Track & field dream comes true: A top Shore relay team is headed to Millrose Games
Four Toms River North High indoor track stars will be competing in the same location as some of the best athletes in the country Feb. 11 at the Millrose Games.
Known for its elite-level international and collegiate events and billed as "the world’s most prestigious Indoor track & field competition," the Millrose Games also features top high school athletes - and that includes the Toms River North mile relay team of Mamadi Diawara, Camryn Thomas, Lowrentzky Ambroise, and Mordecai Ford.
The quartet won the Suburban 4x400 (3:20.14, the No. 1 relay time in the U.S. this year for 1,600 meters) at the Millrose Games Trials earlier this month.
They'll warm up for next month's Millrose run by competing Thursday at the Shore Conference Indoor Championships in Toms River at the Bennett Indoor Complex.
Toms River North coach Michael Barnett said the Millrose experience can be awing.
“It’s pretty cool 'cause track's not (considered) the most glamorous,” Barnett said. “But once these guys see that, then they start to get into it and follow the sport… It’s cool for them to see people run in person that they see at the Olympic games.”
Shore is well-represented
Other Shore athletes with places reserved at the games include Freehold Township's Emma Zawatski, a University of Colorado commit, in the Girls Mile and the Colts Neck boys 4x800 relay, which won at the trials in 8:04.42.
Barrett, who’s been with the TRN program for 10 years and became head coach in 2019, has guided Mainer quarter-milers to the Millrose games three times - 2019 and 2023 previously.
Despite the success, Barrett says he tries to “not screw things up” and gives all the credit to his athletes. The guys he has on his 4x400 team have been working through the offseason to get to this point.
“During the offseason I’ve been training since school ended, I’ve been going to Holmdel,” said senior and leadoff runner Ambroise. “Running the (Holmdel) hills, putting in work on the track, going to the gym, lifting weights...to get faster and improve.”
Mordecai Ford traded hoops dreams for track & field success
Each of the four sprinters had a different path to where they are now. Ford, a junior and the third leg, started off as a basketball player but became a track convert after trying it in the spring and impressing as a hurdler, though it took some persuasion from the coaching staff. Now his goals are set high.
Getting the chance to run at The Armory in Washington Heights, New York City "fuels me to do way better than at the trials,” Ford said. “Those are the people we look up to be like them one day and for me I want to be the fastest in the state. I think if I can have some pros watch me it’s going to push me way harder.”
Diawara, the anchor, said he has simple advice for other top high school track prospects.
“They just have to work really hard and be focused and dedicated,” said the junior. “I think you have to be focused on what you really want to do so the work shows.”
Barrett said it's common for track coaches to battle an "unglamorous" stigma the sport carries for those who haven't tried it.
“I think sometimes people view it that way,” he said. "We get a decent number of guys from the football team and they come out and become a big part of our sprint and throws team. But what’s cool is they don’t really treat it like an off-sport.”
But a little success goes a long way toward winning youth athletes over - or, in Toms River North's case, a lot of success.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ indoor track: Toms River North boys relay to Millrose Games
