Ridge Girls Track Wins State Sectional, Boys Finish Strongly In Second

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — This past weekend, the Ridge girls won the North 2 Group 4 Sectional Championship, making this their third sectional title of the year.

After winning in Cross Country, Winter Track, and now Spring Trac,k they have shown time and time again how much of a well-rounded and dedicated team they are.

On Friday, starting the meet off strong, the 4x100 team of Jaimee Ryan, Sara Raustad, Julia Hornyak, and Ava Yiu ran a time of 50.4 placing fifth amongst a very competitive field.

Following them, Ryan Ireland and Isabella Beaudry ran the 800, running 2:17.49 and 2:20.18, winning second and fourth place respectively. Both left it all out on the track running personal bests.

Next up, the freshman, Daphne Georgiades, won the 400 hurdles in a school record and personal best time of 1:00.96. Coming back from the 4x100, Ava Yiu also ran the 400 hurdles, running a personal best of 1:08.43 and placing sixth.

To close out day one on the track in the 3200, Ridge had all three girls place in the top six. Maia Zalmover, Rachel Biondo, and Jane LaCapra placed second, third and sixth respectively.

In the field the girls had a very successful day as well. Sophia Minassian won Pole Vault with a jump of 9-0 and Georgie Chatzopoulos placed third. In Triple Jump, Daphne Georgiades won with a mark of 37-4 and Jaimee Ryan placed fifth with a jump of 35-4.

The girls started day two off with a large lead, and they were able to maintain it by keeping up the same energy and momentum as day one.

Securing yet another Sectional title and personal best, Daphne Georgiades won the 400 in a time of 55.98. Sara Raustad just missed sixth place with a personal best of 1:00.59.

Following that the 4x800 team of Ava Yiu, Aayna Penesetti, Allie Chen, and Ryan Ireland placed second with Penesetti and Chen running personal bests to break 2:30 for the first time. In the 1600, Isabella Beaudry and Maia Zalmover placed second and fourth, respectively, with Zalmover running a huge personal best of 5:16.69. Closing out the track events was the 4x400. The team of Ava Yiu, Sara Raustad, Ryan Ireland, and Julia Hornyak placed fourth with a time of 4:10.23.

In the field, Mia Moschello threw a personal best of 90-9 to place sixth in Javelin. This puts her in the top 10 all time at Ridge in her first ever season.

In Shot Put, Nina Kotamaraju placed third with a personal best of 32-0.50! Jaimee Ryan won High Jump with a mark of 5-4 leading by over 2 inches in a competitive field. This also puts her in the top 10 all time performances for Ridge.

Long Jump had a very impressive day with two girls in the top six. Daphne Georgiades placed second with a mark of 18-7.25, and Julia Hornyak placed fourth with a mark of 17-0.50.

Overall, the girls worked hard this season to prove themselves, winning by 30 points to a very competitive section. The 16 athletes who medaled are looking forward to the Group 4 Championships next week at Franklin High School.

The boys also had a strong showing at the Sectional Championship, placing 2nd to Westfield, 99.5 - 88. Kicking off the meet on Friday, the 4x100 team of Jacob Medenilla, Nick Elissa, Will Ligos, and Nick Gonzalez ran a time of 43.67, good for 5th place and a new school record.

In the 800, Jack Schon set a huge personal best of 1:59.30, just missing the top 6. In the 400 hurdles, Joseph Dachnowicz placed 2nd with a time of 54.99. Marcus Reilly placed 8th with a time of 56.69. Closing out day 1, Brenden McMahon placed 2nd in the 3200 with a strong time of 9:07.87. Nick Alapatt placed 4th, running an incredible personal best of 9:23.28. This puts Nick in the top 5 all time at Ridge in the 3200.

In the field, Long Jump had a great showing, with Jared Rascio placing 2nd jumping 22-04, Jacob Medenilla jumping 21-05 for 4th, and Will Ligos jumping 21-02.25 for 6th. This event was a huge swing for Ridge. Jacob Medenilla also threw 135-10 in Javelin, which secured 2nd place.

The boys headed into day 2 only 1 point behind Westfield. First up was the 400, and Joseph Dachnowicz placed 6th in 49.84.

In the 110 hurdles, Marcus Reilly and Joseph Dachnowicz both qualified for the finals, running 15.08 and 15.54 respectively. Joseph Dahnowicz then placed 4th in the finals, running 15.04.

Next was the 4x800. The team of Jack Schon (1:59.07), Matias Valle (2:02.52), Nick Alapatt (2:03.49) and Brenden McMahon (1:57.06) won the event! With just the 200 in between, Brenden, Nick, and Jack came back to run the 1600. It was a very tactical race, with Brenden placing 4th in 4:30.86, and Jack close behind in 4:32.72 for 5th.

Closing out the track events, the boys 4x400 relay of Andrew Dachnowicz, Jared Rascio, Tristan Frank, and Joseph Dachnowicz placed 4th with a time of 3:24.67. Jared Rascio also placed 3rd in Triple Jump with a mark of 43-07. Last but not least, Marcus Reilly placed 2nd in Pole Vault jumping 13-00, and Jacob Medenilla placed 3rd in 12-06. Jacob had an incredible weekend- he competed in 4 different events, and scored in all 4.

After a tough battle across 2 days, the boys came up short of the Sectional title to a strong Westfield team.

However, everyone who placed top 6 in their events qualifies for the Group 4 State Championship later in June! Everyone who qualified: Brenden McMahon, Jack Schon, Matias Valle, Nick Alapatt, Joseph Dachnowicz, Andrew Dachnowicz, Jacob Medenilla, Nick Gonzalez, Nick Elissa, Will Ligos, Jared Rascio, Tristan Frank, Marcus Reilly.

— Written by Ryan Ireland and Brenden McMahon