After a three-year absence, the Haddonfield boys’ track and field team has reclaimed its spot atop Group II.
The team won its first Group II championship since 2011 at the state meet in South Plainfield on May 29 and May 30. Haddonfield finished the meet with 53 points, finishing 13 points ahead of Ramapo and Deptford. It was Haddonfield’s first championship since winning three straight from 2009 through 2011.
First-year head coach Brian Makinson said the Bulldawgs weren’t looked at as the favorite entering the state meet. Haddonfield had failed to finish in the top 10 of the team standings in the past three state meets.
“We were really just preaching to the kids, go out there and race within itself,” Makinson said. “We’re not looking to do anything crazy.”
The Bulldawgs accumulated a large number of points in the long-distance races. Junior Greg Pelose won the 1600-meter run, with junior Austin Stoner finishing in fourth place and senior Danny Brennan in sixth. Stoner and Pelose also finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 800-meter run. Senior Chad Evans put up a fast time in the 3200-meter run, finishing in third place. All of those runners set personal best times in their events.
“All of the guys stepped up,” Makinson said. “We weren’t telling them they had to step up, and they knew they had to do it on their own.”
A big boost to Haddonfield’s championship hopes came from a junior who hadn’t been on the track and field team prior to this season. Jake Walter joined the team as a thrower this season and qualified for the state tournament in shot put. Makinson said Walter had gradually improved over the course of the season, eventually throwing more than 50 feet in the county championships. Haddonfield was down four points entering the shot put.
“He knew that we needed points, but didn’t know how many points we needed,” Makinson said.
Walter set a new personal record with a throw of 52 feet, 7.25 inches. The throw was third best in the competition and gave Haddonfield six points and the lead.
Walter wasn’t the only the only thrower who had a career day at states. Senior Kevin Wolf gave his team four points in the discus throw with a fourth-place finish. His throw of 152 feet was a personal best and a testament to his gradual improvement over the course of the season.
“Kevin Wolf had a huge sectional meet to get into states,” Makinson said. “The discus was a surprise for him.”
A number of Haddonfield athletes qualified for the Meet of Champions on June 3, but only the 4x800m relay team finished in the top-five of the events.
Still, Makinson said winning a team championship was huge for many of the athletes. Though the team hadn’t had success at the state level in the past three seasons, Makinson said the Bulldawgs realized they had the potential to contend at the state meet as the season went on, and the team had success at the conference and county level.
“These kind of things don’t happen by accident,” he said. “You have to have this goal in mind all season and work toward it. We had to see where we were as the season went on.”
