The winter track team started off the season before Thanksgiving, but their hard work has yet to pay off.  The team, which tries to practice outdoors, has been faced with some harsh weather conditions leaving them to get in a workout inside.  Their season opening meet as a team was the Ridgewood Winter Games on Jan. 15, at Rockland Community College.  This meet held not only boys and girls varsity, but also novice and freshman events.  The competition was stiff though, and the only West Milford athlete placing was Haley Steele in first with a pole vault height of 10-foot-6.  After the disappointing show, the team was ready to pull together and get ready for the next meet. In the early weeks of practice Coach Lambert announced the captains of the boys’ team to be Justin Lombardo and James Hoffman, and for the girls’ team, Rachael Janz and Chelsea Gruber.  Lombardo plans on running the 55-hurdles and 200-meters with Hoffman throwing shot put.  Janz will be running the one-mile and two-mile with Gruber out for the season due to injury.  Other seniors on the team include Phillip Federico (sprinter), Sal Allessio (thrower), Taylor Myshkoff (hurdles), Zack Tynan (sprinter), and Nick Renna (mid distance).

Lambert has been keeping a steady practice every day to keep his athletes ready for next meet, the Big North Championships on Jan. 19 at the New York City Armory.  This meet, only for varsity athletes, proved to be more of a success.  The team finished in sixth place with 26.5 points.  The athletes gaining points for the team are as follows:

Austin Hopler: 12pts- second 55-meter dash, sixth 200-meter dash, fifth long jump

Zachary Tynan: 10pts- fifth 55-meter dash, second long jump

Justin Lombardo(captain): 2pts- fifth 55-meter hurdles

James Hoffman (captain): 1pts- sixth shot put

The team also finished fifth in the 4×400-meter relay team of Hopler, Lombardo, Myshkoff, and Tynan, which earned each of them and extra half a point for the team.