The Rebel Relays April 2 signal the start of the outdoor high school track and field campaign.
Hosted by Howell High School, the relays have such events as the 4×1,600-meter, Shuttle Hurdle and Distance Medley relays on the track and relays for the all the field events.
The season begins a day earlier, April 1, with the Rebel Relays Frosh/Soph meet.
April is relay month for track and field, and other traditional relays include the Husky Relays at Matawan Regional High School (April 9), Metuchen Relays (April 9), East Brunswick Invitational (April 16) and the Colts Neck Relays (April 23).
The Colts Neck Relays are the last chance for teams to post qualifying times for the Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania (April 28-30).
The Holmdel Twilight Series at Holmdel High School begins April 15 with the Penn Qualifier meet. The relays that will be contested are the 4×400, 4×800, 4×100 and Shuttle Hurdles.
The outdoor season holds a lot of promise for the Freehold Regional High School District coming on the heels of a super indoor campaign that was highlight by Jordan Brannan of Colts Neck High School winning the 3,200 title at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions (MOC).
Freehold Township High School distance standouts Ciara Roche (1,600) and Jake Konig (3,200) picked up Group IV state championships. Roche, who was an MOC runner-up, set Monmouth County records for the 1,500 (4:34.41), 1,600 (4:51.18) and mile (4:54.17) runs during her great indoor season, which also included a fifth-place showing in the High School Mile at the Millrose Games.
Roche has been invited to run the Girls High School Mile at the Penn Relays.
Colts Neck’s Ryan Tompkins won the Group III high jump state title, taking his personal best from 6-2 to 6-6 at the meet.
Other standouts under cover included Howell’s Niamh Hayes, who won the 3,200 at the South Jersey, Group IV meet and broke the meet record at the county championships (10:58.25); Stephanie Bock, who was South Jersey, Group IV runner-up and surpassed 40 feet in the shot put (41-9¼); and Marlboro High School sprinter hurdler Kwaku Amponsah, who won the Monmouth County and Shore Conference titles in the 55 hurdles.
Marlboro sprinter Danielle Spano figures to excel outdoors because her strength is the longer 100-200 sprints. She qualified for the MOC indoor 200.
Colts Neck’s boys captured the Central Jersey, Group III and overall Group III indoor championships and look to add more titles to their impressive 2015-16, which includes the Central Jersey, Group III cross-country championship.
May will usher in the championship season, starting with the Monmouth County Championship May 11 and 13 at Holmdel High School, followed by the Shore Conference Championships May 21 at Central Regional High School (Bayville). The NJSIAA sectionals are May 27-28 at Hillsborough High School for Central Jersey, Group I and IV; at Northern Burlington County Regional High School for Central Jersey, Group II and III; and at Egg Harbor Township High School for South Jersey, Group IV. The NJSIAA Group Championships are June 3-4 at Egg Harbor Township for Group I and IV and Non-Public A and at Northern Burlington for Group II and III and Non-Public B. The MOC is June 8 at Central Regional.