The Golden Knights girls’ track team took home the gold once again at the State Sectional meet and carried their momentum into the State Group Championships.

On February 3rd, the team won the title at the NJSIAA North Group 1 Section 3 Championship, beating the second place team, Northern Highlands, by 15 points. Senior Caroline O’Sullivan earned the team the most points by winning the 800m, the 400m, and the 1600m.  “It was honestly amazing to see us all come together and not back down from the competition,” O’Sullivan said, “even though many spectators and reporters were going in already believing Northern Highlands would blow us out of the water… to prove everyone wrong was great.”

Juniors Julia Powell and Taylor Newman also won in their individual divisions. Powell won the high jump and Newman finished first in the 55m. “Going into the meet, I was nervous,” Newman said, “[but] winning my own personal event was an amazing feeling.”

As a whole, the team is clicking on and off the track. After they found out the overall scores for the day, they “were all so happy and cheering and taking pictures together,” Newman mentioned. “We are all extremely close… that is what helped motivate and lead us to victory,” she added. “We trust each other and the unique abilities we each have,” she continued.

The State Group 3 Championship took place on February 16th, where Caroline O’Sullivan took the gold once more. She ran the 1600 in 4:55:94, which was the fourth-fastest time in Bergen history, and the fastest ever for an NVOT student. O’Sullivan said the reason for her success was her “mindset”, saying it “let us become the Group 3 Champions.”

O’Sullivan was not the only one to win; Newman also won the 55m PR with the 2nd fastest time for OT, saying “all my hard work had finally paid off.”

This meet brought the winter season to a close, and the spring track season is quickly approaching. Whether all of the same girls will return to the team is unsure, but in the end they started off 2018 with tons of success. As Newman had said, “I am really excited to see what our team can do.”