OCEAN CITY – The Red Raider boys track team beat St. Augustine Prep 109.5 to 30.5 last week to improve to 5-2 in dual meets so far this season, led by a small but solid crop of seniors.
The Ocean City High School boys lost close meets to Mainland Regional and Egg Harbor Township this season, but in addition to the Prep topped Atlantic City, Millville, Vineland and Bridgeton. The team was having its last regular season meet on Tuesday against the Atlantic County Institute of Technology.
Head coach Matt Purdue said of the 50 boys out for the team the largest group is comprised of freshmen. There are only nine seniors.
“That’s exciting for the future, but the seniors are scoring a lot of points in their final year,” he said.
The senior scorers who have been with the team for four years include Aodhan Daly, Dan Givens, Owen Ritti, Ben Bertett, Gianluca Salugta and Reece Wagner. Jared O’Reilly joined the team this year from Cape May Technical School, Brett Oves is back for his second year and Jack Rodgers is a winter track athlete who came out for spring track instead of playing baseball this year.
“It’s a good senior group and they’re working hard to lead the team this year,” Purdue said.
He said there are a good number of freshmen who have been scoring as well, including distance runners Kal Heyman, Ethan Buck and Zack Hutchinson. Caleb Aristizabal is another freshman distance runner who joined the team this year and Connor Berich is a sprinter who ran winter track. Hercules Stewart has run the 400 and 4×400 and in the throws Clifford Dirkes, Luke Smith and Grady Hanson have all scored.
Another freshman, JP Forster, has scored in the jumps and Tom Grimley has scored in the pole vault. “It’s a pretty good number of athletes who have scored in the top three in dual meets,” Purdue said of his freshmen.
He said after the last dual meet this week the team is starting to focus on the championship part of the season, starting with defending their title at the Cape May County Track and Field Championships at Ocean City High School on Friday, May 20.
Purdue said the team has high hopes for the South Jersey sectionals and beyond with a number of athletes, including defending state champion Ritti in the 4×800. He’s also the school record holder in the indoor 800 and ran a 1:56 at the Elite Meet. “He certainly can score in multiple events,” Purdue said.
Givens, the school record-holder in the triple jump, is hoping to improve on his distance. “He is capable of scoring in four events in the South Jersey meet,” the coach said. Givens’ events also include the long jump and 110 high hurdles.
“Aodhan Daly has one of the top times in the intermediate hurdles in South Jersey and Reece Wagner and Gianlucas Salugta have both run in the sectionals and we hope will be in contention to run in the state meet,” Purdue said.
Sophomore Nick Layton is also hoping to get back to the state championship in the pole vault.
The boys also have done well in some of the regional competitions, including a second place finish at the Bridgeton Relays and sixth place finish at the Woodbury Relays.
The team also had a good night at the South Jersey Elite Invitational last Thursday. Purdue said four of his athletes qualified and all had good nights. Three of the athletes – Ritti in the 800, Nick Scarangelli in the 1600 and Daly in the 400 hurdles – ran their fastest career times in their events, and Givens placed fifth overall in the triple jump.
“We were pleased with that,” he said.
Story and photos by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
