By NICK KOSKO
Correspondent
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — Simply put, Egg Harbor Township is a track powerhouse in South Jersey. During the first day of the state track meet, held at Egg Harbor Township High School, the Eagles had many individuals out-perform other South Jersey schools. Now they are trying to hang in there with the best of the best from Group 4 from throughout the state. EHT is no stranger to winning big meets. Led by coach Ryan Smith, the boys team won the county title this year and a South Jersey Group 4 championship in 2013. They are in contention to bring home another one this weekend. The Eagles are tied for 10th heading into Saturday’s events, just 12 points behind meet-leading Rancocas Valley. The Eagles’ girls squad has nine points and currently is tied for 14th place with Cape-Atlantic League rival Millville. “They did well today. Although the 10 points as a team is less than what we wanted going into tomorrow, we are still in a good spot,” Smith said. “We take pride in being the top-ranked Group 4 team in the CAL and around South Jersey, along with Rancocas Valley, and we feel we are right in this thing to take home another team title.” The girls have also put up top performances during the last few years. They came into this season winners of the last four Atlantic County titles. 
Egg Harbor Township senior sprinter Alvin Abraham, pictured here during the Atlantic County Championships, took third in the 400 meters on Friday to qualify for the Meet of Champions. (Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan) “I think our girls did very well. They gave it their all and had a lot of heart today. We had a couple of personal records and school records, and I’m very proud of them today,” coach Erika Vazquez said. Early in the day, Egg Harbor Township had one of its best performances, from distance runner Julianna Catania. As a junior, Catania set a personal record and broke her own school record in the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:57. Finishing third overall, Catania will continue to run in next week’s Meet of Champions. “I was really happy about the time because it’s always been my goal to break five minutes. I feel really good about going into next week because I ran my best time today. Hopefully, next week I can run well again and earn another personal record,” Catania said. “I am so proud of her, she gave so much heart in her race. Julianna is one of the most dedicated athletes that I have ever had the privilege of coaching. She was finally able to break five minutes and I couldn’t be more proud,” Vazquez said. Ayanna Garrett, a junior, also performed well in the 100-meter dash, earning a fifth-place finish with a time of 12.35 seconds. That punches her ticket to the MOC. Amir Brock, a sophomore, finished first in his heat with a time of 49.17 seconds and finished fourth overall in the boys 400 meters. “My legs hurt after that one,” Brock said with a laugh. “I really worked on my starts for this race so I could get out in front and never look back. I’m happy about qualifying and I did what my coaches asked of me and it’s like ‘wow, I did it.'” Alvin Abraham, a senior, ran a time of 48.95 seconds in his heat and edged Brock for third overall. The best race among the other locals was on display in the boys 100 meters that featured St. Joseph standouts Caleb Williams and Rocco Ordille, who plans to attend Bucknell University in the fall on a football scholarship. Williams just slipped by his teammate with a time of 10.81 seconds, beating Ordille by .04 seconds. The two quickly embraced afterward in what was a fantastic display of speed. Egg Harbor Township will play host again for day two of states on Saturday as more athletes attempt to earn a spot in the Meet of Champions.
