By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
The Montgomery High track and field team came away from the state Group IV meet with plenty to be happy about.
The Cougars will be sending a strong contingent of athletes to Saturday’s Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington High School. On the boys side, Ryan Cashman earned a TOC berth with a sixth-place finish in the triple jump. Cashman’s effort of 44-feet, 8-inches landed him a spot in the TOC, while Tobi Sonaike earned a wild card into the TOC with a 44-5 effort in the same event. The Cougars also earned a wild card with an eighth-place finish from the 4×100-meter relay team of Rydell Johnson, Alex Liu, Malachi Clemons and Cashman.
For the girls, Abrianna Barrett is heading to the MOC after finishing third in the high jump with a 5-foot, 4-inch effort. Two Cougars, Sarah McGowen and Gianna Tedeschi, just missed out on wild cards with strong efforts in the 3,200 meters.
“We are in a group that usually gets a lot of the wild card spots because there is so much depth in Group 4,” Montgomery boys coach Sean Carty said. “We are glad the guys will get one more opportunity to compete. With each of our guys competing, I felt like they had a good opportunity to advance.”
Cashman, who excels in a number of events, made huge strides this season in the triple jump, an event he just picked up this spring.
“Ryan picked it up in March and it was pretty much all Ryan and his hard work,” Carty said. “He said he wanted to try it and I said he’d be good at it. It was very impressive what he did in the event this year. He has been such a great example for us. He does everything we ask him to do. He has such a good feel for that event.”
Sonaike advanced in the triple jump as well, while Carty was very happy to see the Cougars advance in the 4×100 relay.
“I am happy for Tobi,” Carty said. “He has preformed well in some big meets. He scored points in the (Skyland) conference meet. He had his best jump of the year in and it came on his third jump. He’s been up above 43 a few times so it was nice to see him get up over 44.
“And I am very happy for the 4×1. Those guys work hard. and I am glad Malachi Clemons got a chance to get out and compete in the Meet of Champs. It’s nice for our young guys and nice for him to get there as a senior.”
Barrett is just a sophomore and has big days ahead of her on the track.
“It was great for Abrianna to compete at this level,” Montgomery girls coach Tim Bartholomew said. “We’re very happy. She has had some really great meets this year. At the (Somerset) county meet she cleared 5-10 and she’s had a couple other strong ones. But none like that. That was a great moment and great accomplishment. It’s always tough to replicate a performance like that but I am confident she will. She is only a sophomore.”
The Cougars were close to advancing two girls in the 3,200 and were also close in the 4×400 relay., where Montgomery ran a 4:00.44.
“The 4×4 was really close,” Bartholonew said. “We just missed the mark in a very competitive field, You need to run under four minutes to get into the MOC our girls did an excellent job to put themselves in that position to be able.
“Sarah and Gianna put themselves in position in the top 12 in Group 4, which gave them a chance to get a wildcard. That was their goal. They ran hard and did their best. At the end of the day they had a shot.”
It was a good overall season for the Montgomery girls, who have high hopes for the future.
“We are always trying to get better and grow as a team,” Bartholomew said. “This year we had a lot of great seniors who will be difficult to replace. But the nice part of our program is just when you think the cupboard is empty, someone steps up and surprises you.”
