LHS Track Teams Sweep Liberty Division Race

Right after Mike Lazar landed in the sand on his second to last long jump attempt on Friday night, he was given a new nickname by his teammates.

"He's Mr. Clutch,'' said Livingston senior Jeramy Elkaim.

The moniker was well earned considering that Lazar had just delivered an 18-9 to leap ahead of two Nutley jumpers and earn a pivotal fourth place in the event.

The finish rallied Livingston to a historic 143-139 victory over Nutley for the boys Liberty Division title at the Super Essex Conference Championships in Millburn.

Livingston was trailing Nutley by five points, 136-131, prior to the long jump, but Lazar's fourth place finish coupled with teammate German Valdez's second place (20-3) gave Livingston 12 points in the event for a total of 143. Nutley picked up a fifth and sixth for three points to finish with 139.

The Livingston boys capped off a sensational sweep of the team titles as the Lancer girls steamrolled its way to the top spot in Liberty Division.

Lazar knew what was at stake when he started his approach down the runway.

"I knew my team was counting on me,'' said Lazar, a senior who also placed second in the pole vault. "I knew I was behind the two Nutley jumpers and that I needed to beat them for us to win the meet. I knew they had marks of 18-7 and I had jumped further than that in previous meets, so I just tried to have confidence in my abilities. Everyone else on the team had done their jobs so that I could be in that position, so it was amazing to come through for them.''

Valdez said he had no doubt that Lazar would rise to the occasion.

"Mike always comes through in the clutch,''said Valdez, who also won the 110 hurdles and the high jump and was second in the triple jump.

The victory was historic for the Livingston boys because, according to coach Bill Ehrlich, it's the first outdoor county or conference championship of any kind for the Livingston boys track program.

"It's awesome that we could win this for the school,'' said Lazar. "We all worked really hard to win a team title.''

The Livingston boys had several key contributors along with Lazar and Valdez.
Elkaim was his splendid self, winning a tactical 1,600 in 4:23.67 and the 800 in 1:56.43, just off the school record. Andy Jung won the pole vault with a 13-0. Kieran Tonero was second in the 3,200 with a huge personal best of 10:16.21. Nick Fogarty was second in the 800. Josh Wang placed second in the discus. Chris Bargoud was second in the 400 hurdles and fifth in the triple jump. Tavis London was third in the high jump and fifth in the 110 hurdles. Shane Molzer was third in the high hurdles. Eric Sugarman took fourth in the 1,600, and Ethan Ehrlich was fourth in the pole vault.

There wasn't any suspense in the girls Liberty Division as Livingston racked up a mind boggling 247 points and won by 120.

Shannon Kelly, Michelle Lee and Nancy Yang each had two wins for the Lancers.
Kelly won the 1,600 in a school record 5:11.47 and the 3,200 in 11:49.00. Yang celebrated her 17th birthday by capturing the triple jump and long jump and triple jump, and Lee struck gold in the javelin and discus.

Other victories for Livingston came from Megan Kelly, Shannon's sister, (400 hurdles), Jennifer Su (high hurdles), Tess Ehrlich (personal best 10-0 in the pole vault), and Eloissa Cusi (800).

"I think we carried the momentum from the (second to Columbia) with us and all just performed to our best,'' said Shannon Kelly. "We have a lot of variety on this team with throwers, jumpers and runners and everyone really stepped up for us.''

 The Livingston boys and girls will be back in action at the Essex County Championships this Friday and Saturday at Woodman Field in Montclair.

ON THE DIAMOND

The Lady Lancer softball team (14-7-1), the fourth seed in the Essex County Tournament, will meet top-seeded Nutley in a county semifinal on Friday at Ivy Hill Park in Newark. The schools have each won against each other on the road this spring.

in the quarterfinal round of the ECT Saturday afternoon in Livingston, Livingston struck for one run in the bottom of the sixth inning and three more in their last at-bat in the seventh to earn a thrilling 4-3 victory. Sam Rothenberger tripled and eventually scored on a double steal to cut Livingston’s deficit to 2-1 in the sixth. Caldwell added a run in the top of the seventh putting, but the Lancers were not to be denied as Rothenberger provided the game-winning hit when she smacked a two-run double to deliver the tying and winning runs.

Sophomore Jess Peslak finished with a five-hitter, striking out 13 and walking one for Livingston, which has now won four straight games and five of its last six.

ON THE COURT

The Livingston boys tennis team, the top seed in North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4, defeated Fair Lawn, 5-0, in the quarterfinal round at West Orange Tennis Club on Wednesday. The Lancers will face Bergen Tech, a 3-2 winner over Montclair, in the semifinals at noon on Thursday at the same location. If LHS wins, Livingston, the defending champion, will compete in the final next Tuesday.