Montclair High School, Montclair Kimberley girls make noise at Essex County Relays
The Montclair High School and Montclair Kimberley Academy girls track and field teams might not have come in first at the Essex County Track and Field Relays, but they sure tallied up the points. The boys teams had their moments as well.
On the girls side, the Mounties and Cougars finished second and third respectively in the points total with 74 and 55, with only Livingston ahead of them at 96 in the meet on Thursday, May 26, at Livingston High School.
On the boys side, Montclair came in third with 62 points, with Seton Hall Prep running away with the team title with 102 and Livingston second at 78. The Montclair Kimberley boys came in ninth with 22 points, but had several good individual results.
For Montclair, head coach Daryl Washington said his teams did very well and put up some great numbers, despite missing a few athletes.
"Overall it was a good meet, as a team we put ourselves in the best position to succeed," Washington said. "With the meet being rescheduled we had a few athletes away for the holiday weekend, which definitely hurt us, but everyone present stepped up big."
The meet was originally scheduled for May 6 but was rescheduled because of bad weather.
For Montclair Kimberley head coach Tim White, it was an impressive showing for one of the smallest schools in the county. "It was a very good day for us as a team," said White, whose squads had four first-place finishes.
In all, the two schools had nine first-place finishes: MKA senior Isiah Udofia in the long jump (21-feet-4), MKA freshman Kalvin Thomas in the triple jump (44-feet-1.5), Montclair junior Ian Habjian in the javelin (141-feet-5), Montclair junior Richard Fortune in the shot put (48-feet-9), the MKA girls 6400 meter relay (22:27.75), the Montclair girls 1600 meter relay (4:09.40), the Montclair girls sprint medley relay (4:18.75), the Montclair girls 3200 meter relay (10:13.75) and MKA sophomore Kitty Williams in discus (116-feet-8).
In terms of the track relays, Montclair sophomore Maya Kim was the glue for three first- place finishes for the Mounties and a big reason they finished second in the team standings.
Kim joined senior Kiya Lawson along with a pair of juniors, Aleta Theron and Allahjah Young-Bey, to win the 1600 meter relay at 4:09.40.
And if all goes well the winning Montclair 3200 relay team will be back for the next couple of seasons. Kim joined fellow sophomores Avery McAdams and Madeline Duncan along with freshman Corinne Stewart to take first with a time of 10:13.75.
In the sprint medley relay, Kim was with a more experienced team led by Lawson and also including freshman Darielle Whitting and junior Ava Butler that won in 4:18.75.
Montclair Kimberley’s girls 6400 meter relay team, junior Rebecca Herrick, freshmen Sydney Fradette and Natalie Ewing and sophomore Maggie Horn, took home first in 22:27.75.
A big reason that the MKA girls finished third was the throws, led by the Williams sisters, senior Phoebe and sophomore Kitty. Phoebe Williams came in the top five in all three throws. Kitty Williams won the discus with a throw of 116-feet-8.
"Kitty Williams is on a run with the discus like I have never seen," White said about Kitty, who ranks in the top 25 in the state in the event. "Just a few weeks ago she was in the 90s, and then at the SEC Championships she threw 103 feet."
On the boys side, Montclair junior Ian Habjian out-threw everyone else in the javelin to take first with a distance of 141-feet-5. It was a couple of weeks ago that Habjian took fifth in the Super Essex Conference American Division meet in the javelin with a distance of 125-feet-10.
And Mounties junior Richard Fortune continued to dominate in the shot put. Fortune took another first at Livingston with a throw of 48-feet-9. He also won the event at the SEC American Division meet a few weeks before the relay.
For the Montclair Kimberley boys team, the senior and freshman duo of Isiah Udofia and Kalvin Thomas took firsts in the long jump (21-feet-4) and triple jump (44-feet-1.5) respectively.
In addition to winning the long jump, Udofia came in second in the triple jump. "Isiah had a very good long jump day," White said. "He jumped in the 21s, which is up there with his best, and he fouled a jump that probably would have been a PR [personal record]. He seems to be improving every week."
Thomas set a personal record in the triple jump. "Kalvin had a great day," White said. "That was his best jump ever. It is extremely unusual to see a freshman make such an impact in his events."
Essex County Track and Field Relays results
Girls
Long jump
5. Lennah Jordan, Montclair, sophomore, 15-feet-5
Triple jump
4. Kennedy White, Montclair, freshman, 32-feet-5
6. Ashley Noel, Montclair, 30-feet-4
Shot put
4. Phoebe Williams, MKA, senior, 33-feet-7.5
5. Tori Robinson, Montclair, freshman, 31-feet-8
Discus
1. Kitty Williams, MKA, sophomore, 116-feet-8
3. Phoebe Williams, 98-feet-09
Javelin
4. Kitty Williams, 98-feet-1
5. Phoebe Williams, 89-feet-4
400 meter relay
2. Montclair, 49.86
800 meter relay
3. Montclair, 1:45.41
6. Montclair Kimberley, 1:51.53
1600 Relay
1. Montclair, 4:09.40
3200 Relay
1. Montclair, 10:13.75
2. Montclair Kimberley, 10:15.70
6400 meter relay
1. Montclair Kimberley, 22:27.75
3. Montclair, 24:81.19
Distance medley
2. Montclair, 13:34.81
3. Montclair Kimberley, 13:46.03
Sprint medley
1. Montclair, 4:18.75
3. Montclair Kimberley, 4:23.34
Boys
Long jump
1 Isiah Udofia, MKA, senior, 21-feet-4
Triple jump
1. Kalvin Thomas, MKA, freshman, 44-feet-1.5
2. Isiah Udofia, 43-feet
Shot put
1. Richard Fortune, Montclair, junior, 48-feet-9
6. Tylor McAuley, Montclair, junior, 40-feet-8.5
Discus
3. Fortune, 129-feet-8
5. McAuley, 124-feet-2
Javelin
1. Ian Habjian, Montclair, junior, 141-feet-5
6. Fortune, 128-feet-2
400 meter relay
4. Montclair, 43.92
800 meter relay
3. Montclair, 1:31.38
1600 sprint medley
2. Montclair, 3:38.97
3200 meter relay
4. Montclair, 8:44.22
6400 meter relay
2. Montclair, 19:21.72
5. Montclair Kimberley, 20:27.57
Distance medley
3. Montclair, 11:21.03