FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP
N o stage is too big for Freehold Township High School’s girls 4×400- meter relay team.
On one of the biggest stages in indoor track and field, the Millrose Games, the Patriots broke the Monmouth County record at the Suburban High School Girls 4×400 Relay at the Armory Track and Field Center in New York, N.Y., on Feb. 15.
The team of Domonique Panton, Caitlyn Poss, Adrian Vitello and Emily Bracher finished third in the race and took down Neptune High School’s county record, 3:58.28, in the process with their 3:57.02 mark.
Earlier this year, the quartet became the first Freehold Regional High School District team to break 4:00 indoors, and now they are the county’s all-time fastest.
Running a 60-second opening quarter, Panton put the Patriots on course to set the record.
While Poss, Vitello and Bracher are members of Freehold Township’s All- American 4×800 relay team and experienced at meets like Millrose, Panton is a newcomer to this stage.
However, she wasn’t just along for the ride. This team is strong because it is made up of four strong runners.
“We’re all really good runners, and when you put us all together, we’re a great team,” Panton said, adding that she likes being “part of something great.”
Watching her teammates, Panton noted, has made her work harder and become a better runner. She is a sprinter who runs the 55-meter dash indoors.
As the leadoff leg, Panton said her job is to “set the tone,” which she did at Millrose.
Poss took the handoff from Panton and maintained the Patriots’ position in fifth with a 59.5 leg.
Vitello’s 58.13 third leg moved the team up to third place and into medal position, a position Bracher was going to protect.
“I had to maintain our third place and not get passed on the last lap. I just focused on my race,” she said.
Bracher’s 59.2 split held off a charging Suffern High School (New York) team, keeping the Patriots in the medals and taking them under the county record, which she said was the goal all along.
“If we accomplished the county record, wherever we placed we would be proud,” Bracher said.
On Feb. 17 at the John Bennett Indoor Athletic Complex, the Patriots ran for the Group IV state title, having already captured the Central Jersey Group IV championship. The meet was originally scheduled for Feb. 14, but it was postponed due to the snowstorm the day before.
The NJSIAA Meet of Champions is on Feb. 22 back in Toms River.