The Livingston High School boys ’ indoor track and field started the championship portion of its season at the Essex County Relays on January 20 at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex. The boys faced some of the toughest competitors in the state from St. Benedict’s Prep, East Orange Campus, and Montclair High School.“The squadknew the task would be tough but were ready for the meet,” said head coach Nancy Petryna. “Many of the athletes ran personal bests, and two squads broke school records on their way to the first place trophy over St. Benedict’s by just .5 seconds.”LHS started the meet with a win in the distance medley relay, consisting of the 1,200, 400, 800, and 1,600 meter distances. Alek Kasperski led off the relay, running the 1,200 before handing off to Corey Leavy, who sprinted the next 400 meters. Junior Danny Wang then took the baton to stay with the pack for the 800 legs before Ricky Romero finished off the relay with a strong 1,600 meter run to help the squad to a first place finish at 11:00.91.Next up was the shuttle relay squad of Raalu Madubuko, Gabe Lopez-Simpson, Nick Siao and Kondwani Lwamba.“The hurdle race featured a competitive group of racers from the other schools,” recounted coach Petryna. “Each boy got off with a clean ex and the squad finished at 32.28 for a third-place finish and critical points.”Will Sun, Matthew Burt, Tugra Ovul, and Sean Tesoriero were the four members that made up the sprint medley team. Sun led the medley off with a quick 200 before handing the baton to Burt who also sprinted a 200. Ovul then took the baton, running a 400 meter leg before handing it to Tesoriero, who finished out the race with a personal best 800 meter leg. Their time of 3:44.00 placed them in fourth overall.The 4x200 meter relay was next on the track.“The squad already owned the fastest time in Essex County and were determined to keep the crown,” said Petryna.Brandon Dong started the squad off strong before handing the baton to co-captain Chase Wade. Wade eased the team into a solid lead before passing to co-captain Chase Kaufman, who continued to build the gap. Kaufman then passed the baton to co-captain Luke Petryna, who strengthened the lead and crossed the line with a new school record of 1:28.59, currently second in the state and 11th in the ...
