Scoon, Nicholas win state prep track titles

Two Peddie School athletes won gold in the state prep championships.

By: Neil Hay
   Stefan Scoon had a pair of first places, and Melanie Nicholas finished first in her specialty, as the Peddie School boys’ and girls’ track teams competed in the state prep championships at Lawrenceville on February 12th.
   Scoon doubled when he won the 55 dash in 6.5 and the 200 in 22.5. By winning the 200, Scoon qualified for the national scholastic indoor championships in New York City next month.
   For the girls, Nicholas took home gold when she won the state high jump competition by clearing 5-2. That mark tied her own school record.
   In other girls results at states, Abby Temeng placed second in the 55 with a time of 7.5. In the 55 high hurdles, Sadjah Bilal (9.8) and Lauren Young (10.2) were fifth and sixth, respectively. And Andrea Duggan took fifth in the 3200 with 12:49.0. Overall, the Peddie girls placed fifth as a team with 23 points. Lawrenceville won the team championship.
   The Peddie boys scored 33 points for fourth place behind winning team St. Benedict’s.
   In the 55, Kirk Samuels placed third in 6.5. Samuels added a sixth in the 200 with a 23.5 showing. And in the shot put, Ryan Nase claimed third place with a throw of 49 4-1/2.
   "Overall, I was quite satisfied" with the state prep meet," said boys and girls coach Mark Gartner. "We lost a day of practice before the meet. What with breaks and distractions, the kids performed quite well."
   This past weekend the Falcons competed in the Ed Poreda Invitational at Lawrenceville. Nase was second in the shot with a distance of 51 7-1/4, Scoon (6.5) and Samuels (6.6) ran one-four in the 55, and Duggan’s 5:30.9 was third in the 1500.