Cougars win boys, girls titles in Salem County Track & Field Championships for first time since 2018; Schalick’s Hadfield wins four events
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
SALEM — It’s well established that Jordan Hadfield is an incredible runner. She’s an incredible teammate, too.
The Schalick junior had already put in a demanding day at the Salem County Track and Field Championships Wednesday, winning three events, including two with about a five-minute break in between, but when her team needed her to give a little bit more she didn’t hesitate and answered the call.
With the girls meet in the balance, Hadfield accepted the assignment of running the third leg of the Cougars’ 4×400 relay team. They needed to put some distance between themselves and host Salem both on the track and in the standings and they did just that.
Hadfield and Co. won the race and extended the Cougars slim lead. When Brooke Watt won the triple jump in the final event of the day, the Cougars claimed the team title for the first time since 2021.
“It’s a really good experience doing it for the team,” Hadfield said. “When you need it most, the adrenaline is there, you’re just ready to do it and it’s what it needs. A really good race. Not normally a 400 runner, but I was today.”
Hadfield had already won the 1600, 800 (with a PR) and 3200 – the last two with only the time of the boys 800 for a breather – and hadn’t really intended to run the relay unless the Cougars needed it. They needed it and there she was lining up to run the third leg.
And it was the third leg not the anchor because it wasn’t certain with all she had already done she could provide the last lap kick if the Cougars needed one. But she was willing to do what she could. She ran on the 4×4 relay once before, at the Penn Relays earlier this spring, but that was an the anchor because the seniors were on their senior trip.
Schalick’s girls were leading by three points when the 4×400 runners took the track. Hadfield took the baton from Grace O’Neill to start the third leg with a four-second lead. When she passed it to Gia Martellacci for the anchor leg, the Cougars led by 11 seconds.
“Once the adrenaline is going and it’s for the team title, it’s what you have to do,” Hadfield said. “You’re just all about the excitement. Everyone’s yelling around the track. You know your teammates want it and you have to do it for them.”
Hadfield ran the second-fastest split of the Schalick foursome, a 1:01.40. The Cougars won the race in 4:12.60 and beat Salem to the line by almost 10 seconds, adding two more points of their lead.
“She’s not only an incredible athlete, she’s just an incredible person,’ Schalick girls coach Melissa Pine said of Hadfield. “She would do anything asked of her.
“You look at her and you don’t think oh my gosh she’s an amazing athlete, like she just doesn’t look like one, but she goes out and is unbelievable every time and has that fierce competitiveness in her.
“I explained (the situation) to her, but I knew if it came down to it that I needed her to run that leg because Jordan doesn’t like to come in second. I put her in there and she did just an unbelievable job.”
The Schalick girls won eight events, ended up with 120 total points and wound up beating Salem by 11 for the title. The boys, meanwhile, ran away with their title to complete the sweep. They scored 94 points and won by 20, giving the Cougars their first sweep of the meet since 2018.
Hadfield was one several multiple winners in the meet.
Salem’s Karima Davenport-White (100 hurdles, long jump), teammate Anna Buzby (400, 400 hurdles) and Penns Grove’s Meely Horace (100, 200) all won twice on the girls side.
Horace’s specific two wins – both in PRs (12.67 in the 100 and 26.28 in the 200 – earned her the title of fastest female in the county. It’s a moniker she rather enjoyed.
“I love the thought of me being the fastest in Salem County,” she said. “Everybody knows me for basketball (she’s a 1,000-point scorer), so it feels good to show them that I can do more than play basketball.”
Schalick’s Stewart shows out
All five competing schools produced winners in the boys meet, but Schalick had the most prolific. Freshman David Stewart signaled his arrival on the county track scene by winning three individual events and finishing fourth in the deep triple jump.
“It’s kind of exciting to see that all year long,” Cougars coach James Turner said. “A lot of people don’t know who he is because he hasn’t had any FAT times on MileSplit very much. It’s been kind of fun to see us go against different teams in dual meets and see him be successful and have that success at an early age. He’s surprising himself and he’s surprising other teams around us.”
Stewart won the 100 in 11.28, the 400 in 52.25 and the long jump in 21-4.50 – all PRs. His triple jump 42-11.25 also was a PR and less than two feet behind the winning jump.
“Being from Schalick we don’t really get recognized that much because were a little school, but I just wanted to come down here to compete, to show people where we’re from,” he said. “Today was a day I was trying to show everybody who I was. People were maybe doubting me because I’m a freshman and I’m young, but I wanted to show people I’m … good.
“I didn’t really have high expectations for the long jump, but I went out with confidence and did what I had to do and it just happened. In the running events I ran with confidence because that’s really what I do.”
Pennsville won the three throwing events, Schalick took three of the four jumping events in addition to Stewart’s exploits, Woodstown won the three distance races, Salem the hurdles and Penns Grove the relay. Salem’s Anthony Parker (both hurdles) and Woodstown’s Cole Lucas (800, 1600) were double winners.
Schalick won six events total to end Salem’s three-year hold on the boys title and help Turner win his first county crown as the Cougars coach.
“For us, the whole rebuilding process for the last few years has been to this year we want to (make a mark in) relays and we were able to do that and we knew we had a good chance at winning the Salem County Championship and that’s one puzzle piece to build us back to where we want to be,” Turner said. “We might not be sectional champ contenders but we’re one step closer to at least putting our footprint in the sand at sectional champs.
“This year our goals for sectionals are to have our relays qualify for state and then a few individuals get there as well because last year the only people who went to the state were the 4×8 (relay).”
Hadfield and Parker were the Outstanding Track Athletes of the meet. Stewart and Watt were the Outstanding Field Athletes.
GIRLS MEET
TEAM SCORES: Schalick 120, Salem 109, Woodstown 47, Penns Grove 44, Pennsville 15.
| EVENT | WINNER | RESULT |
| 400 Hurdles | Anna Buzby, Salem | 1:05.91 |
| 100 | Meely Horace, Penns Grove | 12.67 |
| 1600 | Jordan Hadfield, Schalick | 5:30.64 |
| 400 | Anna Buzby, Salem | 59.76 |
| 100 Hurdles | Karima Davenport-White, Salem | 15.70 |
| 800 | Jordan Hadfield, Salem | 2:20.09 |
| 3200 | Jordan Hadfield, Salem | 12:42.29 |
| 200 | Meely Horace, Penns Grove | 26.28 |
| 4×400 | Schalick | 4:12.60 |
| High Jump | Kami Casiano, Woodstown | 4-10 |
| Pole Vault | Megan Morris, Pennsville | 9-0 |
| Long Jump | Karima Davenport-White, Salem | 16-1.75 |
| Triple Jump | Brooke Watt, Schalick | 33-6.75 |
| Discus | Grace O’Neill, Schalick | 125-6 |
| Javelin | Allyson Green, Schalick | 104-5 |
| Shot Put | Ava Rodgers, Salem | 35-2.50 |
BOYS MEET
TEAM SCORES: Schalick 94, Salem 74, Woodstown 67, Penns Grove 55, Pennsville 43.
| EVENT | WINNER | RESULT |
| 400 Hurdles | Anthony Parker, Salem | 56.09 |
| 100 | David Stewart, Schalick | 11.28 |
| 1600 | Cole Lucas, Woodstown | 4:42.41 |
| 400 | David Stewart, Schalick | 52.25 |
| 110 Hurdles | Anthony Parker, Salem | 14.75 |
| 800 | Cole Lucas, Woodstown | 2:00.65 |
| 200 | Anthony Parker, Salem | 22.80 |
| 3200 | Jacob Marino, Woodstown | 10:42.48 |
| 4×400 | Penns Grove | 3:33.00 |
| High Jump | Reggie Allen, Schalick | 6-2 |
| Pole Vault | Salvatore Longo, Schalick | 11-0 |
| Long Jump | David Stewart, Schalick | 21-4.50 |
| Triple Jump | Davonte Jackson, Salem | 44-7.25 |
| Discus | Jackson McFarland, Pennsville | 123-5 |
| Javelin | Connor Ayers, Pennsville | 146-4 |
| Shot Punt | Daniel Saulin, Pennsville | 41-7.75 |
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