Summit Track Stars Awarded Scholarships

FASTACT has awarded the first FASTACT Ken Kuebler Memorial Scholarships to Bridget O'Brien and Jose Castro. Both athletes are seniors graduating this month.

FASTACT (Friends Advancing Summit Track and Cross Country Teams) selected Bridget and Jose based upon their individual and team accomplishments, leadership, and enthusiasm for Summit's Track and Cross Country program.

The FASTACT scholarships were presented by Adam Fern, Head Coach of the Track & Field at Summit High School.  O'Brien will attend Penn State University in the fall and Castro will attend the University of Maryland.

Both were co-captains of the Track and Field Teams at Summit High School. FASTACT is the booster association for Summit's Track and Cross Country programs, and promotes and supports the sport within Summit.

Record-Breaking Season

In all, the track team had a stellar season, breaking multiple school and county records.

Senior Daria Chadwick broke the 200m Summit record while leading the girls’ team to the Mountain Division Conference Championship on May 12th.  

Daria's time was 26.28 bettering Susan Scavone's time of 26.31 which was set in 2008 (Scavone just completed her four year career at Brown University).

University of Hartford-bound Aleixa Diaz took down one of the oldest records on the board when she won the Union County title in the 400IH with a time of 63.18 on May 18th.  The previous record of 63.7 was set in 1981 by Ellen Eckert.  

Aleixa's efforts helped contribute to a 3rd place overall finish for the girls at the Union County Championships.

Finally, in less than perfect conditions, Sophomore Gillian McIlroy, Junior Kirsty Gargiulo, and Penn State-bound Bridget O'Brien and Johns Hopkins-bound Isabella Yozzi teamed on the 4x1600m relay and combined to run 21:21.15 at the East Coast Relays.  

Their time improved upon the 21:28.3 that was set in 2009 by Nicola Hallenborg ('10), Kearsley Olcott ('10), Danielle Allocco ('09), and Katie Watson ('11).  Including the 21:36.58 that Samantha Lee ('07), Alisa Stern ('04), Clare Needham ('04), and Caroline Mannaerts ('04) ran in 2004.

The Hilltoppers now own the 3 fastest 4x1600 times in Union County history, and this years’ time ranks as the fourth fastest in NJ this season.