Paul SchwartzFive days before the meet, Hasbrouck Heights standout Amber Barrios was practicing starting out of blocks, going over a hurdle at the Armory Track Center.
“She got to the hurdle so fast that she knew she couldn’t get over it,” said Aviators coach Rob Brady. “Instead of crashing it or even going around it, she pulled up.”
In the process, Barrios, expected to contend for big points in the 55 hurdles, 400, 800 and anchor the top-seeded Heights relay, injured her leg and was on crutches when Hasbrouck Heights went for its first sectional title in seven years Sunday at the Bennett Center in Toms River.
But the Aviators would not be denied that long-sought win. Scoring in every event except the 800, despite winning just one, Hasbrouck Heights defeated Mountain Lakes, 68-59.
“It became our rallying cry for the week — ‘Do It for Amber’,” said Brady. “There was a great wave of emotion today and our kids just got it done.”
With the Lehigh-bound Barrios watching on crutches, Hasbrouck Heights overcame tremendous individual meets by Mountain Lakes stars Kendall Palazzi and Grace Wills, who combined for 44 points in their five individual events and ran the two fastest legs on the winning 4-x-400 relay.
“This team has overcome adversity at every meet we’ve been at this year,” said Brady, whose team overcame key missing athletes to win both the small school Bergen County relays and its first ever group 1 state relays titles.
Hasbrouck Heights, with a 1-2-4 finish in the shot put behind a personal best throw of 34-8 by senior Odaliana Gomez had taken command of the meet . Gomez, Eliott Eddy and Meghan Stellhorn combined for 22 points and the Aviators had grabbed the lead they never relinquished.
“We knew after the shot put that we just needed to score in every event and our hurdlers (Megan Napolitano and Brooke Freschi) went 4-5,” said Brady.
Isabella Drezek took fifth in a sizzling 1,600, Dea Jera took fifth in the 55 and Gaea DePass and Freschi went 2-4 in the high jump. Emma Cunningham was third in the pole vault and with two events left, Heights clung to a 52-45 lead.
Wills, who had won the 1,600, took second in the 800 and third in the 400, did not run the 3,200, as the Lakers saved her final race for the relay. But that led to an 8-4 advantage for the Aviators in the race as Drezek finished third and freshman McKenzie Bua took fifth, giving the Aviators an insurmountable 11-point lead
North Jersey’s other gold medalists
Jayson Harmer, Hawthorne: The Bucknell-bound senior ran away from the field in both of his group 1 races, running 4:29.09 to win the 1,600 by 50 meters and eased to a 40 meter win in the 800 in 2:04.98.
Nathan Storz, Emerson: He’s better known as a triple jumper, but Storz put away the group 1 55 hurdles field in 8.39 seconds.
Aidan Carroll, Glen Rock: The Stony Brook commit added an indoor track state sectional title to his two cross-country crowns by running 10:33.88 to win the group 1 3,200 race.
Saddle Brook 4-x-400 relay: The team of Colin Unis, Nicholas Suero, Matthew Suero, and Jake DeJulia ran an excellent race to win the group 1 race by nearly 30 meters.
Ryan Balsam, Emerson: The senior cleared 11 feet to give the Cavos their second-ever champion in the event in group 1.
Zach Hartung, Saddle Brook: The shot putter crushed his group 1 competition by nearly six feet and recorded a North Jersey seasonal best 52-0 1/2 in the win.
Leah Alves, Hawthorne: One of the closest races of the entire weekend was the girls group 1 55 hurdles and Alves ran 9.33 to beat a balanced and talented field.
Danielle Tilp, Cresskill: The busy junior ran three races at the meet for the second straight time (she won the 1,600 and 3,200 in 2020) and won the 800 in 2:24.48.
Emma Keating, Pompton Lakes: The junior cleared 11 feet for the third time this winter to win the event by three feet. She is one of the top vaulters in the state in any group.
Cali Marck, Emerson: The senior had a huge personal best of 12:07.54 to win the Cavos’ first girls sectional title on the track. She defeated 800 sectional champ Tilp, and state group 1 third place cross-country winner Isabella Drezek of Hasbrouck Heights to win the title.
Secaucus gets four wins at the North 2 group meet
Whippany Park swept the boys and girls team titles at the North 2, group 1 meet Saturday, but nearly 20 North Jersey athletes and relay teams advanced to the group 1 state finals at the Bennett Center on Feb. 26.
The top North Jersey performer at the meet was Secaucus senior Nicole Parise, who won both the 55 hurdles and 800 meter runs. She won the 800 in an indoor personal best time of 2:38.48, then led the 55 hurdles trials with a personal best of 9.31 seconds, before winning the final in 9.38.
Senior teammate Paige Quinones won the 400 in 1:04.94 and the duo were half of the Patriot relay team that advanced, finishing third in 4:36.48. Amaya Ocasio of Secaucus was second in the shot put with her seventh consecutive meet with a personal best, 29-3 1/4. Teammate Arielle Nunez was sixth in the same event. Secaucus finished fourth in the meet with 45 points. Rutherford’s Ella Bagnuolo was third in the 55 hurdles in 9.66 seconds.
The only North Jersey boys winner in the meet was junior Younes Abada of Secaucus, who ran a huge overall personal best 10:05.46 to win the 3,200. He had earlier scored 1,600 PR with a second place clocking in 4:42.26. Shot-putter Randy Worthington was second with a personal best 43-1 1/2 throw and freshman Youcef Abada (1,600), Linus Mundo (55) and Genci Duraku (3,200) had sixth place finishes.
Rutherford tied for fourth place with Secaucus in the boys meet with 29 points. Junior Tadael Mihret was third in both the 800 (2:15.80) and 1,600 (4:48.42), and Alexander DiMaulo was third in the shot (40-4 1/4). Kai Sperling was fifth in the 400 (56.73) and Chris Marquez sixth in the shot. Sperling and Mihret were part of Rutherford’s second place 4-x-400 team (3:49.48).
Paul Schwartz covers high school track and field for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app. Email: schwartzp@northjersey.com Twitter: @northnjtrack
