It’s not every day that a Kearny High School track and field athlete advances to the overall Group IV championships at the Bennett Center in Toms River.
So that’s why it was newsworthy that three Kardinals made it all the way to the Group IV championship meet last Saturday.
It honestly didn’t matter what Gabe Dos Santos, Liam Solano and Lily Durning did at the meet. What mattered is that the three of them were there, competing with and against the very best athletes in the state of New Jersey.
Solano, the younger brother of former Kearny track standout Kayleigh Solano, competed in the 3,200-meter run.
“I was trying to get under 10:00 (minutes), so I was a little disappointed,” Solano said. “I felt good and I was training well, but I just didn’t do well.”
Solano was reminded about being a contender among the very best runners around.
“I was so excited about it,” Solano said. “I knew that there was a slim chance of me making it and I did it.”
Solano is only a junior, so he has something now to shoot for.
“I have something to shoot for next year,” Solano said. “I’m going to try to qualify again and maybe go to the Meet of Champions.”
Like his older sister did a few years ago.
“I would really look up to her when she competed in high school,” Solano said of his sister. “She was really good. I caught some of her races in high school. When I was younger, I really didn’t like to go to her races, but I joined track and got involved. It’s just unbelievable that I did this as a junior. I still can’t believe I did it.”
Dos Santos just took in the whole aura of the event.
“It really was a good experience for me,” Dos Santos said. “I had never been there before, so I wanted to know what the atmosphere was like there.”
Like his teammate, Dos Santos was not pleased with his performance.
“I could have done better,” Dos Santos said. “Coach told me that he wanted me to come in the top 20 and I did that. But I just didn’t run well. It was not a very good performance on what has become a very good day.”
Dos Santos didn’t even know he was able to compete in the All Group IV meet.
“I didn’t even know,” Dos Santos said. “I was just as shocked as he was. But it felt good to be a competitor with the best of the state. It’s something I’m going to remember it for a long time.”
Durning qualified for the high jump, much like her older sister Haley did a few years ago.
“I’m very happy about getting there,” Durning said. “It was definitely surprising to me as well. When I made it, I knew it would take everything I had.”
Durning said that she also had a sense of awe when she entered the Bennett Center.
“To see all the great athletes there was amazing,” Durning said. “And to think, I was right there as one of them, worthy to be there with them.”
The meet came on the same weekend that Durning received her acceptance from Clemson University, where her sister attends.
“I don’t know if I’m going to Clemson or Georgia,” Durning said. “Haley has been a major influence on my life. When I was in eighth grade, I was there for her at the meets. She’s certainly supporting me. She comes and high jumps with me, practices with me. I always wanted to follow in her footsteps, so this was something that made me proud. It is also a precursor to the outdoor season, where my end goal will be to make it to the Meet of Champions.”
Kearny head coach Al Perez was extremely proud of his athletes.
“It was a great accomplishment for all three of them,” Perez said. “They worked hard all season, working every week and improving every week. It’s very rewarding from a coaching standpoint to see your kids succeed in a field that’s so competitive. For them to get the chance to compete at a high level and compete against the best of the best in the state is amazing.”
Perez said that he had a simple message for his athletes.
“I told them to just got out there and compete,” Perez said. “That they should just enjoy the moment. That’s what they did.”
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”