On the weekend of March 13, the girls and boys track and field programs competed at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston, MA., wrapping up a productive winter track season on the biggest stage in track and field.
The girls team competed in one event, the Sprint Medley Relay, which consists of 2 200-meter sprints, a 400-meter sprint and an 800-meter run. Junior Scarlett Goldman ran the first 200 leg, followed by senior Maya Nair in the second 200 leg, then junior Regan Stevens ran the 400 and senior Claire Sewald closed with the 800. The group ended with an overall time of 4:24. The girls placed 63rd out of 71 relays and ran a #37 NJ season best in the event.
The Blue Devils gained valuable experience competing at the national level. Nair said, “It was so fun and exciting going to Boston with my relay. Going to this meet has been a goal of mine since freshman year, so I’m just happy I got to experience it, especially with these girls. The race itself was so fun and cool. The track’s environment was awesome.”
This was the first national competition for the girls and will be something to remember, going into the outdoor spring track season. Girls head coach Joseph Berardi said, “It was a culmination of hard work and perseverance from a group that had never qualified for any Nationals Meet. I think it sets them up nicely for the outdoor season and is a confidence booster just by making Nationals.”
The boys’ team competed in both the SMR and the 4×800-meter relay, running record times in both events. In the SMR, junior Sizwe Ndlovu ran a WHS junior record in the 200-meter first leg, senior Griffin Bach ran the 2nd 200, junior Luke Schiner ran the 400-meter and senior Christian Buonopane closed out the race with the 800-meter. Overall, the boys ran a time of 3:36, placing 27th out of 67 relays in the event and ran a US #48 and NJ #10 time.
In the 4×800 meter race, junior Nikos Davlouros ran the first leg, Buonopane ran second, sophomore Lincoln Staiger ran 3rd and senior Brody Toriello ran the final leg. The relay placed 23rd out of 100, with a time of 7:58. They ran a WHS #5 all-time, a US #62 and NJ #6 time.
Buonopane said, “It’s always fun going to Boston for nationals. You get to watch some of the best athletes in the country compete, and the hype for each race is unlike any other. We decided early on in the season to really focus on our training, trying to work on any potential weaknesses in our routine. We saw a lot of improvement over the winter, so that’s a good sign that we are doing things right, and for this reason I’m really excited for the spring.”
For the boys, they are familiar with the national stage, having won the 4×800 relay in both the indoor and outdoor 2024 season. With such experience, the team has to work not only to qualify for nationals and perform well, but also not fall victim to pressure from past achievements.
Boys head coach Christopher Tafelski said, “The nice thing about going to nationals for several consecutive years is that it normalizes going. It’s less of a question of ‘Will we go?’ and more of a question of ‘How can we perform at our best when we get there?’ It’s a big mindset difference. The experience of performing well on such a big stage will bring the guys confidence as we go into the spring.”
Both teams hope to continue this momentum in the spring season and make it to the New Balance Outdoor Nationals at the University of Pennsylvania at the end of the season. The Blue Devils have a lot of work cut out for them in the upcoming months, but this confidence boost from Boston should help them achieve that goal.
