Girls Track & Field: Nickelsen's triple victory sparks TR North to Shore Conference title

NEPTUNE – For a year, it gnawed at Olivia Nickelsen that the Toms River North girls track team had to share the 2022 Shore Conference title with Southern after they finished tied atop the point tally at the championship meet.

“I was really mad about it,” Nickelsen said. “It bothered the whole team. We did not even want to touch the trophy.”

This week, at the league’s 2023 meet, the junior made sure it did not happen again. She dominated the sprints, winning the girls 100, 200 and 400 as the Mariners ran away with the crown. Nickelsen was the lone triple winner, male or female, during the two-day event.

“I didn’t come in here thinking I was going to win everything,” she said. “The 100 surprised me and the 400 surprised me.”

In the 100, Nickelsen came into the final seeded third but broke the tape with a wind-aided time of 12.20, edging Marlboro’s Isabella Murray (12.23) and Point Pleasant Borough’s Jordan Muraglia (12.25).

“The 100 is not my favorite, I just run it to run it,” she said. “I’m really surprised because I didn’t run that event until this year.”

In the 400, Nickelsen clocked 56.14 to best Rumson-Fair Haven star Clemmie Lilley (56.73). In the 200, she posted a personal-best 25.21.

Not bad for someone whose highest place last year was third. Her bonanza helped Toms River North stockpile 105 points, 45 more than Monmouth County champion Rumson-Fair Haven.

The tie of 2022 is now a distant memory.

“So this means a lot,” Nickelsen said. “We put a lot of work into this, and it paid off.”

Two giant leaps

The meet-record holders at the Shore Conference Track & Field Championships are an exclusive club – four decades’ worth of the best runners, jumpers and throwers ever to lace it up in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

Ayotunde Folawewo joined that club Monday.

The Toms River North senior registered a triple jump mark of 39 feet and one-half inch, eclipsing the standard of 38-11.5 set by Lakewood legend Essence Mayers in 2011.

“I shocked myself,” Folawewo said. “I thought it was a 37-foot jump to be honest. They said 39 and I was extremely shocked.”

Her personal best prior to Monday was a 37-11, achieved in winning this event last year. That was her first season triple jumping. Improvement has come in leaps and bounds. Now the question is: Just how far can she go? The overall Shore Conference record, also held by Mayers, is 40-6.

“I am one foot away from 40 feet, and before today that wasn’t even a possibility,” Folawewo said. “It was in the back of my mind, but it wasn’t on my radar at all.”

To provide some perspective on the rare air Folawewo entered, second place in the event was two feet back. She’s headed to Rutgers in the fall and will compete for the Scarlet Knights, whose coaches undoubtedly will be pleased to welcome a record-holder to their program.

“I wasn’t even looking at meet records,” Folawewo said. “Out of all the people who triple jump, I was the one to break it. Wow.”

Folawewo wasn’t the only Mariners jumper to turn heads. Fellow senior Lia Malave popped a school-record in the long jump with a distance of 19-0.5, winning by more than a foot. She’s the league’s first 19-footer since Red Bank Catholic’s Tara Zeni won the 2019 Meet of Champions at 19-2.

“I was not expecting that at all,” said Malave, whose previous best was 18-2. “I did not ever think I’d be able to go that far.”

Throwing the distance

In the throws, it was a superb meet for Colts Neck senior Catherine Vota, who won the shot put and discus with huge personal bests. In the discus she measured 136-9, an eight-foot personal best. In the shot she added four feet to her resume with a 38-8.

“I can’t believe it – so incredibly happy,” said Vota, who is headed to Army West Point and will compete in track there. “This is definitely above where I believed I was going to be this season.”

Top 10 Girls Performers

Olivia Nickelsen, Toms River North: The junior won the 100 dash (12.20), 200 (25.21) and 400 (56.13).

Ayotunde Folawewo, Toms River North: The senior won the triple jump with a meet-record distance of 39-0.5, placed second in the 100 hurdles (15.13) and fourth in the long jump (17-5.5).

Catherine Vota, Colts Neck: The senior won the shot put and discus with personal bests of 38-8 and 136-9, respectively.

Jessica Abbott, Toms River North: The freshman sensation won the 3200 in a school-record 10:47, a whopping 25 seconds ahead of the next-closest finisher, and romped the 1600 field with a 4:59.29 triumph.

Clemmie Lilley, Rumson-Fair Haven: The sophomore won the 800 (2:15.94), placed second in the 400 (56.73) and anchored the winning 4x400 (4:00) with a 58.0 split.

Lia Malave, Toms River North: The senior won the long jump (19-0.5), placed fourth in the triple jump (35-11) and fifth in the 100 dash (12.57).

Alexandria Scott, St. John Vianney: The junior won the 400 hurdles in 1:02.05, edging Colts Neck’s Kylie Jacoutot (1:02.31) in a battle of two of the state’s best, and took third in the long jump (17-6).

Shea Burke, Point Pleasant Borough: The senior won the 100-meter hurdles in 14.55.

Sophia Laudi, Holmdel: The junior won the javelin with a personal-best and Shore Conference-leading heave of 126-10.

Isabella Murray, Marlboro: The junior placed second in the 100 dash (12.23) and 200 (25.29) and fifth in the 400 (59.00).

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Girls Track: Nickelsen sparks TR North to Shore Conference title