Reliable relays

Woodstown boys edge Glassboro for first state indoor relays title, clinch it in final event of night

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

TOMS RIVER — The Woodstown boys set their lineups to grab the most points possible and it all came down to the last race of the night.

A first- or second-place finish in the 4×400 would wrestle away the Wolverines’ first NJSIAA Indoor Relays state title from rival Glassboro. Running on what had to be dead legs at the end of a long night, all they did was win the race vy 1.4 seconds to give them 38 team points and edge the Bulldogs (who placed sixth) by three for their first NJSIAA indoor title since the 2016 sectionals.

The Wolverines won three races at the Bubble: 4×400 (3:28.27), 4×800 (8:09.20) and the sprint medley (3:38.34). They were second to Glassboro in the distance medley.

“I’m so so happy we won,” said Karson Chew, who ran the second leg of the 4×4 and the leadoff leg in the 4×8. “We’ve been working so hard up to this moment and it’s such a great boost of confidence and momentum for us going into late season. We all went into the meet knowing what we had to do to get the win and executed perfectly.”

One of the key decisions of the night was substituting 800 specialist Josh Crawford into that leg of the sprint medley and they won that race by nearly seven seconds over Audubon. Glassboro was third, some 10 seconds off the pace. Kyle Reitz, Anthony Costello and Ben Lippincott ran the other legs of the race.

“We knew our main competition tonight was Glassboro,” Crawford said. “We respect their team. We knew we had to get as many points as possible, so we made some last-minute changes.”

That win set the stage for the 4×400 drama. Reitz led it off, followed by Chew, Costello and Crawford. Chew, Jacob Marino, David Farrell and Crawford ran the 4×800.

“We did what we do, as a team, so well,” Crawford said. “We listen to our coaches. We talked to each other and strategize about our strengths and how we are each feeling about what we have left in the tank to put the right person in each position. We trust each other and we know that we will all leave everything we have on the track.”

Schalick’s boys finished tied for tenth with eight pole vault points. Salvatore Longo finished second individually in the event.

Penns Grove and Salem also were in that T-10. The Red Devils were 3-4 in the shot put. The Rams were third in the 4×800 and sixth in the shuttle hurdles.

Pennsville’s girls were ninth. Kallie Morrison had the Eagles’ best individual finish, second in the high jump.

NJSIAA RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS
At The Bubble, Toms River
GROUP 1 BOYS
TOP 15 TEAM SCORES: Woodstown 38, Glassboro 35, Glen Rock 30, Ramsey 23, New Providence 22, Hasbrouck Heights 18, Haddon Twp. 16, Audubon 13, Pascack Hills 9, Schalick 8, Highland Park 8, Penns Grove 8, Salem 8, Hanover Park 6, Newark Tech-Essex 6.
4000 Distance Medley: 1. Glassboro 10:43.76; 2. Woodstown (Jacob Marino, David Farrell, Josh Crawford, Karson Chew) 10:45.69.
4×55 Shuttle Hurdles: 1. Hasbrouck Heights 34.85; 6. Salem (Timothy Gregory, Cashmir Parsley, Jerry Seals, Gradin Buzby) 37.92.
4×200: 1. Glen Rock 1:34.87.
4×800: 1. Woodstown (Karson Chew, Jacob Marino, David Farrell, Josh Crawford), 8:09.20.
Sprint Medley: 1. Woodstown (Kyle Reitz, Anthony Costello, Josh Crawford, Ben Lippincott), 3:38.84.
4×400: 1. Woodstown (Kyle Reitz, Karson Chew, Anthony Costello, Josh Crawford), 3:32.59; 3. Salem (Gradin Buzby, Timothy Gregory, Jerry Seals, Quimere Bergen), 3:38.27.
High Jump: 1. Moses Robles, Glassboro, 6-0; 1. Leighton Kelly, Glen Rock, 6-0.
Pole Vault: 1. Luciano Zizza, Ramsey, 13-6; 2. Salvatore Longo, Schalick, 12-0.08 (14. Josh Weiner, Schalick, 9-6.05).
Shot Put: 1. Evan Youzon, Glen Rock, 57-10; 3. Raymond Brown, Penns Grove, 43-1.5; 4. JaKai Ingram, Penns Grove, 42-5.5.

GROUP 1 GIRLS
TOP 15 TEAM SCORES: Ramsey 60, Audubon 48, Glassboro 23, Metuchen 18, Shore 16, Hasbrouck Heights 11, Pequannock 11, Butler 10, Pennsville 9, New Providence 8, Mountain Lakes 8, West Deptford 8, Waldwick 8, Glen Rock 7, Lower Cape May 6, Penns Grove 6.
4000 Distance Medley: 1. Shore Regional 12:42.13.
4×51.5 Shuttle Hurdles: 1. Ramsey 35.34
4×200: 1. Ramsey 1:50.95; 4. Salem (Ramiyah Jones, Janiyah Parsons-Smith, Amaia Massengill, Anyzha Williams), 1:52.0.
4×800: 1. Ramsey 10:14.03.
Sprint Medley: 1. Audubon 4:19.43.
4×400: 1. Ramsey 4:17.60.
High Jump: 1. Jessica Tsang, Mountain Lakes, 5-2; 2. Kallie Morrison, Pennsville, 5-0.02 (10. Molly Gratz, Pennsville, 4-6).
Pole Vault: 1. Elizabeth Mann, Glassboro, 8-6; 7. Molly Gratz, Pennsville, 7-0 (8. Laura Tamberella, Pennsville, 6-0).
Shot Put: 1. Sunny Moore, Glassboro, 36-8.75; 6. Zoey Ceasar, Penns Grove, 31-1.5 (11. Jarlene Vichi, Penns Grove, 29-8.75.