After a long winter season of freezing temperatures and piles of snow, spring has sprung–and NVOT track and field is not looking back. Coming from a strong winter season, both teams were looking to continue their record breaking performances and, as head boys coach Peter Dunn simply puts it, “get better.”
The boys and girls have already secured a League championship title in the Big North Championships, winning over Demarest by a few points. Junior Emme Fermin said, “Winning Leagues was definitely exciting, but it also showed other schools what we’re capable of, and I’m excited to see what else we can accomplish going forward.” Fermin was certainly valid in her excitement because the following week at the Group B Bergen County Championship, both teams made school history.
Going into the meet, NVOT track and field had only one goal: to dominate.
After the first day of the meet, which consisted of rainy weather and a little chaos, it was clear the boys were dominating the competition just as they hoped. Multiple podium-placing performances propelled the boys ahead of the competition, and by the end of the two days, they were crowned the Group B Bergen County Champions. Dunn defined the team’s performance as “a total team win.”
For the girls, it went a little differently. On the final day of the meet,
they found out in dramatic fashion that taking home first place over rival school NVD would all come down to their 4x400m relay. Anchor Angie Kelley said, “Finding out the meet depended on the 4x400m was a huge motivator, especially since I knew NVD was going to be putting out a good team. Regardless, I knew we wanted it more and that’s what it ended up coming down to in the last 100 meters of the race. All the pressure made the win that much more special for us.” In the end, the girls defeated the NVD relay team by .14 seconds and secured the championship title.
Out of all the years of Old Tappan hosting the Bergen County Championships, this was the first time in school history both teams took home the win. Head girls coach Johnny O’Hanlon said, “The girls competed hard in every single event. I didn’t see a single team work harder and give their all more than our team did. The cool thing about the girls winning this meet was it wasn’t from one performer, but it took every single athlete’s contributions to pull this off.”
Their accomplishments aren’t only impressive, but also a source of inspiration for their JV athletes to put in the same hard work as any varsity runner or thrower would. Freshman Mila Klein said, “Seeing how hard the varsity girls work and support each other makes me want to be a better runner and teammate everyda
y.”
O’Hanlon hopes that “the training, discipline, and mental toughness that are needed to excel in this sport teach athletes a lot about themselves.”
These wins prove that NVOT’s track program is a powerhouse in Bergen county, but the question is: will it be enough to take home a Sectional and State title? In a matter of weeks the results will be in, but, NVOT track and field is definitely gunning for gold.
