Irvington HS tracksters battle hard at Essex County meet

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IRVINGTON – James Ely finished eighth in the boys’ pole vault to lead the Irvington High School track and field teams at the Essex County Championships held at Woodman Field in Montclair, May 20-21.

Ely, a junior, leaped 10 feet-6 inches.

Ely also placed 10th in the triple jump at 47-7 1/4.

The IHS boys’ team had other good efforts.

The 4×400-meter relay team finished in 13th place in 3:35.60.

Dejah Grier threw 39-8 1/5 to finish 19th in the shot put.

Elijah Shannon, a senior, took 21st in the javelin with a throw of 124-7. Senior Craig Bradley also took 21st in the discus at 108-5.

Da’Jon Graves, a junior, placed 17th in 16.37 and James was 23rd in 16.91 in the preliminaries of the 110-meter high hurdles.

AlNazir Blackman, a junior, took 14th in the preliminary of the 100-meter dash in 11.46.

On the girls’ side, the 4×400-meter relay team finished in 10th place in 4:43.67.

The Blue Knights will gear up for the state sectional meet at Ridge HS in Basking Ridge, May 27-28.