Saturday afternoon, 31 teams from around New Jersey traveled to Westfield to compete in the Blue Devil Classic. And on their home turf, the Blue Devils showed out with an array of impressive performances.
The day was highlighted by Westfield’s two distance medley relay squads, which placed first and second in the event with times of 10 minutes 39 seconds and 10 minutes 43 seconds, respectively. Westfield’s Avery Keith and Liam Maurillo took their relays out, with the goal of preparing Maurillo for the 1200-meter leg he will run next weekend at Penn Relays. “I had never run a 1200 before,” Maurillo said after the race. “So I’m glad I got a feel for it today.” It is best said that iron sharpens iron, and that is what head coach Chris Tafelski had in mind. The two relays never lost hold of first and second as the Blue Devils quite literally ran away with the race.
In the Jack Martin Mile, named after legendary Westfield coach Jack Martin, Westfield posted two top-10 finishers in a stacked field. Daniel Cortese placed third, with a United States top 25 time of 4:23, and was followed up by Jimmy Gildea, whose time of 4:26 was good enough for fifth place.
Westfield raced two sprint medley relays. The first consisted of Gildea, Noah Petrassi, Gabriele Lisci and Michael McAndrew and took home sixth place with a time of 3:45. The second, composed of Alex Valencia, Evan Alexander, Sean Henderson and Lucas Hubner, ran 3:55, placing 11th.
The 4×800 relay of Eamon Mason, James Hamilton, Lucas Buonopane and Jack McCormack was neck-and-neck with Haddonfield Memorial throughout the race, the two teams breaking away from the competition early. But Westfield fell just short as McCormack was narrowly eclipsed in the final meters, placing Westfield second with a time of 8:18.79. The 4×400 relay of Ryan Daly, Mason, Buonopane and Manny Gayanilo stayed with their pack until the end and finished with a time of 3:33, good for fifth place.
Sophomores Jack Hill and Cole Varner placed sixth and seventh in the 3200, their first try in that event this season. The rest of Westfield’s distance squad will join them in that distance next Wednesday at Holmdel’s Night of 3200s.
Gayanilo had himself a day, placing fourth in the 400 shuttle hurdles with a personal best time of 57.43. In the 4×200 relay, the Blue Devils placed sixth with a time of 1:34.
In the jumping events, Eamon Collins took home fifth for Westfield in the high jump, jumping 5 feet 10 inches. In the long jump, Senu Glasco’s jump of 20 feet 1.5 inches was good enough for 10th in the event. Charlie Vanecek and Jake Stinton finished 22nd and 24th in the triple jump.
Mason Marino highlighted Westfield’s day in the throws, winning the javelin with a mark of 159 feet. His next closest finisher was a full 3 feet behind him. Owen Paul took home second place in the discus with a mark of 142 feet 5 inches. Phin Mindak followed up with a throw of 141 feet 7 inches, good enough for fourth in the event.
Up next for Westfield: Penn Relays. This Thursday, the Blue Devils will head to Franklin Field in Philadelphia, where they will look to capture the DMR title. When asked about the race, Keith said simply, “We have big plans.”
