By: Kyle Moylan Sports Editor
The Robbinsville High School boys and girls track teams competed in the NJSIAA Group I State Relay Championships, held this past Sunday in Toms River, and managed to come away with several medals.
The boys team of Ryan Lee, Julian Jiggetts, Tim Brazelton and Nick Lachman placed third in the 4×800 meter relay.
“The medal for the boys was the first in the program’s history,” noted Robbinsville Coach Mike Walker. “We knew we had a chance to medal in a distance relay because of our success in cross country, but we had to ask a freshman sprinter, Julian Jiggetts, who never ran over 400 meters to step in and help out. He ran a great race considering he is new to the distance and was asked to step into fire at his first serious go around at 800 meters.”
The girls medaled in a few events and finished 10th place as a team in the field.
The girls were third in the distance medley relay (Megan Flynn, Amanda Douglass, Rachel Balint and Amber Rylak). The girls also maanged a fifth in the 4×800 meter relay (Lisa Leszcynski, Meagan Lesniak, Katherine Killeen and Rachel Balint). The girls were sixth in the sprint medley relay (Alyssa McAnany, Amber Scott, Julie Challender and Megan Flynn). And the girls still weren’t done as they added a fifth in the high jump relay (Taylor Harmon and Jackie Sikora).
“The girls team showed some depth, which we will need in order to win the sectional title in February,” Walker noted. “We medaled in the distance races, which we expected after being the top cross country program in Group I last fall. But we also medaled in the high jump relay and sprint medley. We still need to step up some to beat a team like Shore Regional. They finished ahead of us in team scoring on Sunday, so they should be considered favorites going into sectionals.”
Robbinsville is scheduled to compete at the New Balance Games at the New York City Armory on Saturday. Several big meets will follow. Robbinsville will have the Mercer County Championships on Feb. 1 in Toms Rivers, the Central Jersey Championships Feb. 6 in Toms River, and the state Group I state Championships Feb. 14 in Toms River.

