The Livingston High School boys’ track and field team earned many medals during the first leg of the state tournament, held this past weekend at Livingston High School. The LHS team qualified many athletes and its relay squads for the Group 4 Championships, to be held on May 30 and 31 at Franklin High School.
The 4x100 meter relay squad of Will Sun, Tugra Ovul, Jesse Kaufman, and Abeel Paul got the meet started by placing third in the race in 42.98.
The 4x800 meter relay team of Sean Tesoriero, Ryan Kropac, Korey Ellenbogen, and anchor David Flores finished the race in 8:23.61, to place eighth overall.Another athlete in the race impeded Kropac by tripping him in the first curve of his leg. As Kropac scrambled to his feet, the relay lost valuable seconds. The coaches filed a protest, and the team was granted a pass through to the level of competition at Franklin High School.
The 4x400 meter team, led by Kaufman, faced tough competition this year. The Lancer squad included junior Flores and seniors Brandon Lee and Tugra Ovul. The team’s overall time was 3:29.73 for a sixth place finish and a trip to the Group 4 meet.
Along with the relays, LHS scored in several individual events. LHS qualified two sprinters in the 100 meter dash final, the only school to do so. Sophomore Paul captured the first place sectional title at 10.99 to move on. This added to his collection of gold medals, as he is also the Essex County champinext on in the 100 meter dash. Kaufman also qualified for the final and placed seventh overall with his personal best time of 11.42.
The North 1, Group 4 track and field State Sectionals were held this past weekend. Shown above, left, Abeel Paul crosses the finish line as the Sectional Champ in the 100-meter dash. Jesse Kaufman placed seventh. At right, Gabriel Lopez-Simpson jumps 21’8” on his way to a first-place Sectional Title in the long jump.
LHS continued its strong showing in the 110 meter high hurdles at the Championship Meets. Senior Raalu Madubuko finished third in a very tight race at 15.00. Junior Gabriel Lopez-Simpson crossed the line at 15.19, earning a sixth place finish.
Also on the track, Tesoriero competed in the individual 800-meter race. This turned out to be one of the more competitive events of the meet, with overall times on the field improving significantly since last year. Tesoriero ran a personal best time of 1:58.60, crossing the line in fifth place. Tesoriero also competed in the high jump, clearing the bar at 6’0” for a ninth place finish.
In the jump events, Lopez- Simpson had a long jump at 21’8” to take the first-place sectional champion title. He edged out the second place finisher by just one quarter-inch in the finals. In the triple jump, Madubuko placed fourth with a leap of 41.75 feet. Both athletes will move on to the next phase at Franklin High School.
In the throwing events, the LHS squad continued its improvement during the season. In the shot put, sophomore Sam Jean-Marie threw 48’9.5” to place third in the event. This bronze medal was added to his collection of top performances this season, including a gold medal at the Essex County Championships. In the discus, Jack Burach placed third overall with his throw of 126’3”. John Harrell surprised the field with his personal best effort of 129’2”.
Other notable performances came from Flores in the 800 meter, completing at 1:59.32 to place eighth. Kaufman improved his personal best in the 400 meter to 50.57 to place eighth. Jinay Veera had two personal best times in the 1,600 meter (4:45.80) and 3,200 meter (10:28.10).
The boys briefly enjoyed their accomplishments before returning to work on the track and in the field. The seven performances that finished in the top six will move on to the Group 4 Championship, along with all three relay squads. The boys have an extra week to prepare before the next competition, as they hope to improve their times and distances before facing Group 4 athletes from across the state.
