WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange High School girls indoor track and field team finished in second place in the girls team standings at the Essex County Individual Championships at Ocean Breeze Complex in Staten Island on Feb. 19.
The WOHS girls team then finished third overall at the North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 state championships on Feb. 22 at the Bennett Center in Toms River.
At the county championships, the Mountaineers had 53 points based on the top-six finishes in each event. Montclair won the girls team title with 103 points.
Nai’a Peterson, a junior, won the 55-meter dash and senior Denae Hill won the shot put event to lead WOHS.
On the boys’ side at the county championships, Seton Hall Prep tied for third place with St. Benedict’s Prep with 45 points, while West Orange High School tied for fifth place with East Orange Campus with 28 points.
Shane Brosnan, a sophomore, took second place in both the 1,600 and 3,200 to lead WOHS.
For SHP, junior Tim Polizzi won the shot put event. Montclair won the boys team title with 65 points.
At the sectional meet, the WOHS girls team had 37 points. Ridgewood was first with 65 points and Clifton was second with 47.
Peterson won the 55-meter dash and Hill won the shot put.
The WOHS boys took seventh overall at the sectional meet. Passaic County Tech won the boys team title.
The top-six finishers in each event qualified for the Group 4 state championships on Feb. 29 at the Bennett Center.
Essex County Championships
Top-six finishes
WOHS girls
55-meter dash: 1. Nai’a Peterson, 7.39. 3. Amiya Franklin, 7.50.
200-meter dash: 3. Peterson, 26.04. 6. Nadya Coleman, 26.85.
800-meter run: 3. Leila Garraud, 2:26.62.
1,600-meter run: 2. Garraud, 5:35.89.
4×400-meter relay: 5. 4:23.30.
Shot put: 1. Hill, 41 feet-9 3/4 inches.
WOHS boys
800-meter run: 2. Brosnan, 1:59.76. 4. Mali Coleman, 2:01.10.
1,600-meter run: 2. Brosnan, 4:34.88. 5. Senay Dani, 4:41.11.
3,200-meter run: 3. Dani, 10:12.63.
Seton Hall Prep
800-meter run: 3. Luke Avigliano, 2:00.04.
1,600-meter run: 4. Kevin Harvey, 4:35.71.
3,200-meter run: 2. Harvey, 9:53.89.
4×400-meter relay: 5. 3:36.51.
High jump: 3. Reece Watkins, 6-2. 6. Tyler Lopez, 5-10.
Pole vault: 5. Jared Mount, 9-0.
Shot put: 1. Polizzi, 48-1 ¾ . 3. William Polizzi, 42-5 ¼. 5. Timothy O’Connor, 42-4.
North 1, Group 4 championships
Top-six finishes
WOHS girls
55-meter dash: 1. Peterson, 7.38. 2. Franklin, 7.49. 3. Coleman, 7.49.
800-meter run: 6. Garraud, 2:27.00.
4×400 relay: 5. 4:15.62.
Shot put: 1. Hill, 41-4 ¾.
WOHS boys
800-meter run: 3. Brosnan, 2:00.67. 4. Coleman, 2:02.57.
1,600-meter run: 3. Brosnan, 4:28.11.
4×400 relay: 5. 3:37.39.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to include results of the sectional meet.