Monday, April 28, and Tuesday, April 29, 2025, Emerson High School hosted a huge track meet with 40 teams and four divisions. At this NJIC meet, all hands were on board, and every team member mattered.
Emerson is part of the Patriot Division, meaning they competed only on Monday. Athletes ran, jumped, threw, and hurdled as well as they could in order to earn the team points.
Head Coach Ledgerwood gave his insight on the meet. He said hosting a meet this large is “a lot of work and somewhat stressful, but it’s also fun.” He adds, “It takes a good amount of planning and teamwork to pull it off, but it’s worth it in the end.”
To add on to Ledgerwood, Distance Coach McKinstry, when asked about the stressfulness of the meet said, “I wouldn’t say it was overwhelming because we were prepared.” He goes on to credit his co-coaches by saying, “Us coaches communicate well, which allows the meet to run smoothly. It’s a big reason we are asked to host year after year.”
Athletes competing were not the only ones working hard. Several high school and middle school students were working extremely hard to make sure the meet would run smoothly. They hustled to get stats from officials, posted event results for everyone to see, promptly moved hurdles on and off the track, and reset the field events as needed.
This was freshman Sylvia Baran’s first time at this huge meet. She admitted, “Experiencing a large track meet like this for the first time was both scary and exciting.” She added, “I met a lot of new people and learned new things by watching them.”
Just because Emerson’s athletes only competed on Monday doesn’t mean they weren’t put to work on Tuesday! They all still showed up and helped out doing stats and field events just as their teammates did the day prior.
Many Emersonians, such as those on Pine, Union, and Palisades may have had a more difficult time getting to their house. Over these two days, there were countless cones and cars blocking residents’ normal routes and parking spots.
After two long, stressful days, there is no better way to end it off than on a positive note. According to Ledgerwood, several coaches gave the Emerson Track and Field team compliments. They said, “[We] love coming here for the NJIC Championships each year.” Additionally, Ledgerwood said, “It was another successful year!”
