Paul Schwartz / NorthJersey.com
Congratulations to the NJIC Boys and Girls selected to the
North Jersey 2024 Track and Field Team!
FIRST TEAM BOYS
Jaden Marchan
Leonia senior, 400 meters
Marchan went to the starting line 20 times in four different individual events this season. He won 17 races, losing only in the County Seat 100 meters and the New Balance National championships, placing third in the 400 and second in the 400 hurdles. In between, he won the Group 2 and State Meet of Champions 400 titles, setting a Bergen County record of 46.35 seconds. He has the only four sub-47 marks in Bergen County history. The Georgetown-bound star also took up the 400 hurdles, winning the Group 2 title.
Jordan Russell
Weehawken senior, high jump
The winter All-North Jersey high jumper picked up where he left off, winning the NJIC National title at 6-2, the North Hudson title at 6-4 and the Hudson County and North 2, Group 1 sectional titles at 6-6. He took second in state Group 1 with the same jump, and grabbed an eighth-place finish at the State Meet of Champions. He also won three major long jump titles and finished sixth in the Group 1 state championships.
Owen Keating
Pompton Lakes junior, pole vault
No one in Passaic County had ever jumped 15 feet outdoors until Keating, the brother of 2022-2023 girls pole vault champion Emma, did so at the Friendship Games at Warwick Valley in New York. He followed that with three more clearances of at least 15 feet, with a best of 15-3 at the Fast Times Relays again at Warwick Valley. He won NJIC Colonial, Passaic County and North 1, Group 2 titles, and finished second in Group 2 and third at the State Meet of Champions. He also finished fourth in the discus at the Passaic County championships.
SECOND TEAM
200: Jeancarlos Mendoza, Hawthorne senior
3,200: Aidan Morrow, Hasbrouck Heights junior
110 HH: Tyler Caswell, Glen Rock junior
Triple jump: Joshua Yoon, Cresskill senior
FIRST TEAM GIRLS
Lexy Samperi
Hasbrouck Heights senior, 100 meters
Samperi provided versatility for the Group 1 state champions, winning major titles in five different events. She won the sectional 100 and took second or third in four other meets, including third in Group 1. She won two major 100 hurdles titles, including the state sectional, won the NJIC American high jump and five long jump titles including the Bergen Meet of Champions and Group 1 state titles. She was eighth in the State Meet of Champions in the long jump. She’ll compete at Marist.
Kylie Castillo
Ridgefield senior, 200 meters
Castillo, who will compete at Columbia, is another amazingly-versatile athlete. She went to the starting line in 15 major finals between 100 and 400 meters and won 11 times, including Group 1 state titles in the 100, 200 and 400, and she set a meet record in the Bergen Meet of Champions 400. She placed sixth in the State Meet of Champions 400, then ran a huge PR in her final high school race to take second at the State Meet of Champs. She ranks third all-time in Bergen County in both the 200 and 400.
Mika Tampadong
Becton junior, 3,200 meters
Perhaps the most-improved distance runner in the state, she built on terrific cross-country and winter track seasons with a strong spring, ending up with an eighth-place medal at the State Meet of Champions with a North Jersey-leading 10:56.01 performance. Before that, she won the NJIC National 800, 1,600 and 3,200 titles, won the Bergen C 3,200, dominated the Bergen Meet of Champs 3,200, won the North 2, Group 1 sectional and took fifth at the Group 2 state championships.
Julia Tozduman
Lyndhurst senior, long jump
The best jumper and high-point scorer in Golden Bears history, Tozduman ended her career with her first medal at the outdoor State Meet of Champions after missing by a spot last year. She won league, Bergen C, North 2, Group 2 sectional and Bergen Meet of Champions titles in the long jump before taking third in Group 2 and sixth at the SMOC. The Sacred Heart commit also won three major triple jump competitions and placed fourth in the BMOC in that event.
SECOND TEAM
100 HH: Iza Samu, Glen Rock sophomore
