Highland hurdlers win at Woodbury

All Chais Hill needed was for his teammates to keep it close.

Midway through the boys' shuttle hurdles Saturday at the Woodbury Relays, Highland was trailing Timber Creek. Highland's second-leg runner, Bennett Alexander, said the Chargers put their fastest guys in the first two spots. The Tartans hadn't done that, placing De'Vante Parker in the third position and Hill as the anchor.

Hill was confident that if it was close when he took off, he would be able to catch up.

"I just had to stay focused and keep my form," Hill said.

Hill caught up, helping Highland get first place in the Group 3 event with a time of 1 minute, 3.2 seconds. The Tartans finished in second place in Group 3, behind Timber Creek.

The Highland hurdlers said it was their best time of the year, although leadoff hurdler Sean David said he thinks they can improve.

The Schalick boys' sprint medley team also came back from a deficit on the strength of its anchor. Cosmo Pirozzi overtook runners from Holy Spirit and Penns Grove to get the win for the Cougars. The team posted a time of 3:38.47, helping Schalick win the Group 1 boys' title.

Pirozzi said he was confident in his ability to take the lead after seeing the runners in front of him slowing. Scott Roseboro, who ran the third leg for the Cougars, said he was happy to win because it brings more recognition to Schalick.

"We were expected to win, but we don't take anything for granted," Roseboro said.

Also winning team titles were Kingsway in Group 4 and Camden in Group 2.

The Ocean City girls' team competed in only three events because a large portion of the team was on vacation, with the school on spring break. The Red Raiders made the most of their day, winning all three events and taking third place in Group 3.

Bridget Flynn anchored all three runs: the distance medley relay, the 4x800 relay, and the sprint medley relay. The Red Raiders won those events by more than 40 seconds, a little more than 21 seconds, and more than seven seconds, respectively.

Flynn said the team's most impressive time was 4:09.42 in the sprint medley.

"Other than that, our times weren't the best," Flynn said. "It was good because we weren't always pushed, so we had to push ourselves in some of the races."

Flynn also was named the most valuable girls' athlete for the meet. The boys' award went to Nick Pulli, who won both the shot put and javelin in Group 2.

Girls' team championships went to Kingsway in Group 4, Winslow Township in Group 3, Haddonfield in Group 2, and Penns Grove in Group 1.