Lawson claims 200 title, leads Montclair High School at Group 4 track and field meet

Montclair High School senior Kiya Lawson left the best for last at the Group 4 track and field meet last weekend, winning the 200 meter dash with the fastest time in all state groups.

With a time of 24.09 she became the top seed heading into the State Meet of Champions this Saturday at Franklin High School in Somerset. 

In addition to the 200, Lawson also qualified for the 100 meter race (12.01) by finishing second, while senior Elizabeth Fitzgerald qualified for the Meet of Champions in the pole vault after finishing second (11-feet-6).

And, led by Lawson, the Mounties’ 400 meter relay team finished third in Group 4 with a time of 49.2, the seventh-fastest of all state groups and qualifying it for Saturday’s meet. The relay team includes junior Ava Butler and freshmen Darielle Whiting and Mackenzie Finley.

Montclair head coach Daryl Washington said it would be determined later this week which events Lawson would compete in on Saturday. "She is definitely a team player," Washington said, adding that Lawson would definitely be in the 400 relay.

Lawson's time in the 200 was a personal best and a “perfect” run, Washington said.

"The goal is to get up to the top speed in the first 60 meters," he said. "And then you carry the speed until 120 meters. And then shoot out of the turn."

The coach was very confident Lawson would beat Scotch Plains-Fanwood's Julia Jackson in the 200. "I told her that this is your race to win," he said.

The 100 meter race also was a battle with Jackson, who just nipped Lawson at the finish line. Jackson was only 0.05 seconds ahead of Lawson, at 11.96 to 12.01. Lawson had the sixth-fastest time in the state, which could set up a showdown at the Meet of Champions. "She ran into a headwind," Washington said about the finish in the 100.

Fitzgerald’s vault was second to Montgomery's Lauren Cashman, who set a 12-foot mark. Overall, Fitzgerald’s mark was the fourth-best in the state heading into Saturday’s meet. Fitzgerald and Cashman are the only girls in the state to have reached 12 feet this season.

While none of the Montclair boys qualified for the Meet of Champions, Washington has almost the entire team returning next year. "We have a very young team," he said, adding that for many on the boys team it was their first time not only in a Group 4 meet, held June 10-11, but in a North 1 Group 4 state section meet, held June 3-4.

The coach said that to help his young team with its development, he is bringing two school buses full of team members to the Meet of Champions. "They are going not only to cheer on their teammates, but to experience what it is like at the state championships," he said. 

In addition to the state meet, Montclair had a good day June 6 at the continuation of the partially rained out Essex County Track and Field Championships at Woodman Field. Mounties registered victories in both pole vault events: Junior Alexander Kuzyk took first in the boys pole vault at 13 feet, and Fitzgerald won the girls pole vault at 12-feet-1.

Juniors Ian Habjian and Richard Fortune won the javelin and shot put events respectively. Habjian threw the javelin 147-feet-10, while Fortune topped the competition in the shot put at 51 feet.

In addition, the Montclair girls 1600 relay team won the Essex title with a time of 4:03.41. Lawson, Finley, sophomore Maya Kim and senior Nyjah Young-Bey comprised the winning squad.

Group 4, June 10-11 

Boys

100 meters: 13. Daniel Nixon, sophomore, 11.26

400 meters: 19. Reuven Frye, senior, 51.16

3200 meters: 17. Sean Overton, sophomore, 10:01.14

1600 meter relay: 21. Montclair, 3:29.75

Pole vault: 12. Alexander Kuzyk, junior,
12-feet-6

Discus: 8. Richard Fortune, junior, 153-feet-3

Javelin: 8. Ian Habjian, junior, 151-feet-5

Shot put: 18. Fortune, 45-feet-1.5

Girls

100 meters: 2. Kiya Lawson, senior, 12.01

200 meters: 1. Lawson, 24.09

800 meters: 19. Maya Kim, sophomore, 2:28.65

3200 meters: 16. Avery McAdams, sophomore 11:41.95

400 meter relay: 3. Montclair, 49.20

1600 relay: 13. Montclair, 4:04.02

High jump: 13. Nile Brunson, freshman, 5 feet

Triple jump: 16. Kennedy White, freshman, 33-feet-6

Pole vault: 2. Elizabeth Fitzgerald, senior,
11-feet-6

North 1 Group 4, June 3-4

Boys

100 meters: 5. Nixon, 11.13

200 meters: 8. Frye, 22.87

400 meters: 5. Frye, 50.63

800 meters: 8. Tristan L'Horset, junior, 2:00.19

1600 meters: 12. Overton, 4:47.11

3200 meters: 5. Overton, 9:37.21

400 meter relay: 5. Montclair, 43.82

1600 meter relay: 5. Montclair, 3:30.41

3200 meter relay: 7. Montclair, 8:22.59

Pole vault: 3. Kuzyk, 12-feet-6

Discus: 5. Fortune, 123-feet-3

Javelin: 6. Habjian, 139-feet-4

Shot put: 3. Fortune, 49-feet-11

Girls

100 meters: 1. Lawson, 12.09

200 meters: 1. Lawson, 24.77

800 meters: 6. Kim, 2:27.56

3200 meters: 5. McAdams, 11.46.25

400 meter relay: 2. Montclair, 49.25

1600 meter relay: 3. Montclair, 4:06.84

3200 meter relay: 3. Montclair, 10.06.99

High jump: 4. Brunson, 4-feet-10

Triple jump: 4. White, 34 feet

Pole vault: 1. Fitzgerald, 11-feet-6

Essex County Track and Field

Championships,
continuation on June 6

Boys

Pole vault: 1.  Kuzyk, 13 feet

Javelin: 1. Habjian,147-feet-10

Shot put: 1. Fortune, 51 feet; 6. Tylor McAuley, junior, 42-feet-2

Girls

Pole vault: 1. Fitzgerald, 12-feet-1

1600 meter relay: 1. Montclair, 4:03.41

3200 meters: 2. McAdams, 11:57.38; 4. Madeline Duncan, sophomore, 12:25.84; 6. Annabelle Svenson, sophomore, 12:58.95

Triple jump: 5. White, 33-feet-5.25