Edison competed at the Bill Bruno Holiday Classic at Toms River for the second race of the 2023 winter track season on Saturday, December 17. As the first race with standard winter track events, Edison excelled by winning medals across the board.
“The meet environment was great,” said Aaron Johnson ‘26, an 800-meter racer. “Definitely one of the more memorable races we’ve had, and I’m glad the results went our way.”
Despite the 800-meter boys team consisting of mostly sophomores, the young group all ran sub 2:20, with Bryce Hickerson placing third among sophomore runners with a time of 2:13.34. Captain Paolo Pittenger ‘24 led the group with a 2:10.34, placing tenth overall, while Aaron and Abraham Johnson ‘26 both ran 2:18.
Along with the strong performances by the boys, the girl’s 800-meter and mile teams also put up a good showing. Grace White ‘25 medalled with a time of 2:34, and Anna Weng ‘26 hit a personal PR, placing third among sophomores. Weng also ran a sub-six mile along with Rylee McEvoy ‘25, and both placed top fifteen.
“It was nice to begin my indoor season with a faster time than I finished with last year, and to be able to lead a group of underclassmen who continue to show improvement is always fun,” said Pittenger. “Everyone as a team showed up, and I’m excited to see the improvements we make as a team throughout the season.”
Jessica Le ’24 begins her race in the 800m.
Alex Lange ’24, seen here, placed first in Boys Pole Vault with a jump of 10’6″.
Zeeshan Ahmed ’25 races in the 55m dash.
Amy Yuan ’24 setting up for a run for Girls Pole Vault.
Paolo Pittenger ’24 races the mile, placing 5th.
The boys mile team was led by Pittenger who doubled events, running the mile with a time of 4:39, placing fifth overall. Mark Palladino ‘25 PRed by over fifteen seconds, while Arya Shastri ‘26 ran 5:12, placing eleventh among sophomores. The freshman runners impressed with Tanush Lingala ‘27 and Eddie Schneider ‘27 running 5:16 and 5:21, respectively.
“We ran great times, but the highlight would definitely be team bonding,” said Jacob Badilla ‘25. “Making waffles was certainly a new experience, and hopefully it becomes a team tradition.”
For the first time, the underclassmen organized and partook in a waffle-making activity. They devised the idea on the spot, and it proved to be a huge success.
The meet was fruitful for the team as a whole. The great start to the winter season is hoped to be continued with the Ocean Breeze Holiday Festival on Wednesday, December 27.
