Millburn Boys Shine at Northern Hills Conference Championships

Behind strong performances by Abbas Tapal, Danny Kirchner and brothers Blake and Tyler Udland, the Millburn boys finished second in this weekend's Northern Hills-Skyline Division Conference Championship at Passaic Valley High School. The Miller girls, competing in the Skyline Division championships, finished sixth.

The Millburn boys' 72 points was far behind first-place finisher West Orange, which tallied 158 points.

“I knew West Orange was strong, but I thought we had a shot at second,” said Millburn Head Coach Jeff Kaye. “Everyone performed really well in the first championship of the year for us.”

Tapal was Millburn’s highest scorer of the competition, with a first place finish in the 100m dash (11.12), and two second place medals for the 400 (49.14) and 200 (27.70). Danny Kirchner added more first place points for the Millers, taking the top honors in the 800 (1:56).

Tyler Udland took second place in the 1,600 (4:19.02) and sixth in the 800. Kaye said that he held Tyler out of the 3,200 (along with Brian Robinson) to let them do some speed work, in preparation for the big meets that will keep coming this month. Robinson was right behind Tyler in the one-mile, with a 4:22.31.

Blake Udland earned a second place medal in the 3,200 (9:56.94) and a fourth place spot in the 1,600 (4:29.16).

Other scorers for Millburn included Nathan Rudd, who was third in the shot put, and Rodolfo Rosado, who claimed fifth place in the long jump.

Tang, Barrese, Westlake Lead Girls

Millburn freshman Margaret Tang got off to a big lead early on in the 3,200 and blew away the rest of the field with a 12:19.98. Her closest opponent was more than 11 seconds behind. Tang’s performance, along with strong showings from Sarah Barrese and team captain Hannah Westlake, led the Millers.

Wayne Valley was the overall winner for the girls championship, scoring 138 points.

Westlake’s five foot high jump mark was four inches more than necessary to get her a first place finish in the event. She also took fourth in the 400. Barrese took the other distance event, finishing first in the 1,600.

“It was pretty big for her,” said Millburn Girls Head Coach Amanda Dilworth. “She was trying to come back from an injury. It was the best race for her in a while.”

Kimia Ganjaei added two fifth place finishes for Millburn in both the one and two mile races. Freshman Emily Draper was fifth in the 800.

Up next for the boys and the girls is the Essex County Championships at Montclair High School on Friday and Saturday. Kaye said that he only expects times to improve as they move forward.