Bloomfield’s track & field program continues to make history.
One year removed from just its second ever Essex County boys championship in more than 100 years and just a couple weeks removed from the girls’ team title in the Essex County Relays, the boys continued their reign on top of the county as Bloomfield repeated as Essex County champions in this past weekend’s Essex County Championships at Woodman Field in Montclair.
As a team, the Bengals finished with 55 points, edging out Livingston and Seton Hall Prep, which were tied for second with 48.
“Doing it once is amazing, but doing it twice in a row really is a testament to the athletes and the coaching staff and the whole community,” head coach Terry Iavarone said. “They really came together and worked to make this happen.”
In total, Bloomfield’s boys took home three first place titles and 11 overall medals. Leading the way for the Bengals was Jo’elle Urdanivia, who won gold in both the Discus (168-5) and Shot Put (52-10). Urdanivia, a junior, crushed the competition in the Discus as his distance was nearly 40 feet more than the closest competitor.
As a team, Bloomfield’s dominance in the throwing events was the difference in the meet. Three Bengals medaled in the Shot Put as Shane Fernandez (second place, 50-0) and Jalen Gray (sixth place, 46-6) also finished on the stand. Gray also took sixth in the Discus (120-5).
Also claiming gold for Bloomfield was Jeremy Tejada who ran a 14.71 in the 110 Meter Hurdles.
As a whole, nine different Bengals won a medal on the day, a testament to the depth the program has built up and the all-around group effort needed to win an Essex County title.
Jon Zeqa placed third in the 3200 Meter Run with a personal best 9:57.93. Blake Harrison claimed fourth in the Pole Vault after clearing 10-0. Carlos Vega finished five in the 100 Meter Dash with a PR time of 11.04. Bloomfield also won two medals in the jumping events as Jeremy Hillman placed fifth in the Triple Jump (43-4) and Lennox McPherson-Abrams finished sixth in the High Jump (5-10).
Also in the Boys Championships, Nutley had a pair of fourth place finishers with Jalyn Caraballo in the Javelin (153-1) and Marcus Durham in the Triple Jump (43-5.5).
In the Girls Championships, Bloomfield placed tied for third with Livingston with a total of 58 points, trailing just champion West Orange (88 points) and Montclair Kimberley (68). Nutley took fifth with 33 points.
Nutley had a pair of first place finishers this weekend in Meya Ranges and Havana Alvarez.
Ranges continued her incredible senior year by claiming gold in the 3200 Meter Run (11:23.09), setting a new PR, after taking second a year ago. Ranges also finished third in the 1600 Meter Run with a personal best time of 5:17.31.
Alvarez, a sophomore, had a breakout performance in the Long Jump with a jump of 18-8, smashing her previous personal best by nearly a foot.
Another sophomore, Ellie Oldak, placed fourth in the Long Jump at 16-8. Ava Iacona took fifth in the Pole Vault at 8-0 and Nutley’s 4×400 Meter Relay team finished sixth with a time of 4:09.76.
Bloomfield might not have taken any individual first place finishes, but once again showed its considerable depth as it won 12 overall medals. Thalia Bell was a double medal winner as the senior took second in the Shot Put (37-0) and third in the Discus (104-10). Junior Inez Brewster also medalled twice, placing fourth in both the 400 Meter Dash (58.56) and 800 Meter Dash (2:23.53).
Adding to the list of Bengals medal winners were a pair of second place finishers in Emily Brodowski in the Pole Vault (10-0) and Delilah Tapia in the 400 Meter Hurdles (1:05.16). Janelle Epitime took third in the Triple Jump with a 34-9. Audrey McLaughlin was fourth in the 3200 Meter Run with a time of 12:11.66 and Amira Nicholas ran a 26.09 to take fourth in the 200 Meter Dash.Chloe LaMonica cleared 7-6 to take sixth in the Pole Vault and Oona Nance finished sixth in the 3200 Meter Run with a 12:19.99. In addition, Bloomfield’s 4×400 Meter Relay team took fourth with a time of 4:08.85.
Belleville’s Darrill Rowe took fourth in the Discus with a throw of 101-1.
Also this past Friday and Saturday, at Gene Littler Bergen County Championships, a North Arlington school record fell as Vikings freshman ran a 11:47.21 to take first in the Girls, Division C, 3200 Meter Run. Hackett also took fourth in the 1600 Meter Run.
Also, in Division C, Lyndhurst’s Nikalena Iacono claimed first in the Shot Put (37-9.25), second in the Discus (99-2) and third in the Javelin (95-0). In total, the Golden Bears took third in the team standings after finishing with 16 overall medals, highlighted by Iacono, triple medal winner Jaylin Vuono Reid (2nd, 100 Meter Hurdles; 4th, Triple Jump; 5th, High Jump) and Cathia Nogueira (2nd, 3200 Meter Run).
Lyndhurst’s boys took ninth in Division C with Owen Oweida’s second place in the High Jump leading the Bears seven medals.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)