FORCE FIELD: Members of the Wilberforce School girls’ track team 4×800 relay quartet are all smiles after they took 10th overall at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor meet last month at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Pictured from left, are Laura Sallade, Maria Madigan, Gwen Mersereau, and Eve Szeliga. (Photo provided by Lois Szeliga)

By Bill Alden

Although the Wilberforce School girls’ track team only had six runners this spring, that didn’t keep them from accomplishing a lot.

The Wilberforce girls took seventh out of 18 schools at the Mercer County Championships and then took third at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public B championship meet.

“Coach [Kristen] Yonkman and I always say we ask them to do so much and they do,” said Wilberforce head coach Lois Szeliga. “They really rise to the occasion. The girls really step up for each other. Each of them does the most to do the best for the team.”

Szeliga pointed to a sacrifice made by senior Maria Madigan as exemplifying that one-for-all, all-for-one mentality.

“For instance, Maria ran the 4×800 relay so we could score the points. She doesn’t usually run that, but she did so Laura Sallade could do the 1,600 meters right after it,” explained Szeliga of Madigan, who took third in the 400 at the Non-Public meet.

Szeliga’s daughter, sophomore Eve, scored a lot of points for the Wolverines in the Non-Public meet. Szeliga placed first in the 800 and second in the 400 and helped both the 4×400-meter and 4×800 relays to victory.

“We asked her to do a lot, she really has matured so much not only as a runner but as a competitor and just being able to say I am the one who is going to step in and do what the coach is asking,” said Szeliga. “She came in last year as a sprinter because she was a former soccer player. She has always been quick, but I thought that she really had a lot of potential in the 800. It is very different running in lanes versus running in what can be a very physical, fast race. She has been in races with falls. There is a lot going on and she wasn’t used to that because the sprints are all in lanes. She had to learn all of that and by the end of the season she really got the hang of it. In the Meet of Champions, she got the highest place we have ever had individually, coming in ninth. She just missed the podium.”

Another sophomore, Sallade, also did a lot for the Wolverines this spring.

“Laura was huge for our team in the counties, second place in the 800 and fourth in the 1,600,” said Szeliga of Sallade, who won the 1,600 and placed third in the 800 at the Non-Public meet. “She scored a lot of points in the 4×400, the 1,600, and the 800 at the Non Public. Laura is coming off an injury in cross country, so for her to have PRs in both the 1600 and the 800 is so impressive. I think she is just going to continue to grow. She is hungry.”

Junior Gwen Mersereau has grown into a fierce competitor. She took eighth in both the 200 and 800 at the Non-Public meet and helped the 4×400 and 4×800 relays to victory.

“Gwen is so mature, she is just a real leader in competition,” said Szeliga, whose crew of runners also included senior Anna-Luisa Jepson and sophomore Emily Prothero. “She always has a positive attitude. She does not show her nerves which has a very calming effect on the girls. They really trust her when she is in a relay and has the baton. The girls really trust her as a competitor because she really likes to race. Her racing mentality has really spilled over onto the team and has inspired the girls.”

The quartet of Sallade, Madigan, Mersereau, and Szeliga culminated the season by producing an inspirational performance on the national stage, taking 10th in 4×800 relay in mid-June at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor meet at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

“That was amazing, they won their heat in 9:10 and got the No 3 time in New Jersey,” said Szeliga. “It is really a very impressive time, it is our school record. Each girl had to fight really hard for the win. That placed us 10th overall and top six is All-American. It is very elite, that is a great achievement. It’s all because the girls always step up to help each other.”

As for the Wilberforce boys’ senior star and Washington University commit Caleb Brox led the way as the Wolverines placed eighth in the Non-Public B meet.

Brox finished first in the 1,600 while junior Philip Schidlovsky placed second in the 800, and senior Andrew Pratt took third in the pole vault.

“The thing about Caleb was that he battled injury and got all of those titles,” said Szeliga of Brox, who placed first in both the 800 and 1,600 at the county meet. “He was so mature about how he handled everything. He was patient, he didn’t run some of the earlier races. Sometimes people push through but he was patient. He took care of himself and then he was strong enough to do those races. He was able to persevere and he really matured as a competitor where he just raced to win. He had a lot of fun with that — he wasn’t racing the clock. We had a young boys’ team. Caleb was a great role model for what I think will be a strong team.”

The Wilberforce boys boast several strong returners led by Schidlovsky and a trio of freshmen in Micah Brox, Elias Edwards, and Henry Jepson. Brox took seventh in the 1,600 and 13th in the 800 at the Non-Public meet while Edwards placed ninth in the 1,600 and Jepson took eighth in the 3,200. The boys’ 4×400 relay placed sixth.

In the view of Szeliga, that group has the potential to accomplish a lot next spring.

“We have Philip, who grew so much as a runner this year, coming in second in the 800 and getting the school record in the 200,” said Szeliga. “He is just getting very strong. So between Philip and this crew of freshmen, I think we will have a real strong team next year. Caleb was a great leader for them.”