The CVC Championships were a spectacular success! As you would expect, this meet had a steady stream of exciting finishes, state-leading times, big PRs, and gutsy efforts. There is a ton of talent in the CVC, and it definitely showed at this meet.

The weather turned out to be beautiful on Saturday, especially given all the rain in the week leading up to it. There was a nice breeze that kept the heat at bay and also gave a little boost to the sprinters – though the jumpers and distance runners may not have appreciated it as much.

Below are the top six finishers in every boys event. (Read the girls recap here.) There were obviously many other noteworthy performances from top to bottom of the results, so congratulations to everyone who competed.

I’ve included photos of most winners, but you can find many more photos in this album: CVC Championships Photo Album.

Boys Team Champions

Notre Dame was the decisive champion on the boys side, scoring 104 points and winning by almost 30 points. Their stars really showed out for this championship – they racked up 12 top-3 finishes! In second place with 77 points was Princeton, who, like Notre Dame, loaded up on points from hurdles and field events. Allentown (68 points) edged Nottingham (62 points) for 3rd place, thanks in large part to massive contributions from the meet’s MVP, Gavin Alvarez.

Boys 4x800m

The opening event on the track set the tone for an exciting day, as three different places were decided by 1 second or less. The most crucial of those battles was up front between WWP North and Princeton. The two anchors got the batons side-by-side and stayed right on each other’s heels for 750 meters, before WWP North was finally able to get some separation and win by 1 second, 8:27.54 to 8:28.54. Steinert was 3rd in 8:39.18, and then Trenton just barely held off Hightstown for 4th place, 8:43.09 to 8:43.73. Just a few seconds later Allentown caught Notre Dame right at the line for the final medals in an even closer finish, 8:46.73 to 8:46.80.

Boys 1600m

For the second straight week, the boys 1600m came down to a thrilling finish. This week’s race was much more tactical, however, in part because of the heavy winds on the backstretch. It was Shravan Pradeep (WWP South) who cut the way through the wind for most of the race, though at a pretty conservative pace – there were still seven boys in contention as he went through the 1200m in 3:27. Silas Allevik (Hopewell Valley) took the lead with 300m to go, but Burke Thompson (Hightstown) and Agrim Jha (WWP North) covered his move and caught up on the final curve. They entered the homestretch three-wide and all-out. With 50m to go, it was down to Thompson and Jha, and the two went stride for stride all the way to the finish. Both took mighty lunges at the line, but it was Jha’s lean that got him the win by the narrowest of margins, 4:29.01 to 4:29.04. Jha closed his final 400m in 61.3.

Allevik finished 3rd in 4:30.09, and Pradeep held on for 4th place in 4:32.20. Subomi Allison (WWP North) had the next-best kick and took 5th in 4:32.62, followed by Tyler Hurst (Steinert) in 4:33.63.

Boys 100mH

Christopher Young (Notre Dame) has been on a tear in the hurdles these past few months. After closing out his indoor season with huge PRs at Meet of Champions and New Balance Nationals Indoor, he has blasted two super fast 110mH times in his first FAT meets of the outdoor season. The latest was a 14.09 to win the CVC Championship – that’s an all-conditions #5 in New Jersey this spring!

Yi-Tian Xiong (Princeton) also had a phenomenal race for 2nd place in 14.50, which is NJ #15. Perhaps even more promising than his time is that, compared to last week’s race, he cut the gap between him and Young in half. Zamir Jones (Notre Dame) tied his PR with a 14.71 for 3rd place. Ari Rosenblum (Princeton) put himself on everyone’s radar; he came into this meet seeded 9th but then took 4th in the final with a 15.41. Calvin Kallie (Ewing) took 5th in the final, just 0.01 behind Rosenblum, but it should be noted that he ran a PR of 15.24 in the prelims – into a slight headwind. Bryce Marsh (Notre Dame) similarly ran a wind-legal PR of 15.21 in the prelims and came back to get 6th in the finals, giving Notre Dame three scorers here.

Boys 100m

The boys 100m dash final was absolutely electric. Given the conditions and the fast times being dropped in the prelims, everyone knew these boys were ready to run fast. But even so, the results were jaw-dropping!

Gavin Alvarez (Allentown) led the way with an incredible time of 10.48. For someone who has focused mostly on the 200m and 400m, he’s now #3 all-conditions in New Jersey this season for the 100m! Behind him, there were five boys locked in a tight battle who all pushed each other to big PRs. Dasan Jones (Ewing) was the best of that group with a 10.88 for 2nd place. Matthew Woode (Allentown), who was 8th in the prelims, rose up to get 3rd in the finals with a 10.89. Terrance Williams (Hightstown) was also credited with 10.89 for 4th place. Cedric Mbachu (Allentown) gave the Redbirds their third scorer with his 10.90 for 5th place, and Josiah Cureton (WWP South) grabbed the last medal with a 10.94. That’s six boys whose legs now know what it feels like to go sub-11.

And don’t forget about Nottingham’s finalists, Tellon Koduah and Nkemakolam Uduma, who were unlucky to not medal despite running monster PRs of 11.09 and 11.13. What a race!

Boys 400m

Just 30 minutes after setting the track on fire in the 100m final, Gavin Alvarez (Allentown) kept that fire burning by blazing a one-second PR of 48.72 to win the 400m! That time is NJ #8, and it proves that, with or without wind, he’s indisputably one of the best sprinters in the state.

Alvarez had to go that fast to outrun some great performances from his competitors. Hurdler Christopher Young (Notre Dame) surprised everyone, even himself, when he moved up from 4th to 2nd over the final 50 meters and shattered the 50-second barrier with a NJ #13 49.04. Julius Kinsler (WWP South) took 3rd in 49.43, just off his NJ #18 49.23 from last week. Aryan Hiray (WWP North) continued his upward trend with a strong season’s best of 49.71 for 4th place. Will Strickland (Robbinsville) is having a remarkable outdoor season and is on the cusp of breaking 50 after running 50.10 for 5th place here. Andrew Foreman (Princeton) just about matched his PR with a 51.64 for 6th place.

Boys 800m

Subomi Allison (WWP North) powered away from everyone over the last 300m to get the decisive win in 1:58.18. Allison, who was doubling back from the 1600m, has yet to lose a 800m against CVC competition this school year. Mohamed Toure (Nottingham), who set a hot pace early, held on to take 2nd place in 2:00.08. Liam Cox (Nottingham) moved up well over the last 400m to claim 3rd in 2:00.78. Luke Ferrer (WWP North) ran a season’s best of 2:01.70 for 4th, Amir Mulkey (Notre Dame) went out hard and held on for 5th place in 2:02.09, and Max Whittle (Notre Dame) was the lone medalist to PR on this windy day, taking 6th place in 2:02.93.

Boys 200m

Gavin Alvarez (Allentown) continued his incredible day in the 200m, which he won with a 22.44. He’s just the sixth boy to ever sweep the 100m/200m/400m at the Mercer County or CVC Championships, going back to the 1970s.

This was Alvarez’s closest race of the day. Dasan Jones (Ewing) ran a 22.55 to push him to the line and take 2nd place. Jones led a trio of juniors who took 2nd through 4th. Aydun Hines (WWP South) won the second-to-last heat in 22.60, which got him 3rd overall. His teammate Julius Kinsler (WWP South) was credited with the exact same time of 22.60 in 4th place. Josiah Cureton (WWP South) went 22.64 to give the Pirates three in the top 5, and Cedric Mbachu (Allentown) broke 23 for the first time ever with a 22.79.

Boys 400mH

Aldric Crawford (Notre Dame) dominated this race but still kept the pedal to the metal all the way, clocking a nice PR of 54.70, which is NJ #15. His teammate Matt Ryba (Notre Dame) also set a PR of 58.40 to take 2nd place. Tyson Brown (Ewing) got 3rd in 59.74, followed closely by Yi-Tian Xiong (Princeton) in 59.85 and Markeese Dowling (Trenton) in 59.95. Elijah Kenh (Trenton) won his heat and grabbed the last medal with a one-second PR of 1:01.25.

Boys 4x100m

Even on tired legs after so many races, Allentown’s top-seeded sprinters got the job done with a victory in the 4x100m, winning by a half-second in 43.30. Gavin Alvarez anchored this team too, giving him four gold medals on the day. Notre Dame and Nottingham both ran stacked teams and came away with season’s bests. The Irish were 2nd in 43.82 and the Northstars took 3rd in 44.03. Trenton was 4th in 44.68, Hightstown got 5th place out of the lowest-seeded heat, and Princeton won the second-seeded heat to get 6th place.

Boys 3200m

Like in the 1600m, the 3200m went out pretty conservatively, with Agrim Jha (WWP North) leading a small group through the 1600m at just under 5:00. But with 1000m to go, Shravan Pradeep (WWP South) made his move. Jha and Burke Thompson (Hightstown) covered that first move, but they couldn’t hang when he hit another gear on his 65.0 last lap, and Pradeep took the victory in 9:42.01. Jha kept his slight edge on Thompson all the way through the line for 2nd place, 9:47.35 to 9:48.41.

A little farther back, Paul Wittenberg used a strong kick of his own to take 2nd place in a one-second PR of 9:58.71. Felix Farrugia (Princeton) held off Kevin Lang (WWP South) on the final lap as the last two medalists went 10:03.01 and 10:04.90.

Boys 4x400m

Notre Dame punctuated their team title with an exciting win in the 4x400m. They led wire-to-wire, but they had close competition all the way. The last lap came down to Notre Dame and Nottingham, and although the Northstars closed the gap slightly, they couldn’t quite get past the Irish. Notre Dame’s time was a season best of 3:29.64, ahead of Nottingham’s 3:30.21. WWP South finished only a second back in 3:31.24 for 3rd place. WWP North was 4th in 3:34.59, just ahead of Robbinsville in 3:35.51. Ewing barely edged Princeton for the 6th and final medal, 3:39.49 to 3:39.97.

Boys High Jump

Notre Dame got a huge chunk of points from his high jumpers. Bryce Marsh (Notre Dame) cleared 6-0 on his first attempt to get the win, and his freshman teammate Kendrick Mullen (Notre Dame) PR’d by four inches to get a big 2nd place in 5-10. Tyson Brown (Ewing) was an even bigger surprise, raising his PR from 5-4 to 5-10 and getting 3rd place. A trio of Princeton boys rounded out the rest of the medals: Sullivan Spagnoli equaled his PR of 5-10 for 4th, Ellington Hinds equaled his season’s best of 5-8 for 5th, and Zachary Nelson cleared a PR of 5-8 for 6th.

Boys Pole Vault

Samuel Rispoli (Robbinsville) matched his outdoor PR of 10-6 to win the boys pole vault. Herbert Addo (Nottingham) similarly equaled his PR of 10-0 for 2nd place. Will Flannery (Hopewell Valley), Chris Bellisano (Robbinsville), and Connor Ahearn (Notre Dame) all cleared 9-6 on one, two, and three tries respectively. Rayyan Shabab (WWP South) earned the last medal with a first-attempt clearance of 8-6.

Boys Long Jump

James Walters (Nottingham) got the win in the long jump after soaring 20-11.75 for a 7-inch PR. Ishaq Inayat (Princeton) also surpassed 20’ with a 20-3.75 for 2nd place. His teammate Sullivan Spagnoli (Princeton) jumped 19-2.75, which held up for 3rd place by just a quarter of an inch over 4th-place jumper Sylvester Somerselle (Hightstown), who went 19-2.5 for a big PR. Marcus Rodolphe (Robbinsville) also set a PR of 18-8.5 to take 5th ahead of Nathan Aguirre (Steinert) in 18-6 for 6th.

Boys Triple Jump

Top-seeded Sylvester Somerselle (Hightstown) jumped 41-3.75 to win the triple jump by just three inches. Wenyan Kermah (Ewing) went 41-0.75 to take 2nd and match his PR from last week. Ishaq Inayat (Princeton) picked up his second medal of the day with a 39-5 for 3rd place. The next four jumpers were separated by just 2.25 inches: Josiah Cureton (WWP South) was 4th in 39-2.5, Arlington Michel (Steinert) was 5th in 39-1.5, Yash Thakur (WWP South) was 6th in 39-0.5, and Brian Boswell (Hamilton West) barely missed out on a medal with his 39-0.25.

Boys Shot Put

Sean Wilton (Princeton) threw 55-1 to defend his county title and remain undefeated against local competition this year. He got decently close competition from Ernest Gaykai (Nottingham), who threw 51-7 to break his own school record. Cameron Bailey (Notre Dame) grabbed 3rd place with a throw of 46-9.75. JaQuaye Barnes (Hamilton West) surprised with a four-foot PR of 45-9 to claim 4th place. Drew Damasiewicz (Robbinsville) hit 45-0 to tie his indoor PR exactly and get 5th place. Brandon Zambrio (Allentown) had a first throw of 43-9.5 that held up for 6th place.

Boys Discus

Sean Wilton (Princeton) was launching some major missiles in the discus today. Coming in with a best of 150-11, he cleared 150’ on five throws and capped it off with a new PR of 156-1 on his sixth and final throw. That got him the win by 9 feet over Tylin Douglas (Nottingham), who also extended his PR by 3 feet to 147-10 on the final throw. Cameron Bailey (Notre Dame) threw 139-9 to match his result from the shot put with another 3rd place. JaQuaye Barnes (Hamilton West) got 4th with a throw of 134-4. Eddie Del Cid (Princeton) got 5th in 130-0, a big PR by 8 feet. Ryan Rodriguez (Lawrence) rounded out the medals with a 122-5 for 6th place.

Boys Javelin

Allentown had three scorers in the boys javelin, led by Mason Marcantonio and his 8-foot PR of 164-2 for the win. Additionally, Evan Miller had an even bigger PR to take 3rd place in 152-8, and Dylan Voehl threw a season’s best by almost 30 feet to grab the 6th and final medal. Cameron Bailey (Notre Dame), who had already gotten 3rd place in both the shot put and discus, upgraded to 2nd place in the javelin with a monster 24-foot PR of 159-9. Those are some phenomenal results from the rare throwing triple, and Bailey’s 20 points were a huge boost to Notre Dame’s championship. Two Hopewell Valley boys launched massive PRs to earn the remaining medals: Dan Pszczolkowski was 4th in 151-8 and Joseph Dunbar was 5th in 147-6.

CVC Championships: Boys Recap