As junior Regan Stevens sprints towards the finish time of the 4×400 meter relay, it is clear the Blue Devils have fought to the line, up until this very last event. On Feb. 8, the girls track and field team traveled to Toms River, looking to defend their North 2 Group 4 sectional title, but despite valiant efforts, they fell short, placing 11th overall.
A total of 10.5 points overall, the Blue Devils placed just under Elizabeth High School, scoring 11 points to place 10th, and Bayonne with 12 points in 9th. Ultimately, Union High School took 1st, scoring 58 points overall.
The team maintained high spirits and were happy with their overall performances for a variety of reasons including it provides hope for seasons to come. Head coach Joseph Berardi said, “I thought [the team] performed well. The conditions have been tough the last month with light training and keeping on top of stacking good training weeks, but, overall I saw a lot of good stuff today from a young group, we are a young team. So I’m excited to see it a year from now. I think hopefully we’ll be walking out with the trophies.”
Points scored came from both the field and the track. The 4×400 meter relay consisting of senior Maya Nair, sophomore Darby Revock, sophomore Kate Tierney and Stevens placed 4th overall, running a time of 4:18. In the pole vault, all three WHS competitors scored points; sophomores Giada Petrarca and Bridget Garrett went 4th and 5th respectively, both jumping 6-6, and sophomore Abby Morris placed 6th, jumping 6-0.
For Petrarca, she said, “My mindset was hoping just to clear the height I needed to, because I was told if I did that, I could help our team out and score some points. For the technical and strategic event of the pole vault, just cleaning the initial height gave the girls points, and they were able to continue with Petrarca, also achieving a personal best at the section meet.
The Blue Devils also had many athletes who were very close to scoring points but just came up short, placing lower than 6th place. Senior Claire Sewald placed 7th (2:27) and sophomore Evangeline Van Brunt took 8th in the 800 meter run, Stevens took 8th (1:02), and junior Scarlett Goldman took 9th (1:03) in the 400 meters and sophomores Natalie Salzano (5:38) and Audrey Sewald (5:39) went 8th and 9th in the 1600 meter run.
Berardi also said, “I think a lot of girls gained a good experience. A lot of girls took seventh, eighth or ninth [place], which means coming back next year, hopefully they’re gonna be scoring some big points.”
For the girls that did score, they moved onto the group meet on Feb. 21. Nair said, ” Even though we didn’t win, it’s great knowing that we’re one of the fastest relays in the section and we get to move onto the group meet.” She will come back alongside the relay and pole vaulters at the Rothman Orthopaedics Sports Complex – “The Bubble” in Toms River.
