Only six days after the Verona High School girls track & field team won the Twin Boro Relays at Ramsey High School on April 29, the team scored an upset at the Essex County Championship Relays.
The Lady Hillbillies, who had not been favored to make it into the seeded sprint medley heat, bested a competitive field of 18 teams to win the event. Chelsea Gruskin (200m), Brianna Rigney (200m), Olivia Fiore (400m), and anchor Kate Ashley (800m) ran a very fast 4:21 to capture the gold. Overall the VHS team had a strong showing, coming in sixth place in a field of 22 teams, and was the top point-getter of the smaller schools in Essex County.
Kelly Petrino (7’6”) and Lily Benanchietti (7’0”) finished third in pole vault; Carly Waterman (35’7”) and Alex Holland (24’11”) got fourth place in shot put; Julianna Spina (79’6”) and Caitlyn Kenneally (75’3”) placed fifth in javelin; and Cianna Winkler (1:16), Julia DiGeronimo (1:17) and Carli Lavoie (1:19) were sixth in the 3 x 400m hurdles.
Brianna Rigney, Kathleen Nagy, Karishma Parekh and Julia DiGeronimo competed in the 4 x 800m, Cianna Winkler, Julia DiGeronimo, Carolyn Feeley and Carli Lavoie ran the shuttle hurdle relay. Isabel Latorre and Gabriellle Petti teamed up for the discus relay, while Olivia Fiore and Chelsea Gruskin teamed up for the long-jump relay.
The team is setting their sights on the SEC Conference Championships Friday, May 12, at Newark School Stadium.
