston on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. Grace Wills, of Mountain Lakes, at the start of the 800-meter final.

Mountain Lakes senior Grace Wills hasn't been feeling well for a couple of weeks, a mix of allergies and exhaustion. Madison senior Adam Angelone would echo that sentiment, with an added dash of nerves "about my future... I don't know what's coming next."

On Wednesday, Angelone was concerned about Parsippany twins Aarin and Aarav Tyagi, since "last year, Parsippany destroyed me at dual meets." He was "surprised" to pull off the distance double, despite having won the NJAC small-school cross country title and advancing all the way to the NJSIAA Meet of Champions.

Wills came from behind to win the 800 by 14 hundredths of a second, and was third in the 1,600.

"I'm trying to sort things out mentally and physically," said Wills, who had COVID in January. "I knew I'd be able to pass some people. The gap closed a lot, and I always give my all at the end. No regrets."

Jane Havsy is a storyteller for the Daily Record and DailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.

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Girls results

Team scores: Morris Catholic 65; Whippany Park 60; High Point and Mountain Lakes 52; Madison 36; Pequannock 34; Kittatinny 25.5; Wallkill Valley 24; Parsippany 21; Hanover Park 20; Sussex Tech 18; Newton 17; Vernon 16; Kinnelon 14; Villa Walsh 13; Boonton and Hackettstown 8; Morristown Beard 6; Hopatcong 4; Jefferson 1.5; Lenape Valley 1

100 meters: 1. Ella Tucker (Madison) 12.6; 2. Kendall Palazzi (Mountain Lakes) 12.65; 3. Amanda Dean (Parsippany) 12.73; Hanna Schofield (Morris Catholic) 13.1; 5. Leah Fass (Madison) 13.2; 6. Kiley Shatzel (Jefferson) 13.56.

200 meters: 1. Kendall Palazzi (Mountain Lakes) 25.57; 2. Ella Tucker (Madison) 26.27; 3. Amanda Dean (Parsippany) 26.84; 4. Hannah Schofield (Morris Catholic) 27.12; 5. Vonya Gould (Morris Catholic) 27.53; 6. Sophia Molfetto (Kittatinny) 27.55.

400 meters: 1. Kendall Palazzi (Mountain Lakes) 57.47; 2. Ella Tucker (Madison) 58.89; 3. Vonya Gould (Morris Catholic) 1:00.86; 4. Kelly O'Grady (Whippany Park) 1:01.27; 5. Gianna Sienkiewicz (Wallkill Valley) 1:02; 6. Sarina Sanders (Wallkill Valley) 1:02.92.

800 meters: 1. Grace Wills (Mountain Lakes) 2:25.8; 2. Kelly O'Grady (Whippany Park) 2:25.94; 3. Delana Einreinhofer (Wallkill Valley) 2:27.27; 4. Grace Mougalian (Kinnelon) 2:29.55; 5. Vivian Summerlin (Madison) 2:29.61; 6. Lisa Veivia (Morris Catholic) 2:29.55.

Molly Latincsics of Sussex County Tech places second in the girls 5k cross country run for small schools with a time of 19;56.28 at the NJAC cross country championships held at Central Park of Morris County on October 19, 2021.
Molly Latincsics of Sussex County Tech places second in the girls 5k cross country run for small schools with a time of 19;56.28 at the NJAC cross country championships held at Central Park of Morris County on October 19, 2021.

1,600 meters: 1. Delana Einreinhofer (Wallkill Valley) 5:14.77; 2. Molly Latincsics (Sussex Tech) 5:15.37; 3. Grace Wills (Mountain Lakes) 5:26.99; 4. Lisa Veivia (Morris Catholic) 5:38.98; 5. Grace Mougalian (Kinnelon) 5:41.31; 6. Ines Lemee (Villa Walsh) 5:42.44.

3,200 meters: 1. Molly Latincsics (Sussex Tech) 11:25.31; 2. Ines Lemee (Villa Walsh) 12:24.61; 3. Kate Veivia (Morris Catholic) 12:36.93; 4. Miranda Drace (Kinnelon) 12:44.78; 5. Martha Smart (Villa Walsh) 12:47.21; 6. Erin Lyons (Villa Walsh) 12:56.18.

4x400: 1. Morris Catholic (Hannah Schofield, Mya Sampong, Lisa Vevia, Vonya Gould) 4:13.6; 2. Mountain Lakes 4:14.71; 3. Whippany Park 4:15.85; 4. Wallkill Valley 4:!6.95; 5. Madison 4:21.64; 6. Newton 4:24.6

100-meter hurdles: 1. Hannah Schofield (Morris Catholic) 15.92; 2. Kathleen Mulligan (Whippany Park) 16.16; 3. J'Meeyah White (Morristown Beard) 16.76; 4. Leia Ruvo (High Point) 16.77; 5. Mazzy Cirinelli (Boonton) !6.77; 6. Abigail Freshwater (Villa Walsh) 17.1.

400-meter hurdles: 1. Kathleen Mulligan (Whippany Park) 1:09.29; 2. Iris Wikander (Kittatinny) 1:09.76; 3. Maryam Kandil (Parsippany) 1:09.83; 4. Anna Schlereth (Newton) 1:09.94; 5. Kiara Koeller (Hackettstown) 1:10.16; 6. Jane Einreinhofer (Wallkill Valley) 1:11.35.

High jump: 1 Leia Ruvo (High Point) 5-2; 2. Maggie Previglian (Vernon) 5-0; 3. Alexandra Haefele (Boonton) 5-0; 4. Ella Corigliano (Kinnelon) 4-10; 5. Nikki Ditta (Hanover Park) 4-10; 6. Kiley Shatzel (Jefferson) and Iris Wikander (Kittatinny) 4-10.

Long jump: 1. Vonya Gould (Morris Catholic) 16-9.75; 2. Leia Ruvo (High Point) 16-8.5; 3. Iris Wikander (Kittatinny) 16-2.25; 4. Sophia Molfetto (Kittatinny) 15-10.25; 5. Alexandra Robelo (Whippany Park) 15-9; 6. Amanda Dean (Parsippany) 15-8.75.

Triple jump: 1. Leia Ruvo (High Point) 35-10; 2. Anna Giannotti (Morris Catholic) 34-4; 3. Nicole Rider (Whippany Park) 33-2; 4. Kiara Koeller (Hackettstown) 32-9; 5. Amanda Dean (Parsippany) 32-9; 6. Alexandra Robelo (Whippany Park) 32-6.

Pole vault: 1. Rachel Mason (High Point) 11-0; 2. Danielle Bruce (Vernon) 9-0; 3. Sierra Strasser (Newton) 9-0; 4. Katie Hlywa (Kittatinny) 8-5; 5. Erin Troiano (Whippany Park) and Emma Guerard (Whippany Park) 8-0.

Shot put: 1. Juliana Behringer (Hanover Park) 33-9.25; 2. Isabella D'Alessio (Pequannock) 32-4; 3. Samantha Gordon (Pequannock) 31-6.75; 4. Sophia Lombardo (High Point) 31-3.5; 5. Megan Kerwin (Hackettstown) 30-6.75; 6. Maya Laterza (Whippany Park) 29-8.5.

Discus: 1. Samantha Gordon (Pequannock) 111-1; 2. Isabella D'Alessio (Pequannock) 100-4; 3. Sophia Lombardo (High Point) 99-5; 4. Camryn Cobb (Hopatcong) 98-1; 5. Payton Berg (Kittatinny) 97-6; 6. Maya Laterza (Whippany Park) 88-10.

Javelin: 1. Maya Laterza (Whippany Park) 109-2; 2. Juliana Behringer (Hanover Park) 105-8; 3. Sophia May (Newton) 104-0; 4. Meredith Weiner (Madison) 99-8; 5. Isabella D'Alessio (Pequannock) 98-11; 6. Mia Santana (Lenape Valley) 98-9.

Boys results

Team scores: Kinnelon 73.5; Wallkill Valley 68; Parsippany 65; Boonton 51.5; Whippany Park 40; Pequannock 31; Newton 25; High Point 23; Vernon and Madison 22; Morristown Beard 18; Sussex Tech 14; Lenape Valley 13; Morris Catholic 11; Dover 7; Kittatinny 6; Jefferson, Mountain Lakes and Hanover Park 2.

100 meters: 1. Chris Ross (Wallkill Valley) 10.85; 2. Clyde Liverpool (Boonton) 10.95; 3. Jack Ahart (Kinnelon) 11.0; 4. Spencer Anderson (Morristown-Beard) 11.1; 5. Sheldon Agyemang (Parsippany) 11.56; 6. Nathan Gaurin (Madison) 11.78.

200 meters: 1. Chris Ross (Wallkill Valley) 22.34; 2. Jack Ahart (Kinnelon) 22.41; 3. Clyde Liverpool (Boonton) 22.45; 5. Hector Lopez (Hanover Park) 23.77; 6. Nathan Gaurin (Madison) 24.08.

400 meters: 1. Jack Ahart (Kinnelon) 49.8; 2. Matthew Griffin (Whippany Park) 50.09; 3. Joziah Johnson (Parsippany) 51.24; 4. Brett Reid (Parsippany) 51.9; 5 Chris Greene (Wallkill Valley) 52.22; 6. Thomas Ung (Whippany Park) 52.43.

800 meters: 1. Cristian Vintimilla (Vernon) 1:59.53; 2. Matt Freund (Newton) 2:02.01; 3. Elijah Gately (Kinnelon) 2:02.1; 4. John Fiessler (Newton) 2:02.32; 5. Donte Brooks (Boonton) 2:02.87; 6. Mason Rabtzow (Jefferson) 2:02.98.

Madison senior Adam Angelone heads for the finish line at the NJSIAA cross country Meet of Champions on Nov. 20, 2021 at Holmdel Park, Holmdel NJ. Photo James J. Connolly Correspondent
Madison senior Adam Angelone heads for the finish line at the NJSIAA cross country Meet of Champions on Nov. 20, 2021 at Holmdel Park, Holmdel NJ. Photo James J. Connolly Correspondent

1,600 meters: 1. Adam Angelone (Madison) 4:23.04; 2. Matt Freund (Newton) 4:30.36; 3. Elijah Gately (Kinnelon) 4:35.97; 4. Liam Hansberry (Parsippany) 4:37.6; 5. Andrew Garcia (Kinnelon) 4:39.76; 6. Tyler Jones (Vernon) 4:42.66.

3,200 meters: 1. Adam Angelone (Madison) 9:41.41; 2. Andrew Garcia (Kinnelon) 10:01.19; 3. Elijah Gately (Kinnelon) 10:03.25; 4. Tyler Jones (Vernon) 10:07.3; 5. Aarin Tyagi (Parsippany) 10:08.61; 6. Aarav Tyagi (Parsippany) 10:11.59.

4x400: 1. Whippany Park (Thomas Ung, Kyler Day, Matthew Yee, Matthew Griffin) 3:32.17; 2. Wallkill Valley 3:33.56; 3. Pequannock 3:33.57; 4. Parsippany 3:36.41; 5. Vernon 3:36.87; 6. Newton 3:40.06.

Clyde Liverpool of Boonton in the 100 meter hurdles at the Morris County Track and Field Championships held in Boonton, NJ on May 26, 2021.
Clyde Liverpool of Boonton in the 100 meter hurdles at the Morris County Track and Field Championships held in Boonton, NJ on May 26, 2021.

110-meter hurdles: 1. Clyde Liverpool (Boonton) 14.53; 2. Joziah Johnson (Parsippany) 15.7; 3. Batisse Manhardt (Boonton) 16.23; 4. Steven Ruehle (Kinnelon) 16.47; 5. Mohamed Fofanah (Sussex Tech) 16.71; 6. Jeremy Felix (Vernon) 17.39.

400-meter hurdles: 1. Joziah Johnson (Parsippany) 55.43; 2. Dylan Bonser (Wallkill Valley) 58.11; 3. Mohamed Fofanah (Sussex Tech) 58.59; 4. Sebastian Morey (Parsippany) 58.7; 5. Donte Brooks (Boonton) 58.72; 6. Matt Castrignano (Jefferson) 59.14.

High jump: 1. Patrick Kelleher (High Point) 5-10; 2. Jack Tracy (Kinnelon) 5-10; 3. Trent Molfetto (Kittatinny) 5-10; 4. Ibrahim Fall (Boonton), Brandon McKeon (Kinnelon), Ethan Volante (Boonton) and Aidin Stack (Kinnelon) 5-8.

Long jump: 1. Tristen Miscia (Morristown Beard) 21-4.75; 2. Brett Reid (Parsippany) 21-1; 3. Brandon McKeon (Kinnelon) 20-11.25; 4. Ibrahim Fall (Boonton) 20-6.75; 5. Sheldon Agyemang (Parsippany) 20-5; 6. Chris Ross (Wallkill Valley) 20-3.75.

Triple jump: 1. Brett Reid (Parsippany) 43-0; 2. Ibrahim Fall (Boonton) 42-0; 3. Mohamed Fofanah (Sussex Tech) 41-5. 4. Chris Greene (Wallkill Valley) 40-11; 5. Donte Brooks (Boonton) 39-4.5; 6. James Everett (Morris Catholic) 39-2.

Pole vault: 1. Luke Laterza (Whippany Park) 11-0; 2. Ryan Pietz (Lenape Valley) and Thomas Ung (Whippany Park) 10-6; 4. Jonathan Gomez (Whippany Park) 10-6; 5. William Kelleher (High Point) 10-6; 6. Brady Bonser (Wallkill Valley) 10-0.

Shot put: 1. Dreveon Eddleman (Morris Catholic) 44-10.5; 2. Logan Yanoff (High Point) 44-10.5; 3. Jason Fisher (Wallkill Valley) 44-3.75; 4. William Greenhalgh (Newton) 40-5.5; 5. Jacob Roby (Pequannock) 40-5.5; 6. Ben Moctezuma (Dover) 40-3.5.

Discus: 1. Henry Struble (Pequannock) 130-4; 2. Nick Arnau (Pequannock) 125-2; 3. Alex Diaz (Dover) 121-0; 4. Tanner Smith (Vernon) 120-4; 5. Logan Yanoff (High Point) 118-8; 6. Andrew Noonan (High Point) 117-10.

Javelin: 1. Garrett Brown (Wallkill Valley) 145-2; 2. Brady Campbell (Wallkill Valley) 145-0; 3. Mohammed Abdallah (Lenape Valley) 144-4; 4. Jeffrey Stupski (Pequannock) 141-6; 5. Aidan Van Sickle (Mountain Lakes) 137-9; 6. Nick Arnau (Pequannock) 133-2.

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference small-school track and field