Raston leads West Orange HS girls track team at state meets

Corbin Raston

WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange High School sophomore Corbin Raston took second place in the girls 55-meter dash at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s indoor track and field Group 4 state championships at the John Bennett Athletic Sports Bubble in Toms River on Saturday, Feb. 17.

Raston clocked 7.24 seconds. In the preliminaries, Raston was fourth in 7.32 and senior teammate Atiyya Simmons was 16th in 7.53.

The Mountaineers had other competitors in the meet.

Sophomore Ava Neretic took 18th in the 1,600-meter run in 5 minutes, 25.75 seconds. She was 15th in the 3,200-meter run in 11:48.53. Junior Kaia Alcime was 19th in the 400-meter dash in 1:02.40. Junior Anisha Ellis was 12th in the high jump at 4 feet, 10 inches.

On the boys side, the 4×400-meter relay team took third place in 3:26.00. Senior Adonis White was 15th in the 55-meter dash in 6.71 and junior Gideon Griffin was 10th in the 400-meter dash in 50.90.

The Group 4 state meet consisted of the top-six finishers in each event from the sectional meets.

The top-three finishers in each event and the next best 12 finishers in each event from all the groups have qualified for the NJSIAA’s Meet of Champions on Sunday, March 3, at the Ocean Breeze Track and Field Facility on Staten Island, N.Y.

Raston won the 55-meter dash to lead WOHS at the NJSIAA’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 state championships at the Bubble on Saturday, Feb. 3. Raston clocked 7.29.

Ellis took second place in the high jump at 5 feet. Simmons took fourth place in the 55-meter dash in 7.52. In the 400-meter dash, Alcime was sixth in 1:01.70 seconds and junior Tayla Wilson was ninth in 1:02.31.

In the 800-meter dash, Neretic was ninth in 2:33.38, senior Daniella Malanga was 10th in 2:34.31 and sophomore Rebecca Hinfey was 16th in 2:41.32. In the 1,600-meter run, Neretic was sixth in 5:23.83, Malanga was 14th in 5:47.45 and sophomore Violet Kohlenstein was 25th in 6:08.29.

In the 3,200-meter run, Neretic was fifth in 12:05.12 and Kohlenstein was 19th in 13:43.16.

The 4×400-meter relay team was eighth in 4:21.29.

On the boys side for WOHS, the 4×400-meter relay team took third place in 3:29.30.

White was fifth in the 55-meter dash in 6.69.

In the 400-meter dash, Griffin was fifth in 51.32, junior Andres Acosta was 10th in 52.42 and junior Ethan Sampson was 15th in 54.03. In the 800-meter run, junior Cooper Harwood was eighth in 2:03.57, Acosta was ninth in 2:04.42 and sophomore Ciaran Brosnan was 17th in 2:09.46.

In the 1,600-meter run, senior Henry Pfeifer was 11th in 4:48.22, junior Sahli Negassi was 18th in 4:52.69 and senior Adom Haile-Selassie was 26th in 5:03.00.

Pfeifer was ninth in the 3,200-meter run in 10:34.39. Senior Chaas McCoy was 10th in the high jump at 5 feet, 6 inches. In the shot put, senior Michael Jaiprashad was 29th at 29-0 and senior Matthew Peralta was 33rd at 25-9.

Photo Courtesy of West Orange High School Sports Media Association