
NUTLEY, NJ — Nutley High School junior indoor track and field standout Meya Ranges finished in third place in the girls 3,200-meter run at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Group 3 State Championships at the Bennett Center in Toms River on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Ranges clocked 12 minutes, 03.61 seconds.
“Our race strategy worked perfectly and the results reflect it,” said NHS distance coach Ed Annett, in an article posted on the Nutley Athletics website. “Meya ran a huge 18-second PR (personal record) and advanced to round two of states.”
Ranges qualified for the NJSIAA’s Group 3 State Championships on Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Bennett Center.
Also for Nutley, the girls 4×400-meter relay team of Natalia Kit (66.7), Selmah Kantor (67.8), Stephanie La (69.4) and Havana Alvarez (64.3) finished in 4:28.70. Their time earned them the eighth place spot.
In the boys events, the Raiders were led by senior Luke Cozzi, who finished in seventh place in the 800 meters and missed advancing to the group meet by a mere 0.39 seconds. His time of 2:04.40 was just off his indoor PR by two one hundredths of a second. The boys 4×400 relay (3:42.77) of Jackson Poole (56.5), Dominic Saladino (56.8), Matthew Lee (55.8) and Luke Gonzalez (53.3) found themselves in seventh place as well, missing out on the last qualifying spot by just 0.27 seconds.
The Raiders had a group of seniors competing in their final indoor meet, achieving PRs. They were La (68.37 in the 400 meters), Kattie Guerrero (11.79 in the 55-meter hurdles), Nick D’Auria (7.21 in the 55-meter dash), and Matthew Blanchard (9.05 in the 55-meter hurdles).
Senior Danielle Goode raced to a 8.13, just missing her PR. Audrey Dunlay was just off her 55 hurdle PR, clocking a 10.35. Jaylin Romero ran her fastest 1,600 of the season, clocking a 6:04.56. Alexander Valenzuela clocked a 6:06.53 in his final indoor 1,600-meter race. Jonathon Monterosa ran a 9.85 in the 55-meter hurdles.
Photo Courtesy of Nutley cross-country head coach Kara McNish Natoli