Pompton Lakes’ Owen Keating is the 2024-25 boys indoor track Field Athlete of the Year
Owen Keating of Pompton Lakes is all smiles after clearing 16Õ1 feet during the boys pole vault Group 1 Championships at Bennett Indoor Athletic Complex in Toms River, NJ on Sunday, February 23, 2025. Duncan Williams | For NJ Advance Media
The Garden State is loaded when it comes to track & field talent, especially in the field events themselves.
From star jumpers, throwers and vaulters, there’s many names deserving of being crowned as the best in the state, but this year’s choice came down to the dominance displayed by Pompton Lakes’s Owen Keating.
After leading the state in the pole vault for nearly the entire state, The Binghamton commit is this year’s indoor track Field Athlete of the Year.
Keating’s junior season gave a glimpse at the success he would have coming into this year.
Last winter, he won the Passaic County and NJIC titles in the event before capturing the North 1, Group 1 sectional and Group 1 state titles before posting a third-place finish at the Meet of Champions, with his PR at the time being a 15-0.
He carried the success into the outdoor season, once again capturing the Passaic County and NJIC titles. He also won the North 1, Group 2 title and finished second in Group 2 behind Oakcrest’s Ryan Merlino, the eventual Meet of Champions winner. He once again finished third, but improved his PR to 15-3.
After two-straight third-place finishes at the Meet of Champions, Keating came into this winter ready to achieve new heights.
He started off the 2024-25 indoor season with wins at the Jim Mitchell Invitational and the U.S. Marine Corps Holiday Classic and he posted a huge 15-6 Pr at the Coach Saint Invitational that reset the Passaic County record. He went on to post a huge 16-6 PR, his first time ever even eclipsing 16 feet, as he won at the Refuel with Chocolate Milk Officials HOF Invitational. The mark also became fourth-best in state history, surpassing the 16-3¼ set by Ocean Township’s Adam Sarafian at the Eastern States Championships back in 2004.
Keating’s dominance continued for the rest of the season. He captured the NJIC title before wining the North 1, Group 1 sectional and Group 1 state titles, resetting the meet record at the latter with a 16-1. He culminated his stellar season with a Meet of Champions title, hitting 16-0 to do so.
Can Keating replicate the performance this spring and turn another third-place M of C’s finish into a title?
Being just one of two jumpers to hit 16-0 this season, he’ll certainly begin the outdoor campaign as the one to watch in the pole vault.
