Competition got more intense when all the Union County Conference teams competed at the Union County Track & Field Championships held at Hub Stine Field in Plainfield on May 8-9. The Union Catholic Viking boys with 107 points and girls at 207 points took top team honors, while the Blue Devil boys placed second at 82 and the Cranford Cougar girls placed third with a total of 41, followed by Westfield at 35.5.
For the boys, Blue Devils Andrew Geocos with a clearance of 14-0 and Liam Morris at 12-0, placed 1-2 in the pole vault. Raiders Max Handler, Justin Timchak, Justice Larkin and Blake Jackson finished first in the 4×400 with a time of 3:24.23, followed by Blue Devils Tyler Pietrewicz, Charlie Prieto, Ryan Daly and Brody Toriello at 3:26.28. Blue Devil Lincoln Meyers placed second in the javelin with a throw of 155-6, followed by Cougar Alex Kessler at 154-9 and Raider Brayden Gal at 142-6. Raider Tony Diaco placed sixth at 133-0.
Although Caleb Duvelson of Union won the discus with a toss of 163-2, Cougar Arthur Hrycak broke his own CHS record with a toss of 162-6, followed by Blue Devil Noah Rubenstein at 150-4. Rubenstein with a shove of 51-0.5 and Brenton Hatch at 47-5 placed 3-5 in the shot put.
Blue Devil Niko Lukis cleared 6-0 to place third in the high jump and Hrycak tied for fourth with a height of 5-10. Cougar Brandyn Grant took fifth in the triple jump with a distance of 42-7. Lukis took fifth in the long jump with a leap of 21-4.5.
Blue Devils Daly at 1:53.73 and Toriello at 1:58.12 finished 2-4 in the 800. AL Johnson Crusader Kenny Cruz finished third in the 400 at 49.9 and Raider Handler finished sixth at 50.5. Pietrewicz finished third in the 400-hurdles at 54.97 and Cougar Josh Ketschke finished fifth at 57.01. Blue Devils Kaleb Stoeckmann at 4:27.1 and Toriello at 4:27.7 finished 4-5 in the 1600. Cruz at 22.9 and Raider Jackson at 22.92 finished 4-5 in the 200. Cruz also was sixth in the 100 at 11.9. Larkin at 15.06 and Timchak at 16.08 finished 2-4 in the 110-hurdles. Blue Devil Cole Varner finished sixth in the 3200 at 9:34.7.
For the girls, Cougars Sanaa Wright at 5-0 and Francesca Germano at the same height, placed 2-3 in the high jump. Cougar Alexa McCoy at 9-6, Raider Sophie Hughes at 8-0 and Blue Devils Bridget Garrett at 8-0 and Kyra Lentzer at 8-0, placed 2-3-4-tied for 5 in the pole vault. Blue Devils Livia Reyes at 34-10 and Ashley Cunningham at 34-2, placed 3-5 in the shot put. Reyes was fifth in the discus with a toss of 98-3. Blue Devils Priscilla Dayon with a throw of 117-11 and Emma Sullivan at 113-11, placed 4-5 in the javelin, followed by Cougar Elisabeth Wallin at 104-7. Cougar Sydney Kessler placed sixth in the triple jump with a distance of 35-6.
Cougars Isabella Alvarez-Gomez, Lily Costello, Anna Klapinski and Maddy Lionetti finished third in the 4×400 at 4:06.5. Blue Devils Maya Nair, Scarlett Goldman, Lidia Wright andAlexis Ray took fourth at 4:07.29. Cougars Alvarez-Gomez at 1:03.99, Ellie Semple at 1:05.69 and Costello at 1:07.06 finished 3-5-6 in the 400hurdles. Blue DevilAnna Youseff finished third in the 3200 at 11:42.87. Raider Delaney Farley finished fourth in the 100 at 12.18 and fourth in the 200 at 25.53. Semple was sixth in the 400 at 59.07 and Raider Malissa Moribito took sixth in the 1600 at 5:20.49, followed by Cougar Courtney Toy at 5:23.39. Blue Devil Lidia Wright at 15.57 and Raider Keziah Acedeu at 16.19, finished 4-6 in the 100-hurdles.