Peyton Hollis
MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE – The full Jaguar Track Club came out to run, and run hard they did, at the Westfield Flyers Invitational on June 12 as the team concluded the regular outdoor season.
However, many athletes will continue on to the NJ Junior Olympic Championship, the USATF Junior Olympic Region 2 Championship, and the AAU National Club Championship this summer.
At the Westfield Invitational, the 13-14 girls 4×100 Relays set the tone for the day, taking first (A team of Emily Northover, Natalie Gibson, Jordan Robinson, Ruth Pasteur) and third (B team of Tionne Murphy, Nancymarie Jones, Olivia Grace, Savannah Lee) with times of 51.56 and 54.59 respectively.
The Jaguar long jumpers soared into the pit with first-place finishes by Peyton Hollis (9-10 girls), Xavier Donaldson (11-12 boys – PR 14 feet-11.25 inches), and Jordan Robinson (13-14 girls). Kai Winston (9-10 boys) and Savannah Lee (13-14 girls) placed second in the long jump, and Nia Freeman (9-10 girls) jumped for third place. Brandon Hernandez rounded out the field events for the Jaguars with a second-place finish for the 13-14 boys in the shot put.
As the sprinters took the track in Westfield, they meant business. Xavier Twyman placed third with a PR (17.21) for the U8 boys 100M dash, and Natalia Thompson also ran a PR in the U8 girls 100M dash (16.42) placing third. Dylan Williams and Matthew Twyman dominated with a 1-2 finish in the 9-10 boys 100M. The 11-12 boys ran for second place (McKenzy Pierre) and third place (Leonardo Grace) in a very close 100M finish. Talib Bilal put the 13-14 boys in third-place medaling position with a PR (12.56) in the 100M. Ethan Johnson ran hard for the older boys (15-16) and finished second with a sub-12s 100M dash (11.95 PR). Jefferson Cajuste sprinted for a second-place finish in the 15-16 boys 110M hurdles. Clearly the Jaguars showed their speed that day.
The Jaguars dominated in the 200M with Myles Richard (U8 boys) and Dylan Williams (9-10 boys) placing first, Xavier Donaldson (11-12 boys), Ethan Johnson (15-16 boys), and Kayla Hudson (15-16 girls) placing second, and Nia Freeman (9-10 girls), Al-Qamar Rojas (9-10 boys), and Talib Bilal (13-14 boys), Jefferson Cajuste (15-16 boys) taking third.
As Jaguars took the track for the 400M, they proved they did not want to be beat with Myles Richard (U8 boys), Peyton Hollis (9-10 girls), Ethan Johnson (15-16 boys), and Kayla Hudson (15-16 girls) taking first; Sahar Ahad (U8 girls), Al-Qamar Rojas (9-10 boys), Morgan Williams (13-14 girls) and Jefferson Cajuste (15-16 boys) placing second; and Amari Akakpo (9-10 boys), Nia Freeman (9-10 girls), Xavier Donaldson (11-12 boys), Savannah Lee (13-14 girls), and Talib Bilal (13-14 boys) taking third place. That is a lot of medals in the 400M!
As the mid-distance runners lined up for the 800M, you could tell they came to win. Myles Richard (U8 boys), Peyton Hollis (9-10 girls), and Amari Akakpo (9-10 boys) placed first; Sahar Ahad (U8 girls) and Kayla Hudson (15-16 girls) took second place; and Al-Qamar Rojas (9-10 boys) and Jenna Keith (13-14 girls) ran it home for third. Distance runner Lukas Alexander shone in the 1,500M with a third-place finish for the 9-10 boys.
With a team motto of “Train your Mind to lead and Train your Body to follow,” the Jaguar athletes shone this spring both on the track and in their academics. Congratulations to all of 2016 Jaguar runners for a successful 20th Regular Season! Good luck to all of the runners at the USATF and AAU Championship events.
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