Young Runners Sprint Into Championship Season

The post-season has already begun for Long Valley Track and Field as they attended the Lakeland Division Relay Championship in Hopatcong on Friday, May 17.

With runners selected from each age group, the team was ready to take on their challengers from fifteen towns across the county in a variety of events: 4x100, 800m Sprint Medley (200-100-100-400), Distance Medley (800-200-400-1600), Shot Put.

The highlight of the night for 13-15 Girls came when two different teams beat their seed and crossed the finish in record time.  Hope Gough, Briana Harmon, Ava Lusskin and Julia Casteneda managed to run the 4x100m event in just 1:01.02, beating their seed time by nearly five seconds and coming in 10th overall.

In the 800m Sprint Medley, the girls repeated that success with Hope Gough, Sarah Madden, Mara Stahlhut and Ava Lusskin coming in at 2:11.93, 8th overall and 2.3 seconds ahead of their seed time.

In the Distance Medley, Briana Harmon, Hope Gough, Julia Casteneda and Ava Lusskin capped the night with a 10th place finish in 11:14.83. Danielle Madden (19’ 8 1/2”) placed 17th in Shot Put with Emily Muha (19’ 8”) in 19th place in the same event.

The 13-15 Boys also had a successful night with two teams crossing the finish in record time to beat their seeds. In the 4x 100, Tyler Johnson, Alec DiLullo, Drew Munley and Aidan Carrera set a team record with 51.94, nearly three seconds ahead of their seed for a 6th place finish.

Drew Munley, Christian Trimarchi, Tyler Johnson and Taylor Parkinson-Gee completed the 800m Sprint Relay in just 1:56.63 for 7th place, 8.19 seconds ahead of their seed.

The boys went on to complete the Distance Medley in 10:41.59 with Alec DiLullo, Mitch Butynes, Taylor Parkinson-Gee and Neil MacIntyre in 14th place. Taylor Parkinson- Gee (37’ 3 ½”) nabbed 5th in Shot Put while teammate Tyler Johnson took 15th with 30’ 5 ½”.

The 11-12 Girls beat their seed in the 4x100 with Crystal Robinson, Savannah Porraro, Sarah Daly and Kadyn Young taking 12th place with a time of 1:05.75, nearly three seconds ahead of their seed.

Catherine Masterson, Caroline Hurley, Caroline Isemann and Sarah Bhargava captured 5th place in the Distance Medley with a time of 11.16.6.

In the 800m Sprint Medley, Caroline Hurley, Crystal Robinson, Savannah Porraro and Caroline Isemann placed 12th with a finish in 2:47.49. While Sarah Nurmi (14’ 11”) and Alyssa Zito (13’ 5”) finished 24th and 26th in the Shot Put.

The 11-12 Boys had the honor of capturing the highest team finish of the night, taking 3rd place in the distance medley were Max Murata, James Zeolla, Ben Rooney and Luke Lusskin crossing the finish with a time of 10:17.54, an astonishing 12.27 seconds ahead of their seed.

James Zeolla, Sebastian Hughes, Max Murata and Luke Lusskin also found success in the 4x100, finishing in 7th place with a time of 1:00.59.

The 800 Sprint Medley gave the 11-12 boys a 10th place finish with Thomas Richards, Sebastian Hughes, James Zeolla and Max Murata coming in at 2:16.73. Ian Dalgleish (26’ 7 1/2”) and Aidan Tata-Lobo (23’ 5 ½”) nabbed 6th and 13th in Shot Put.

The 9-10 Girls saw their best finish in the Distance Medley with Elize Frachiolla, Sophia Dolan, Sarah Hanifin and Molly Sabo taking 10th place with a finish in 12:08.86

Sophia Dolan, Maggie Layfield, Kelsey Collester and Sarah Hanifin took 11th in the 800 Sprint Medley with a time of 2:39.84. The girls also took 14th place in the 4x100 with Kelsey Collester, Elize Frachiolla, Molly Sabo and Sarah Hanifin finishing in 1:11.81.

The team completed its regular season on May 18 and prepares for the Lakeland Division Open Meet on June 1 and Division Championship on June 8.