Track & field: Rumson-Fair Haven girls impress at Monmouth County Relays
HOWELL — It’s rare to see a Group 2 program win a county championship in a sport like track and field, especially in a relay meet, which requires a deep corps of participants to cover the 16 events.
Yet everywhere you looked at Thursday's Monmouth County Relays, the Rumson-Fair Haven girls were picking up medals.
Even though they won just two events, the Bulldogs tallied 70 points to take the crown, 12 more than runners-up Howell and Colts Neck.
“It’s very, very exciting,” senior Chloee Dotts said. “It makes me feel so proud to be a Bulldog, to see we do so well consistently across the board. It’s such a good experience.”
Dotts helped put the icing on the cake, leading off the 4x400 that earned the clinching points in the final event. She split 1:02 and was followed by Cassedy Stypul (1:02), Tyler Argilagos (59) and Megan Burns (1:00) for the 4:05 clocking.
Rumson-Fair Haven has won this meet before, though it’s been a few years.
“In the past there’s been a ton of success, so it’s good to keep it going,” Burns said. “You talk about tradition, so to carry it on and work as a team and succeed as a team is so gratifying.”
Perhaps the event that best symbolized the Bulldogs’ effort was the 4x200. They dropped the baton during a handoff, which usually results in doom. But in this case the baton didn’t roll out of the zone, so they scooped it up and finished second in 1:47.46. That took a little bit of luck and a lot of composure. Those points came in handy at the meet’s end.
“We were able to recover extremely well,” Dotts said. “That just shows how hard-working we are and how much we want to win.”
CBA boys streak continues
As expected, Christian Brothers captured the boys crown for the 11th straight spring. The Colts turned in their usual balanced effort to compile 110 points, 13 more than Rumson-Fair Haven.
Chris Brown tied for the meet-best height in the high jump (6-2) and Kam Coleman posted the day’s farthest triple jump by more than three feet (43-5.25). The dominant throws unit earned two golds and a silver, with the javelin duo of Code Abutel (163-9) and Jack Ryan (162-7) logging the day’s second- and third-best distances.
Matt Herman pitched in with triumphs in the shuttle hurdles (1:05.45) and 3x400 hurdles. His time of 56.94 in the latter was the meet’s second-fastest.
TOP FIVE BOYS PERFORMANCES
Robert Manse III, Christian Brothers: The senior recorded the meet’s farthest throw in the shot put (54-10) and discus (158-1) as the Colts struck gold in both events.
Rowan Cassidy, Manalapan: The Johns Hopkins-bound senior anchored an 8:05 triumph in the 4x800 with a 1:57 split an a 10:58 win in the distance medley with a 4:30 1600.
John Conners, Rumson-Fair Haven: The junior picked up gold medals in the 4x100 (44.48) and 4x200 (1:32.24), a silver in the high jump (6-2), and a bronze in the long jump (20-3.25).
Ka’leel Jefferson, Neptune: The senior posted the meet’s top long jump distance (22-3.5), led off the second-place 4x100 (44.78) and ran on the fourth-place 4x200 (1:33.93).
Ocean Township sprint medley: Alex Sadikov (48.7 400), Ethan DeFonseka, Danny Cholak and Mark Viggiano (1:57.0 800) clocked a speedy 3:31.74 to cross the line four seconds ahead of the field. The same group later won the 4x400 in 3:23 with Sadikov anchoring in 48.5.
TOP FIVE GIRLS PERFORMANCES
Laura Gugliotta, Howell: The Penn-bound senior anchored the 4x100 (50.95) and 4x200 (1:47.25) to come-from-behind wins and anchored the Rebels’ 4x400 to third place with a blazing 54.6 split.
Taylor Moore, Raritan: The senior recorded the meet’s No. 2 distance the shot put (35-8.25) to lead the Rockets to first place. She also ranked No. 2 in the discus (111-3) and No. 3 in the javelin (104-9).
Kylie Jacoutot, Colts Neck: The junior ran the meet’s top 400 hurdles time (1:05.98), and contributed legs on the victorious sprint medley (4:18.80) and third-place 4x100 (51.42).
Sara Veres, Howell: The senior helped the Rebels capture gold medals in the triple jump (a meet-best 34-10.5) and shuttle hurdles (1:06.77), ran on the third-place 4x400, and clocked 1:09 in the 400 hurdles.
Rumson-Fair Haven 4x800: Ryan Malone, Sarah Butler, Katie Murray and Julia Shanes rolled to gold in 9:45, a whopping 26 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
Ocean County Relays postponed
The Ocean County Relays, originally slated for May 6, got moved to Thursday, May 26 due to the weather. The meet will start at 4 p.m. at Southern.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Track & field: Rumson-Fair Haven NJ girls roll at Monmouth County Relays
