Irvington track and field athletes show their medals from the Essex County Relays.
IRVINGTON, NJ — The Irvington High School indoor track and field team posted fine showings at the Essex County Relays on Jan. 14 at the Ocean Breeze Track and Field Facility on Staten Island, N.Y.
The meet opened with a highly anticipated showdown in the boys shuttle hurdle relay between Shabazz and Irvington. Shabazz entered as the meet favorite, despite Irvington owning the top time in the country over five hurdles.
Shabazz jumped out early, but sophomore Dashawn Page took control on his leg, putting Irvington out front — and the Knights never looked back. Irvington captured gold with a new U.S. No. 1 time of 30.46 seconds, setting the tone for the meet.
Additional standout performances included:
- Second place: girls sprint medley relay, 4 minutes, 22.93 seconds.
- Fourth place: boys shot put relay. Elijah Jackson was fifth at 42, 11. 5 inches; and fellow freshman Michael Leconte was 15th at 37-4.5.
- Fifth place: girls shuttle shuttle hurdle relay, 37.89 seconds.
- First place: freshman boys 4×400-meter relay.
- Third place: novice boys 4×800 relay.
Overall, Irvington delivered an impressive performance at the Essex County Relays.
At the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Group 4 State Relays on Jan. 17 at the Rothman Orthopaedics Center in Toms River, the Irvington girls won the sprint medley relay in 4:21.95. The team is comprised sophomore Sendjany Florestal, junior Sharelle Williams, senior Sharifa Trocard and freshman Sannyah Bartley, becoming the third IHS team to win a state relay title. The other two were the shuttle hurdle relay in 2009 and the shot put relay in 2012.
In addition at this year’s meet, the girls shuttle hurdle relay team was 14th in 39.08.
On the boys’ side for Irvington, the shuttle hurdle relay team took sixth place in 31.89, the 4×200 relay was eighth in 1:35.25 and the 4×400 relay was ninth in 3:38.43.
With a roster made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores, the future is extremely bright for the Irvington track and field program.
Photos Courtesy of Irvington HS assistant track coach Barnes Reid
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