Bernardsville, NJ – The Bernards Mountaineers boys and girls winter track team has finished their season after entering the year with much promise. The relay teams were all the talk on the boy’s side, especially the Distance Medley Relay (DMR), Sprint Medley Relay (SMR), and 4×800 teams. For the girls, the mile and hurdles were the premier events of the team.

As the season comes to a close, head coach David Szostack can add another sectional championship trophy to his extensive trophy case. The boys’ team has won their third straight Sectional title and also captured the SCIAA County title. 

The winter track team recorded their best time of the season at the Armory in Manhattan on February 3rd. At the time, it was the second-best time in the nation in the Distance Medley Relay (DMR). The DMR is a 4-leg relay race that contains a 1,200-meter dash, a 400-meter sprint, an 800-meter leg, and a 1,600-meter closing leg. The 4-man lineup containing Brody Watt ‘26, Mikey Dooley ‘25, Cyrus Mehrrostami ‘25, and John Richardson ‘25 earned a time of 10:18.42 in the NJ Varsity Classic. When it was recorded, the Mountaineers ranked second in the nation. 

Brody Watt, ‘26, said, “Our DMR is a great group of guys that work really well together. The DMR combines all of our strengths to become one of the best relays in the nation.”

However, the DMR is not the only event where Bernards shines. At some points in the season, the boy’s track team ranked third in the nation in the Sprint Medley Relay (SMR) with a time of 3:34.92. This event showcases Mikey Dooley ‘25, Cyrus Mehrrostami ‘25, Brody Watt ‘26, and Hudson George ‘27.

An unexpected area of dominance this season has been the 4×800. A race with four runners, each running 800 meters, equates to four laps on an indoor track. At the 117th Milrose games on February 8th, a combination of John Richardson ‘25, Mikey Dooley ‘25, Brody Watt ‘26, and Julian Bonk ‘26 ran a time of 7:54.56, which is the fastest time in 40 years from a Bernards high winter track team.

John Richardson ‘25, a member of the 4×800 team, stated, “We didn’t think we would have a good 4×800 this year because a crucial member, Ben Connell, graduated, but this year our team stepped up and is even better than last year.”

While the girls may not have any top-ranked national events, they have Lucinda Putnam’s 2,5, who ran a 5:23.33 mile on December 20 at the Coach Saint Invitation, al which ranks 23rd in the state of New Jersey. Putnam placed 4th at the NJSIAA Sectional Championship on February 15th. 

The other top event for girls is the hurdles, where Alya Johnson ‘25 is leading the charge. On February 15th, at the NJSIAA Sectional Championships, Johnson broke her personal record with a time of 9.94. 

The field events for the Mountaineers are also particularly strong. Hercules Stewart, 25’, shattered the school record in the long jump with a score of 22 feet, 6 inches at the Somerset County Relay Championships. Stewart also broke his personal record in the triple jump with a distance of 45 feet, 0.5 inches, at the NJ Varsity Classic on February 3rd. Ayla Johnson, 25’ leads the team in pole vault with a season record of 8 foot, 6 inches scored on January 30th at the NJ Metropolitan Invitational. In the shot put, Abigail Dooley, 26’, scored a personal record of 28 feet, 7 inches at the Skyland Conference Indoor Championship.

It is pretty safe to say it has been a successful indoor track season for Coach Szostack and the Mountaineers, with a promising spring track season on the docket.