Morris Knolls boys earn first County Relays title, Randolph girls return to top

Jane Havsy, Morristown Daily Record
·7 min read

MADISON – Luke Schagelin knew Morris Knolls had already clinched its first Morris County Relays title when he got the baton for the anchor leg of the 4x400. But Schagelin didn’t care.

He was determined to win the race as well as the historic trophy.

The Golden Eagles left Drew University with both on Tuesday night. They had never won as a team before, finishing second in 2011 and 2019 – each time with 34 points.

Morris Knolls won its first Morris County Relays team title on Jan. 3, 2023.
Morris Knolls won its first Morris County Relays team title on Jan. 3, 2023.

Morris Knolls accumulated 56 points on Tuesday to overcome Delbarton. The balanced Randolph girls recaptured the Morris County Relays team plaque, its fifth in six seasons.

“I gave it all I had, and it turned out perfectly,” said Schagelin, who had been cheered on by teammates climbing up the fence surrounding the backstretch. “It feels great. I love the feeling after I run. It hurts, but I love the pain.”

Morris Knolls won the shuttle hurdles to open the meet, and the high jump and 4x400 at the end. The Rams girls, meanwhile, were first in the 4x800 and shot put – but placed in every event except the pole vault.

Longtime Randolph coach Kevin Higgins cited “the injection of talent, and a really nice combination of seniors.” He highlighted Ariyana Jackson, who had a personal best 37-6.25 in the shot and was part of the Rams’ 4x200, shuttle hurdles and sprint medley. Jackson and Khy’aira Thorpe (34-7.5) had the top two marks in the shot put relay.

Samantha Willis helped Randolph medal in the distance and sprint medleys, and the 4x400. Freshman Carly Wysocki led off the 4x800, sprint medley and 4x400, handing off in first place each time.

“We felt a little bit iffy, but we’re coming together as a team,” Jackson said. “We’re doing our best. That’s what is most important to me. It felt good. We worked hard for this. This is what we wanted together.”

Distance drama

Mendham swept both boys and girls distance medleys on Tuesday. But only after Delbarton and Chatham were both disqualified.

The Green Wave and Cougars crossed the line far ahead of the field. But they had only completed 19 of the required 20 laps, because meet officials put the anchor runners onto the track early – after 600 meters instead of 800.

Chatham coach Pat Clark said his team had a similar incident at the Wayne Gardiner Holiday Relays on Dec. 17. But in that DMR, the Cougars ran an extra lap.

After Tuesday’s DMR disappointment, Delbarton senior twins Collin and Brian Boler went back to the original team plan.

“We were a little annoyed, but we had to let it go and focus on the next race,” Brian Boler said. “I’m proud of our guys for their resilience and getting it done.”

Faster, higher, stronger

Nicholas Frattina of Mt. Olive at the Morris County Relays held at Drew University in Madison, NJ on January 3, 2023.
Nicholas Frattina of Mt. Olive at the Morris County Relays held at Drew University in Madison, NJ on January 3, 2023.

∎ Mount Olive senior Nicholas Frattina was nine feet clear of the shot put field (56-8.75). Frattina, who has verbally committed to Cornell, teamed with Steven Garcia to win the event.

∎ Reigning indoor and outdoor high jump champion Elsa Spoor cleared 5-4 at Morris County Relays for the second year in a row. Spoor, a Chatham senior who signed a National Letter of Intent with Virginia, teamed with junior Isabel Russo to claim the title.

∎ Seniors John Robinson and C.J. Moore went 1-2 as Morris Knolls claimed the high jump relay – the result which sealed the team victory.

“You just hear a lot of noises,” said Robinson, who cleared a personal-best 13-1 in the pole vault. “It’s just fun. I like that what I can do helps the team.”

Girls results

Elsa Spoor of Chatham in the high jump at the Morris County Relays held at Drew University in Madison, NJ on January 3, 2023.
Elsa Spoor of Chatham in the high jump at the Morris County Relays held at Drew University in Madison, NJ on January 3, 2023.

Team scores: Randolph 58; Mount Olive 37; Chatham 31; Morris Hills 27; Roxbury 26; Mendham 24; Morris Knolls 21; Morristown and Parsippany Hills 12; Villa Walsh and Whippany Park 7; Hanover Park 3; Butler 1

4x200: 1. Mount Olive (Jianna Gorospe, Sydney Dugan, Michaela Eason, Natasha Redmond) 1:51.61; 2. Randolph 1:56.82; 3. Mendham 1:57; 4. Whippany Park 1:57.72; 5. Morris Hills 1:58.28; 6. Morris Knolls 1:58.32.

4x400: 1. Mount Olive (Morgan Ryerson, Sydney Dugan, Ava Welsch, Natasha Redmond) 4:17.14; 2. Chatham 4:21.85; 3. Randolph 4:21.89; 4. Parsippany Hills 4:25.56; 5. Morris Hills 4:30.98; 6. Whippany Park 4:35.27.

4x800: 1. Randolph (Carlie Wysocki, April Kusnier, Lilah Willis, Chelsea Renna) 10:19.79; 2. Mendham 10:26.14; 3. Chatham 10:32.41; 4. Roxbury 10:40.58; 5. Morris Knolls 10:54.45; 6. Morris Hills 10:57.04.

.Sprint medley: 1. Morris Hills (Shreya Sathiyan, Madelyn Epstein, Zoe Turner, Ivory Piskula) 4:29.09; 2. Randolph 4:29.58; 3. Roxbury 4:31.35; 4. Morristown 4:33; 5. Parsippany Hills 4:37.23; 6. Mount Olive 4:38.77.

Distance medley: 1. Mendham (Sophia Draxler, Anna Shaw, Kate Shaw, Alona Kopeld) 13:13.99; 2. Morristown 13:14.37; 3. Chatham 13:18.25; 4. Randolph 13:31.24; 5. Morris Hills 13:38.46; 6. Villa Walsh 13:47.04.

Shuttle hurdles: 1. Morris Knolls (Emily O'Dell, Alicia Ramos, Makenzie Adams, Erica Saladino) 35.0; 2. Randolph 35.19; 3. Parsippany Hills 36.67; 4. Mount Olive 36.74; 5. Whippany Park 37.07; 6. Hanover Park 38.97.

High jump: 1. Chatham (Elsa Spoor, Isabel Russo) 9-10; 2. Mount Olive 9-1; 3. Villa Walsh 8-0; 4. Randolph 8-8; 5. Morris Knolls 8-8; 6. Butler 8-6.

Pole vault: 1. Morris Hills (Shreya Sathiyan, Sloan Epstein) 15-6; 2. Roxbury 14-6.

Shot put: 1. Randolph (Ariyana Jackson, Khy'aira Thorpe) 72-1.75; 2. Roxbury 63-2.5; 3. Morris Knolls 60-9; 4. Mount Olive 59-6; 5. Hanover Park 56-10; 6. Chatham 53-4.25.

Boys results

Brett Reid of Parsippany anchors the win for his team in the 4x200 at the Morris County Relays held at Drew University in Madison, NJ on January 3, 2023.
Brett Reid of Parsippany anchors the win for his team in the 4x200 at the Morris County Relays held at Drew University in Madison, NJ on January 3, 2023.

Team scores: Morris Knolls 56; Delbarton 37; Morris Hills 33; Mount Olive 22; Randolph 21; Parsippany 16; Montville, Mendham, Mountain Lakes and Kinnelon 14; Morristown 13.5; Chatham 11; Whippany Park 6; Roxbury  4

4x200: 1. Parsippany (Sheldon Agyemang, Daniel Alsina, Jozia Johnson, Brett Reid) 1:36.28; 2. Morris Knolls 1:37.72; 3. Kinnelon 1:38.84; 4. Mount Olive 1:40.05; 5. Morristown 1:40.14; 6. Chatham 1:40.15.

4x400: 1. Morris Knolls (Max Capala, Devin Gaglione, Gregory Palma, Luke Schagelin) 3:38.75; 2. Chatham 3:42.41; 3. Whippany Park 3:45.34; 4. Morris Hills 3:45.7; 5. Delbarton 3:45.8; 6. Randolph 3:50.72.

4x800: 1. Delbarton (Collin Boler, Everett Jania, Sean Dooley, Brian Boler) 8:18.75; 2. Morris Knolls 8:42.12; 3. Morris Hills 8:47.47; 4. Mendham 8:50.12; 5. Chatham 8:51.08; 6. Roxbury 9:12.82.

.Sprint medley: 1. Delbarton (Brian Boler, Dillon Byrne, Ryan Harper, Collin Boler) 3:45.34; 2. Kinnelon 3:46.51; 3. Morris Knolls 3:50.63; 4. Montville 3:52.02; 5. Parsippany 3:53.89; 6. Morris Hills 3:54.56.

Distance medley: 1. Mendham (Callahan Porter, Charles Schuetz, Daniel Lanahan, Robert Boesgaard) 11:15.78; 2. Randolph 11:20.39; 3. Montville 11:29.27; 4. Parsippany 11:34.81; 5. Morris Hills 11:36.4; 6. West Morris 11:52.84.

Justice Truesdale of Morris Hills as Elijah Bastos of Morris Knolls leads his team in the shuttle relay at the Morris County Relays held at Drew University in Madison, NJ on January 3, 2023.
Justice Truesdale of Morris Hills as Elijah Bastos of Morris Knolls leads his team in the shuttle relay at the Morris County Relays held at Drew University in Madison, NJ on January 3, 2023.

Shuttle hurdles: 1. Morris Knolls (Gregory Palma, Bennett Zoellers, Devin Gaglione, Elijah Bastos) 32.66; 2. Morris Hills 33.51; 3. Randolph 34.18; 4. Delbarton 35.93; 5. Morristown and Hanover Park 36.13.

High jump: 1. Morris Knolls (John Robinson, C.J. Moore) 11-6; 2. Mountain Lakes 11-0; 3. Morris Hills 10-9; 4. Montville 10-6; 5. Morristown 10-3; 6. Randolph 10-3.

Pole vault: 1. Delbarton (Paul Quense, Timothy Pinheiro) 20-6; 2. Mount Olive 20-6; 3. Mountain Lakes 18-6; 4. Roxbury and Randolph 18-6.

Shot put: 1. Mount Olive (Nicholas Frattina, Steven Garcia) 91-6.75; 2. Morristown 89-0; 3. Morris Hills 86-10.75; 4. Morris Knolls 83-5.5; 5. Randolph 78-6.5; 6. Delbarton 77-10.75.

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ track and field: Morris County Relays 2023 results, photos