The NJSIAA Central, Group 2 sectional meet crowned champions on Saturday at the Rothman Orthopaedics Sports Complex in Toms River — and it brought along some history.
Boys
On the boys’ side, Cranford won its first-ever sectional title by totaling 48.5 points.
The Cougars displayed their depth on the way to a championship. Jacob Piezas turned in mutliple top-six finishes in the 55 and 400. Cranford also has three of the top six finishers in the 800, led by Ethan Klapinski.
Cranford added extra points as Owen Frees-Kroboth and Alex Kessler finished second and third in the pole vault respectively. Wiliam Rue added a second in the shot put at 51-11.
Rumson-Fair Haven finished as the runner-up with 30 points. Liam Scoble led the way with a victory in the pole vault at 13-0 while Colin Henrikson won the 800 with a time of 2:05.12.
South Plainfield’s third-place finish (29) was highlighted by a victory in the 4×400 with a time of 3:37.81.
Achilles Etienne of Manasquan headlined the sprints with gold in the 55 at 6.52 while Spotswood’s Christopher Velez won the 400 at 51.10. Essien Plummer of Neptun won the 55 hurdles at 7.38.
Moving into distance, it was Nathan Vroom of Somerville on the 1,600 (4:30.09) and Hopewell Valley’s Finnegan Curley was victorious in the 3,200 (9:41.53).
In the field, it was Lukas Lundh of Holmdel who continued to dominate the high jump at 6-2. Ayden Winters of Ocean Township cruised in the shot put with a mark of 58-5.5.
Girls
On the girls’s side, it was a familiar face winning yet another title.
Rumson-Fair Haven cruised to second straight, and sixth in eight years, title. The Bulldogs have now won nine sectionals crowns overall. Reese Reynolds Malone continued to be the leader, winning titles in the 400 at 56.78 and 800 at 2:13.92.
Caressa Florio added another gold for Rumson in the pole vault at 10-6.
Wall finished second with 42 points. Cali Buxbaum put up 20 points with victories in the 1,600 (5:02.25) and 3,200 (10:49.22). Brianna Young added a win for the Crimson Knights with a mark of 5-0 in the high jump.
Uchenna Obidike headlined Hopewell Valley’s third-place finish with a victory in the shot put with a mark of 36-0.
Holmdel won gold in the 4×400 with a time of 4:15.48 while Aylen Peters cruised in the 55 at 7.35.
Point Boro’s Codi Damerau won the 55 hurdles with a time of 9.00.
