The Spring Track and Field team finished the season with a triumphant victory over Montville after a shoot-out loss to Morristown to finish 3-1 in the NJAC United Conference.
The loss to Morristown was a back-and-forth affair with no indication of who would take the victory. One of Morristown's athletes hit a personal best for the walk-off victory as Delbarton fell 69-71. The Green Wave was led by senior captain Aidan Ponzio's victory in the triple jump (40'5) and runner up finishes in the 100m (11.2) and 110m hurdles (15.3). Junior Brendan Martin was second in the triple (38') and the long jumps (19'5.25).
Junior captain Hans Clovis raced some of the best runners in the county for a hard-fought third in the 400m hurdles (60.5), and came back later with a win in the 200m (22.3) and anchored the winning 4x400m relay. Junior Todd Smith Jr. raced to a win in the 800m at 2:02. Juniors Lucien Bret and Joshua Akakpo were victorious in the 1600m (4:43) and the 400m (51.8) respectively and also ran on the winning relay. Junior Giovanni Bushell placed third in the 100m (11.4) and the 200m (22.7) then won the long jump in his debut in the event at 19'10. Bushell was the fourth member of the winning relay team later in the meet.
Senior Captain Daniel Gallic was once again victorious in the javelin with a throw of 161'1. Junior Marco Polakovic secured a solid second place in javelin to score big for the team. Gallic also placed third in the 110m hurdles. Senior Captains Martin Hindelong and Dever Hanlon fought for second place finishes in tightly contested high jump and pole vault events respectively. Senior Alex Makovsky took third in the vault. Junior Maximilian Markho was second in the shot put at 40'10.
The team then closed out the regular season on high note with a decisive victory over Montville with the final score 116-13. The highlight of the day was the first race of the day when sophomore Ryan Alessi flew to a massive personal best and first place finish in the 400m hurdles in only his second time trying the event, crossing the line in 59.2.
In the 100m, junior Giovanni Bushell raced to first in 11.5, while senior captain Aidan Ponzio placed third in 11.8. There was a Delbarton sweep in the 1600m, led by senior Matthew O'Reilly (4:40). Freshman standout Ryan Moynihan was second in 4:49 and junior Ryan Leuenberger was third in 4:53.
The 400m was another sweep where juniors Hans Clovis (52.8) and Joshua Akakpo (54.8) ran a tactical race for first and second, but Bushell stole third place out of the next heat by displacing Montville's runner from the first heat with the fastest time of the day at 52.5. Clovis returned later for a victory in the 200m at 23.4. The 110m hurdles was another sweep for Delbarton led by Ponzio (15.2) and followed by fellow seniors Daniel Gallic (17.9) and Zachary Leach (18.4).
The 800m was won once again by junior Todd Smith (2:09) and senior Neil Van Kirk was third in 2:17. In another tactical race, sophomores Matthew Heyer and Jonathan Gels took first and second in the 3200m respectively. Seniors Martin Hindelong and Leach took first and second in the high jump. Dever Hanlon, Alexander Makovsky, and Brendan Martin swept the pole vault. All three throws were also sweeps. The javelin team was Gallic, along with junior Agustin Rodriguez and sophomore Owen Mulhearn. The discus team was senior Trevor Wyso, junior Maximilian Markho, and Mulhearn. The shot put was Wyso, Markho, and Mulhearn.
The triple jump was swept by Ponzio (40'11), Martin (39'5) and junior Max Reiter (34'2.25) in his first meet trying the event! Long jump was a sweep for Ponzio (21'6), Bushell (19'11.5) and Martin (19'10). Closing out the meet in the 4x400, Van Kirk led off and passed the baton to freshman James Battle, who passed it to fellow freshman James Colangelo. The baton was carried across the line to seal the victory by senior captain Dever Hanlon.
Next up, the team travels to Randolph for the Morris County Relays next week. Go Green Wave!
