Ridge Boys Track And Field Win Skyland Conference Championship

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — This Saturday, the Ridge boys captured their 3rd ever win at the Skyland Conference Championships at the Bubble in Toms River. This is only the second time the boys have swept the County and Conference indoor championships in school history.

Outpacing Bridgewater-Raritan 76-47, the Ridge boys had a dominant showing on the track, with scorers in nearly every event. Several of the girls also set personal bests and won medals.

Leading up to this meet, the boys set many season bests and strong times in relays. Most notably, Jared Rascio, Joseph Dachnowicz, Marcus Reilly, and Owen Mays set a new school record in the shuttle hurdle relay with a time of 32.39, qualifying for the New Balance Indoor Nationals.

Additionally, Dev Patel, Joseph Dachnowicz, Edward Condolon, and Brenden McMahon ran 10:32.69 to qualify for nationals in the Distance Medley Relay.

Continuing their recent success, the boys team demonstrated their versatility in all facets of the Conference Championship, from jumps, to sprints, to distance.

Starting off the meet strong, Edward Condolon placed second with a time of 53.39 in the open 400m dash, followed by Joseph Dachnowicz running 53.89 to place 5th, the two combining for 10 points in the first event. Following the 400, Brenden McMahon coasted to a 4:23.44 win in the 1600, with Dev Patel close behind in 4:24.23, placing 4th. The mile duo produced 14 critical points for Ridge.

In the 55 hurdle finals, Owen Mays placed first with a time of 7.85 seconds, and Joseph Dachnowicz placed 5th with a time of 8.29 seconds for 12 more points. Matt Fukushima ran 2:03.72 to place 5th in the 800. Brenden McMahon, Dev Patel, and Mitya Cole collectively scored 18 points in the 3200, placing 1st, 3rd, and 5th running 9:30, 9:40, and 9:50.

In the field, Lokaditya Hariharan powered his way to win the Shot Put, with a mark of 48-06.5 feet, and Marcus Reilly placed 4th in Pole Vault, showing off his remarkable consistency with a jump of 11-06 feet.

Notably, Freshman Kenji Hou set a huge personal best, jumping 9-06 to crush his previous best of 8-00. To take home the win, the boys 4x400 relay of Jared Rascio, Owen Mays, Edward Condolon, and Joseph Dachnowicz finished 3rd in 3:35.93.

On the girls side, Rachel Biondo placed 5th in the 1600, running a personal best of 5:20.91. Elayna Douglas also set a personal best, running 5:31.47. Both Rachel and Elayna came back later in the meet to run the 3200, running 11:40.46 and 11:49.10, also personal bests.

Katharine Frank placed 2nd in the 800 with a strong time of 2:21.10. Right behind her was Ryan Ireland, running 2:22.38 to place 3rd. Both of these times were personal bests.

Miya Tomaru tied for 6th in the Pole Vault, jumping 7-0. Ryan Ireland, Freshman Julia Hornyak, Elena Nicholson, and Ava Yiu placed 6th in the 4x400, running 4:21.19.

Next up for Ridge will be the NJ North 2 Group 4 State Sectional Championships, which will be held back at The Bubble on Saturday, Feb. 3.

— By Brenden McMahon and Joseph Dachnowicz