Another great boy’s Track and Field season has come to a close as the Highlanders wrapped up the season with an impressive showing in the Passaic County Championships; placing eighth led by senior captains Matt Cummings, Brendan Vidulich, Sean Fanning and Jimmy Dygos.

           West Milford Track and Field had one of its best seasons in recent memory. The Highlanders finished with a dual meet record of 4-1 a result from cruising to wins against conference foes Fair Lawn, Lakeland, Wayne Valley and Passaic Valley, only losing in the end by one and half points to eventual Big North Conference champion Wayne Hills. In the Passaic County Relays, one of the biggest meets of the year, limped to a sixth place finish, being carried solely from solid throwing performances from Phil Lucas, Jimmy Dygos and Pat VanDuyne, along with the running prowess of Kevin Diana and Sean Fanning. The finish was not to the standards that Coach Joecks had hoped for.

             In the Big North Conference championships, which were held at the end of the season, the track team finished third, dropping the title after leading the pack almost the entire meet. The team was once again carried on the backs of stalwarts Dygos, VanDuyne, Lucas, Diana, Fanning, along with other seniors on the team, Brandon Walsh, Chris Valoy, Quentin Pharis, Matt Cummings, Brendan Vidulich, Mike Kelly and Alex Schwab. The boys went on to finish eighth in the Passaic County Championships, mirroring their results in the Passaic County relays, falling far behind perennial powerhouses, Kennedy, Eastside, and Passaic Tech among others.

              This year’s Boys Track and Field team was one of the best in recent memory, but will see many of the current seniors and top point earners in each event leave. Chris Valoy and Quentin Pharis will be missed in the jumping events, leaving Zack Tynan and Matt Johnson to take the reigns. Matt Cummings leaves an empty field in distance, leaving only Orion Aurand and Dan Popoloski to compete in the mile and two mile races. Kevin Diana and Sean Fanning, constant winners in the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints leave a lot of slack to be picked up by runners such as Phil Federico and Kevin Kane. Vaulting and throwing will be left in good hands with capable vaulter Kevin Kane and throwers James Hoffman and Liam Lakartis among others.

              It remains to be seen who will step up for next year’s team, and continue the team’s streak of dominance in the Big North Conference.