On Feb. 23, the Blue Devils took some of their best competitors to the Group 4 state meet to compete against the best runners in New Jersey, and they did not disappoint.
Unfortunately, due to the size of the teams competing, Westfield could not score enough points to win the state title, but that didn’t stop them from obtaining a few medals along the way.
The first race of the day was the 1600-meter, where senior Kaleb Steockmann led the pack for most of the race, finishing fourth and earning a wildcard to the Meet of Champions.
The path to the MOC is difficult, but to get there, a runner must either finish top 3 in his group or have 1 of the 12 fastest times from all the groups combined to get a spot. With Steockmann’s time of 4 minutes and 23 seconds, he was easily able to grab one of the top wildcard spots.
“I was extremely proud with the way I ran. Unfortunately my form did fall apart during the last lap and a half, so that is something that I will need to work on this upcoming week to perform better at the Meet of Champions,” said Steokmann.
Next up was the 800 which was one of the most anticipated events of the day. Big names such as seniors Tayseun Wilson from Toms River North, Monmouth University commit Michael Card from Howell, and Blue Devil and Air Force Academy commit Ryan Daly. Everyone knew this would be a fast heat.
On the first lap, the three athletes separated themselves from the rest of the pack and stayed consistent with their pace. As they were coming into the last straightaway, Wilson was on the inside with Daly swinging wide. It was anyone’s race. With five meters remaining they all started to lean and simultaneously dove head first to the finish line, collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. By just 0.06 seconds, Daly narrowly took first with a time of 1:55.20, Wilson took second with a time of 1:55.26, and Card in third with a time of 1:55.37.
Photo courtesy of Tom Smith
While Daly was on the final straightaway, he looked over at Wilson. “I saw him start to lean and I thought to myself that we were really gonna dive to the finish line, and I’m glad I did because it got me the win,” said Daly.
The Blue Devils will send two individuals – Daly and Steokmann – and two relays – 4×400 and the 4×800 – to the Meet of Champions on March 2. After that they will be traveling north to Boston for the New Balance Indoor Nationals from March 13 to 16. Head coach Chris Tafelski is “looking to build on all the accomplishments from last year.”
