Both the Boys’ and Girls’ Track and Field teams are off to impressive starts this year, despite the loss of multiple key seniors from last year. The team has easily outscored Delran, Pemberton and Bordentown in dual meets, along with help from the distance medley relay teams at the Bensalem and Woodbury Relays along with the Rowan Open.

While the CHS girls’ team had many bright spots and opportunities, boys’ assistant Coach Charles Kind believes their time to shine is coming soon.

“The girls’ team will be very competitive in the small schools division of the county behind sophomore Meredith Updike and senior Fiona Flynn and their all-around talents and with the distance running of senior Madison Edwards.  They will make some noise at sectionals and states as well, but are not quite deep enough to challenge for the overall sectional title. However, their time is coming and next year may be the year for them,” he said.

So far this season, the girls have been the class of the Patriot division and have seen their three stars step forward (Updike, Flynn and Edwards), along with junior Elena Keck solidifying herself as a solid thrower in shot put and discus.  Freshman Shelby Sills has turned into a decent high jumper and senior Tina Harrell has returned to lead a deep middle-distance group to help the team continue their success from the last few seasons.

The boys success continues in the weak Patriot Division, where the boys have defeated their opponents handily over the past five years and it continues this year. The team is led by Rutgers University-commit Kamron Kobolak, who is a returning All-American from winter track in the shot put,  and is one of the top discus throwers in the state as well.  He is joined by senior discus thrower Luke Adams, who rejoins the throwing team after a season off to rehabilitate an injury.  Adams has already broken the discus record this season that Kobolak reclaimed last week to form a lethal 1-2 combination in the discus.

The boys are also paced by a very strong distance team lead by sophomore Austin Gabay, who has established himself as a top distance runner after a strong 1600 performance at the SJ Open last week.  Seniors Max Adams and Justin Arnold bring experience and strong performances to one of the top distance teams in South Jersey.

Junior John Meekins has also cemented himself as a state contender in the sprints and jumps after a 21-foot-plus performance in the long jump at the SJ Open and a strong run in the open 400.

When asked, Coach Kind thinks the boys’ team will have a very successful season and will make a run at the Burlington County Small Schools Title.

“The distance and throwing teams have done well and have been the stars of the teams, as expected, so I don’t see anything we didn’t expect.  But the rest of the team is starting to benefit from the coaching return of Mr. Rossi and Mr. Gill’s continuous excellence and dedication.  We are going to make some noise in trying to win the Burlington County Title and defend our Group 2 sectional title this spring,” Mr. Kind said.

Kobolak has already broken two Burlington County records this season in the shot put and discus and did it within 30 minutes of each other last Thursday at the South Jersey Open.  According to New Jersey track historian Reuben Frank, he joins a list of only seven people who have ever thrown the shot over 60 feet and the discus over 175 feet.  That list includes a former NFL star, two Division 1 All-Americans and some spectacular former athletes with which Kobolak now has something in common.