High School Track Stars Fall Short at State Meet of Champions

Despite high rankings and restless training, Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School's top track stars didn't walk away with medals at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions on June 4.

The school's two young hopes, senior Whitney Adams and sophomore Camille Handy, both fell short of the win in the Women's Triple Jump competition. Adams placed 9th with a jump of 36-0.25, while Handy jumped a distance of 32-5.0, tying for 26th place.

At the NJSIAA Group Championships a week before, Adams set a personal record of 36-7.5 in the Triple Jump. That won her third place and is what qualified her for the Meet of Champions. Handy’s path to the championship was also filled with glory; she placed 5th in the same qualifying competition with a jump of 35-0, just short of her personal record of 35-1.5.

Adams and Handy were seeded at 10th and 24th, respectively, at the time.

Held at South Plainfield High School 's Frank R. Jost Field this year, the NJSIAA Meet of Champions is New Jersey's biggest Track and Field competition.

Ebony Young (Hillsborough) won the gold with a distance of 40-1.5, followed by Adaobi Unachukwu (Marlboro) and Christina Epps (Morristown) with jumps of 39-8.5 and 38-9.0, respectively.

In addition, six meet records were broken and another was tied during the event.

Even though Scotch Plains-Fanwood High's stars didn't win, the team was observed with respect and fear during the competiton.

When asked during the preliminaries what his views on the competition were and who would be a contender for the top three places, Seneca High School's triple jump coach responded: “I don’t really want to pick any favorites, but from what I’m seeing right now, No. 1210 [Adams] could be one to take my athletes down.”

Overall, with only two athletes in the competition, Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School did well to defend its reputation of being a top school participant in the Meet of Champions.