The New Providence Pioneer Track and Field Team demonstrated a champion’s effort during the May 10th Union County Conference Championships and the May 13th Union County Championships, logging a total of thirty-three medals in the local competitions. The Pioneers earned the title of Conference Champions by winning seven gold medals, fifteen silver medals and eight bronze medals out of seventy-nine competitions in the twenty-three team event held in Governor Livingston High School.

Junior Mark Hays finished in first place in the 100 Meter Dash with a time of 11.27. Hays was 1.19 seconds away from tying the school record of 10.8 seconds. Senior Michael Closs tied the school record in his first place effort, clearing an amazing 15 feet in the Pole Vault. There were a whopping twenty-eight other Pioneer medalists for the Conference Championships, including gold medalists Jordan Price (Freshman) for the 3,200 meter run, Chris Aresco (Senior) for the 800 meter run, Dan Smith (Senior) for the Javelin throw and Jackie Pluviose (Senior) for the Female Pole-Vaulting event.

The Pioneer team also excelled in the highly competitive County Championships held on May 13. Competing against teams such as the track powerhouse Union Catholic, and neighboring schools such as G.L. and Summit, NPHS was still able to repeat their Conference wins in the 3,200 Meter Run, the Javelin throw, and the Pole-Vaulting event. In the field, Smith won third overall after hurling for 164’6 feet in the Javelin throw, adding to his gold medal performance in the Conference Championships. Closs remarkably repeated his record-tying Pole Vaulting efforts from the Conference Championships, winning first place by clearing another 15 feet.

Coach Corey Arnold sees a promising future for the Pioneer Track and Field Team: “We’ve put in a lot of hard work, and have set a couple of school records already this season and we’re just getting into the championship part of the season, when, usually, the best performances come. We even have some really talented underclassmen, including Jordan Price, who’s one of our top performers for distance running.”