On Saturday morning, the boys and girls competed in the North II Sectional Championships at Oak Ridge Park in Clark.
The boys won in dominating fashion, posting six finishers in the top 20 of the 111-man race. Their average time of 15:41 is a new course record at Oak Ridge. Westfield’s Avery Keith battled for first the whole way, losing in the last 10 meters of the race. Keith’s time of 15:12 is a school record at Oak Ridge.
To top it off for the Blue Devils, Ryan Daly and Tage Mehta finished sixth and seventh respectively, running 15:41 and 15:42.
The top 10 was rounded out by Westfield’s Johnny Scalia. With one kilometer to go in the race, Scalia was in 19th place. But a hard late-race kick put him in the top 10. This has become somewhat of a trademark for Scalia, the excellent late-race kicks putting his team in a position to win.
“We fought out there,” said Coach Chris Tafelski. “We closed well, and this should get the gears turning that they can be one of the best teams in the history of our program.”
As mentioned, this is one of the most talented teams Westfield has seen in their storied cross-country history. In the next two weeks, they will compete in the Group IV state championship and the Meet of Champions to have yet another chance to make history.
“This race gave us a lot of confidence,” said Westfield’s Graham Korins. “A lot of guys had great races, we’re ready for groups.”
However, the Blue Devils weren’t finished. The girls followed up with another spectacular performance that came down to only 1 point. Westfield started out quick, with four girls in the top 20, and after the first mile, it was clear that the Blue Devils were going for the win.
As the race continued, senior Sonia Olson emerged from the pack with two other runners. The lead runner for Philipsburg would go on to win the race, but Olson and Dickinson’s lead runner continued to battle for second as the final stretch approached. Olson ultimately won the battle with a late push, beating Sara Khiri from Dickinson in the last 30 meters of the race.
“I knew how bad we wanted this, and we wanted to make history,” said Olson.
The girls did just that, battling the entire race with high energy and motivation as it came down to the finish. It was imperative to the win that everyone continued to do their part and doing so allowed the Blue Devils to mark their first North II Sectional Championship in 18 years.
The girls will join the boys next Saturday at Holmdel Park to compete in the Group IV Championship.
