Ridge Boys Track Rolls To Another County Relay Title

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — This past Saturday, the Ridge Boys Track and Field team battled through the cold and the rain to win the Somerset County Relay Championship, defending the title from last year.

This is the 5th time the boys have won in the past 6 years, and the win came in dominant fashion, with points scored in almost every event and a victory by over 30 points.

With several key varsity athletes sidelined by injuries and illness, the call from the captains in the team huddle was clear: take pride in our home track, and defend it. Ridge does not lose at home.

The response? A full team effort, driven by the leadership of the upperclassmen and elevated by younger, less-experienced athletes stepping up and delivering in key moments.

Starting the meet, the boys 4x1600m Relay team of Nick Alapatt, Matias Valle, Jack Schon, and Bryan Seo placed 2nd.

Next up, the 400m Intermediate Hurdle Relay squad placed 2nd. Joseph Dachnowicz placed 2nd individually, running 56.60 for a personal best. Marcus placed 4th, running a 57.74 in his debut in the event. Freshman Adam Randriatsimialona stepped up running 66.80, securing the 2nd place finish with a great first go at the event.

Following the 400 hurdles was the novice 4x800, and the ridge team of Ernan Nargotra, Max Neumann, Nishank Shivapur, and Russell Hagerman placed 1st.

Next on the track was the varsity 4x800m Relay. The team of Rehaan Wadhwani, Kaleb Huang, Matias Valle, and Brenden McMahon placed 2nd in 8:26.22. It was a battle to the line with Montgomery, but McMahon squeezed ahead by .08 seconds.

After that, the boys placed 6th in the 4x100m. In an event where few to no points were expected, Nicholas Gonzalez, Pedro Arantes, Sam Aquino Fortes, and Xavier Severin stepped up to score. Nicholas Gonzalez was the only upperclassman on this relay.

The team scores were somewhat close at this point in the meet, as Ridge was closely battling Montgomery, but the consistent inflow of points from strong performances would shift the tides soon.

After the 4x100 was the Sprint Medley Relay (SMR). Ridge placed first in the event — with fast leadoffs from Will Ligos and Nicholas Gonzalez on the 200 legs, followed by a strong 52.5 400 from Andrew Dachnowicz and Brenden McMahon bringing it home with a 1:59.11 800 split, the boys won by over three seconds.

This race was less than a half hour after the 4x800, and McMahon successfully doubled back with minimal recovery to secure 10 more points for Ridge.

The Shuttle Hurdle Relay was up next, and the team of Jared Rascio, Joseph Dachnowicz, Jacob Medenilla, and Marcus Reilly placed 1st in a time of 63.25. They won by nearly three seconds, a huge margin for such a short event.

The 4x200 was right after, and the boys placed 2nd. Jacob Medenilla led off, followed by Nicholas Gonzalez, Will Ligos, and Joseph Dachnowicz. All four of these athletes had already ran a race thus far, with Medenilla and Dachnowicz both being on the SHR just minutes before.

With several first place finishes and some runner-up placements alongside the wins, Ridge was starting to dominate the scoreboard.

The Distance Medley came next, and Ridge placed 2nd. The team of Nick Alapatt, Pedro Arantes, Kaleb Huang, and Brenden McMahon ran 11:03.41.

After that was the novice 4x400, and the team of Sam Aquino Fortes, Adam Randriatsimialona, Xavier Severin, and Nate Zrebiec placed 1st. Last on the track was the varsity 4x400, and the senior squad of Andrew Dachnowicz, Jared Rascio, Joseph Dachnowicz, and Kaleb Huang placed 3rd in 3:30.11. With 67 points scored on the track, Ridge had a large lead by the end of the meet, and the boys in the field events matched this dominance in their respective events.

The Ridge boys put up lots of points in the field. The trio of Dre Garcia, Michael Marchitto, and Francisco Pravda placed 6th in Shot Put. Jared Rascio and Will Ligos won the Long Jump, and Jared also jumped with James Kapitanyan to win the Triple Jump. Jared’s Triple Jump mark of 41-06.25 was the furthest jump of the day. James also worked with Will Ligos to place 3rd in the High Jump, with James Jumping 5-08, a great PR for this early in the season. Jacob Medenilla, Nicholas Gonzalez, and James Kapitanyan placed 4th in the Javelin Throw.

In one of his first meets of the season, James Kapitanyan had a huge day, scoring 20 points across three events. Last but not least, Marcus Reilly and Xavier Severin secured first place in a tie in the Pole Vault. Marcus had the highest jump on the day with 12-00. The athletes on the track put Ridge in a great position to win the meet, but all of the event wins, PRs, and overall points scored in the field made sure nobody had a chance to steal the title.

A depleted roster proved no match for the well-coached Red Devils. Scoring in 15 of 16 events in a meet is no easy task, but the Ridge boys were up for the challenge and everyone put their best foot forward. Despite the weather and missing athletes, the boys won 106-75 over Somerville.

With veterans getting the job done and younger athletes stepping up, there was no chance that the Ridge boys were going to let this meet slip out of their grasp.

As the team rests and recovers, all eyes now turn to the Penn Relays later this month, where Ridge will look to make noise on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

— Submitted by Ridge Track