Saturday morning, Christian Brothers Academy—the possible home of this year’s state Meet of Champions—welcomed six of the best track teams in the tri-state area to its Colt Team Challenge. Westfield was among those teams, placing fourth with notable performances across the board.
For many Blue Devils, it was their spring season opener, something Westfield’s Avery Keith kept in mind. “There were some lower expectations, but just excited to get back out there,” Keith said. Keith’s time of 4:18 in the mile was good enough for third place. He was followed by five Westfield finishers, all of whom broke 4:30. The Blue Devils put six finishers in the top 15, an impressive feat considering the level of competition.
Westfield’s Joe Pierro broke the infamous 22-second mark in the 200 meter race with a time of 21.76. Pierro placed third, missing the win by just .03 seconds. The stellar performance gives Pierro and the team confidence as they look ahead to the rest of the season. “My big goal right now is to win the 200 at sectionals, and with a time like that I feel like I’m on course to do so,” Pierro said. “And as for the rest of the sprint squad, we had a lot of guys getting personal bests. I’m really confident in our 400 and I believe we can do it again.”
Pierro is referencing the championship run this team had last winter. And with the level of performances seen Saturday, they are poised to do it again. Mason Marino won the javelin for Westfield with a mark of 154 feet 9 inches. He also slotted into the shot put due to Owen Paul’s absence, placing fifth.
Eamon Collins was Westfield’s highest finisher in the high jump, jumping 6 feet. Ethan Stack hit the 5-foot-10 mark, a 6-inch increase since the winter season. In the long jump, Westfield had two top-10 finishers in Senu Glasco and Leo Schwartz.
Head coach Chris Tafelski was pleased with his team’s performances. “It’s not really reasonable to expect huge personal bests in a season opener,” he said after the meet. “So I think the fact that we saw so many speaks to the caliber of team we have and where we’re headed over the next 6-8 weeks.”
Westfield will look ahead to next Saturday’s Blue Devil Classic, where the Blue Devils will invite 27 of the best teams in New Jersey to their storied meet. As for the rest of the season, Westfield will aim to claim the sectional title, something the team has not done since 1977.
