Montclair Kimberley girls track runs away with Super Essex Conference Colonial title
Montclair Kimberley head coach Tim White believes that his girls track and field team has a shot at winning the Essex County team title this week.
The Cougars are strong in the distance and throw events, and White believes there is a path to the county team championship even against the big Group 4 schools when the county meet takes place at Woodman Field in Montclair on Thursday, May 19, and Friday, May 20.
“Countywide we are looking to make a big splash,” White said. “I think that we can score in the distance and throws, where we score a lot of points.”
The team picked up some momentum last weekend when it won the team title in the Super Essex Conference Colonial Division meet on Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14, at Schools Stadium in Newark. The Cougars finished with 117 points, far ahead of second-place Verona, with 90 points. The Cougars boys came in fourth in the Colonial division race with 62 points, six behind Verona for third place.
It wasn’t a surprise for the girls to win the Colonial title, White said. As to the boys, the coach said he took a “conservative” approach to save the best for this week. He said that some of the boys were “sore” as well as having some bumps and bruises. “We’re focusing on the county level,” White said about the boys.
On the boys side, the Cougars’ top athlete, senior Isiah Udofia, won both the 100 meters (11.12) and the triple jump (45-feet-4.5). He also came in second in the 200 meters with a personal best time of 23.78. Last year, Udofia finished in the top 14 in the 100 meters at the state Meet of Champions.
“He’s great and a really hard worker,” White said. “He is a great communicator. He’s everything you want in your best athlete.”
For the girls, leading the way in winning the division were the 1600 meters runners, who swept the event with sophomore Maggie Horn, junior Rebecca Herrick and freshman Sydney Fradette finishing first, second and third, respectively. Horn’s winning time was 5.25.79.
“It’s a three-headed monster for us,” White said about the distance races, adding that they will be critical in the county meet.
Montclair Kimberley girls also took first and second in the 3200 meters, with Fradette winning with a time of 12:02.11. Freshman Natalie Ewing came in second at 12:33.06.
In the throws for the girls, sisters Phoebe Williams, a senior, and Kitty Williams, a sophomore, dominated. Phoebe Williams came in first in both the shot put and the javelin, with Kitty Williams second in both, while Kitty Williams won the discus, with her sister second.
“They are best friends and pick each other up,” White said.
The pair had an especially good shot put event at the Colonial meet with two of the top throws in the state. Phoebe Williams’ winning throw was 34-feet-6-inches, while her sister’s second place was 34-feet-4.5. And Phoebe Williams had one of the top throws in the state in the javelin, at 108-feet-11.