The NJSIAA Group 1 state championship was Saturday in Toms River and Verona High School’s Gwen Neale blew away her competitors in the 800m, turning in a time of 2:19.37. Maile O’Neill finished fifth in the 55m dash.
The Verona girls finished seventh out of 28 teams overall. In addition to Neale and O’Neill, Lauren Czupak competed in the 1600m, Lucia Grant and Isabella Lambert ran the 800m, Marguerite and Georganne Valera competed in pole vault, and Danielle Imbriano, Leah Byrnes and Juliana Maglifiore competed in shot put.
Ian Zalewski finished third in the 1600m with a time of 4:24.33, beating his personal record by four seconds. The Verona boys team finished 15th overall in a field of 30 teams.
Neale, O’Neill and Zalewski all qualified to compete in the state Meet of Champions, which will be held on Sunday, March 3, at the Ocean Breeze complex on Staten Island.
