Ridge Boys Capture Somerset County Title And Make School History

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — On Tuesday, April 14, the Ridge Track and Field Team traveled to Hillsborough for the Somerset County Championship.

Dominating the competition, the Ridge boys won the meet with 118 points compared to 2nd place Hillsborough with 60 points, with personal bests, school records, and point scorers both on the track and in the field.

The Ridge boys successfully defended their title from last year and won all 4 county meets in a school year for the first time ever.

First up for the meet was the 400 hurdles, with Owen Mays and Joseph Dachnowicz starting the meet off super strong by placing 1st and 2nd. Owen set a new personal best of 54.88, with Joseph close behind in a PR of 56.86.

Right after the 400 hurdles was the 1600, with Brenden McMahon, Dev Patel, and Kaleb Huang going 1-2-4 respectively. Brenden set a new outdoor best with his winning time of 4:15.75, and Dev set a big PR of 4:17.66. Kaleb’s time of 4:22.28 was also a personal best. The 22 points scored in this event, combined with the 18 from the 400 hurdles, sent the message that Ridge was ready to put up big points, and the dominant showing didn't stop there.

In the 100m dash, all three runners set new personal bests. Chase Fritz ran 11.97, Kenji Hou ran 11.65, and Max Amadon ran 11.62. Max’s time is also the school sophomore record for this event! Right after the 100 dash was the 110 hurdles. After advancing to the finals, Owen Mays and Joseph Dachnowicz went 1-2 in this event as well! Owen won with a time of 15.28, and Joseph was right behind him with a PR of 15.60. Owen and Joseph are currently Ridge # 4 and 8 all time respectively in the 110H.

The 400 was another great event for the boys, with Ryan Schmolze placing 2nd with a PR of 51.86. Chase Fritz placed 4th with a PR of 52.38, and Kenji Hou also set a PR of 53.50. In the 800, Edward Condolon placed 3rd in 1:58.56, and Kaleb Huang came back from the mile and placed 6th, breaking 2 minutes for the first time! Kaleb passed several athletes in the last 100 meters of the race to run 1:59.67 and secure a scoring position. After the 800 came the 200, with Owen Mays placing 6th in 23.28.

Brenden McMahon and Dev Patel both ran the 3200 after their dominant 1600 performances, placing 2nd and 3rd respectively. Brenden ran 9:23.90, and Dev ran 9:36.40. Last on the track was the 4x400, with Chase Fritz, Joseph Dachnowicz, Edward Condolon, and Ryan Schmolze winning the race with a time of 3:27.24.

The boys put up lots of points in the field as well. Lok Hariharan placed 4th in shot put with a throw of 44-10.75. Chase Fritz and Jacob Medenilla advanced to the finals for Javelin, and Chase finished 6th overall with a throw of 142-02. Jacob Medenilla’s 7th-place mark of 139-06 set the new freshman Jav school record! Jared Rascio placed 3rd in the Long Jump with a mark of 21-04.00, currently ranked #4 all time for Ridge. Owen Mays placed 4th in the Triple Jump with a PR of 41-10.00. This jump puts Owen at #6 all time for Ridge. With so much versatility on the track and in the field events, the Ridge Boys really put on a show, winning the meet and almost doubling the score of the 2nd place team.

The girls also had several scorers. Sarah Shephard placed 4th in the 200 with a season best of 26.29. Ava Yiu placed 6th in the 400 with a season best of 61.77. Ryan Ireland placed 3rd in the 800 with a season best of 2:20.43. Rachel Biondo placed 5th in the 1600 and 5th in the 3200, running 5:18.19 and 11:27.97. Sarah Shephard and Jenna Inscore placed 5th and 6th respectively in the 100m hurdles, and the girls 4x400 relay placed 4th. Jenna Inscore placed 6th in Triple Jump with a jump of 34-11, and Sarah Shephard placed 3rd in disc with a strong throw of 115-8.

With this meet win, the boys swept the County for the first time in school history. The boys won the County Championship in Cross Country and won both the County Relays in Winter and Spring. Winning this meet means the Ridge boys won all 4 County Championships throughout the year. The boys hope to continue their success at the Skyland Conference Championship next Tuesday, with hopes of defending their title from last year.

— Written by Brenden McMahon