The following is by Sarah Hollis, Track Parent:
The full Jaguar Track Club came out to run, and run hard they did, at the Westfield Flyers Invitational Sunday, June 12. The Jaguars regular outdoor season concluded June 12, but many athletes will continue on to the NJ Junior Olympic Championship, the USATF Junior Olympic Region 2 Championship, and the AAU National Club Championship this summer.
At the Westfield Invitational, the 13-14 girls 4×100 Relays set the tone for the day taking 1st (A team of Emily Northover, Natalie Gibson, Jordan Robinson, Ruth Pasteur) and 3rd (B team of Tionne Murphy, Nancymarie Jones, Olivia Grace, Savannah Lee) with times of 51.56 and 54.59 respectively. The Jaguar long jumpers soared into the pit with 1st place finishes by Peyton Hollis (9-10 girls), Xavier Donaldson (11-12 boys – PR 14’11.25”), and Jordan Robinson (13-14 girls). Kai Winston (9-10 boys) and Savannah Lee (13-14 girls) placed 2nd in the long jump, and Nia Freeman (9-10 girls) jumped for 3rd place. Brandon Hernandez rounded out the field events for the Jaguars with a 2nd place finish for the 13-14 boys in the shot put.
As the sprinters took the track in Westfield they meant business. Xavier Twyman placed 3rd with a PR (17.21) for the U8 boys 100M dash, and Natalia Thompson also ran a PR in the U8 girls 100M dash (16.42) placing 3rd. Dylan Williams and Matthew Twyman dominated with a 1-2 finish in the 9-10 boys 100M. The 11-12 boys ran for 2nd place (McKenzy Pierre) and 3rd place (Leonardo Grace) in a very close 100M finish. Talib Bilal put the 13-14 boys in 3rd place medaling position with a PR (12.56) in the 100M. Ethan Johnson ran hard for the older boys (15-16) and finished 2nd with a sub-12s 100M dash (11.95PR). Jefferson Cajuste sprinted for a 2nd place finish in the 15-16 boys 110M hurdles. Clearly the Jaguars showed their speed on Sunday!
The Jaguars dominated in the 200M with Myles Richard (U8 boys) and Dylan Williams (9-10 boys) placing 1st, Xavier Donaldson (11-12 boys), ), Ethan Johnson (15-16 boys), Kayla Hudson (15-16 girls) placing 2nd, and Nia Freeman (9-10 girls), Al-Qamar Rojas (9-10 boys), and Talib Bilal (13-14 boys), and Jefferson Cajuste (15-16 boys) taking 3rd.
As Jaguars took the track for the 400M, they proved they did not want to be beat with Myles Richard (U8 boys), Peyton Hollis (9-10 girls), Ethan Johnson (15-16 boys), Kayla Hudson (15-16 girls) taking 1st, Sahar Ahad (U8 girls), Al-Qamar Rojas (9-10 boys), Morgan Williams (13-14 girls) and Jefferson Cajuste (15-16 boys) placing 2nd, and Amari Akakpo (9-10 boys), Nia Freeman (9-10 girls), Xavier Donaldson (11-12 boys), Savannah Lee (13-14 girls), Talib Bilal (13-14 boys) taking 3rd place. That is a lot of medals in the 400M – go Jaguars!
As the mid-distance runners lined-up for the 800M, you could tell they came to win. Myles Richard (U8 boys), Peyton Hollis (9-10 girls), and Amari Akakpo (9-10 boys) placed 1st, Sahar Ahad (U8 girls) and Kayla Hudson (15-16 girls) took 2nd place, and Al-Qamar Rojas (9-10 boys) and Jenna Keith (13-14 girls) ran it home for 3rd. Distance runner Lukas Alexander shone in the 1500M with a 3rd place finish for the 9-10 boys.
With a team motto of Train your Mind to lead and Train your Body to follow, the Jaguar athletes shone this spring both on the track and in their academics. Congratulations to all of 2016 Jaguar runners for a successful 20th Regular Season! Good luck to all of the runners at the USATF and AAU Championship events.
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