JACKSON — Who is Steven Bado?
That question is going to buzz around New Jersey track & field circles after the Jackson Memorial High School senior posted a blazing victory in the 100-meter dash during day one of the Bill Bruno Ocean County Championships.
Bado’s time of 10.81 Thursday won the event by nearly four-tenths of a second, an enormous margin for such a short race. He also clocked 10.90 in the trials.
Of course, Bado’s origin is not a mystery to anyone who’s been paying close attention. He’s an old-school, three-sport standout who excelled for the Jaguars in soccer in the fall and basketball in the winter. Last month, he anchored Jackson’s 4×100 to a school-record and Shore Conference-leading time of 42.80 at the Penn Relays.
All eyes will be on Bado when the meet concludes Saturday, 10 a.m. at Jackson Liberty.
Here are the top five boys and girls performers on day one.
Top Boys Performers
1. Steven Bado, Jackson Memorial: His 100 time was just .03 off the meet record, which has stood since 2012.
2. William Freeman, Manchester: The junior won the 400 in 49.74 and helped the 4×800 place third in 8:24.
3. Fabian Gonzalez, Southern: The standout junior’s winning discus heave of 183-4 was ordinary for him, but just five inches short of a meet record that has stood since 1978.
4. D’Maari Brown, Manchester: The senior won the long jump (20-11.25) and placed fourth in the high jump (6-2).
5. Jacob Kiyler, Toms River North: The senior won the 400 hurdles in 55.53 and placed fifth in the open 400 in 51.61.
Top Girls Performers
1. Lily Oliver, Toms River South: The junior won a closely contested 1600 in 5:05.58 and ran on the third-place 4×800 (10:02).
2. Olivia Nickelson, Toms River North: The sophomore won the 400 (56.97) and ran on the fourth-place 4×800 (10:34).
3. Ava Srinivasan, Central: The senior won the 400 hurdles (1:06.49) and placed fourth in the triple jump (35-2).
3. Kelly Enterline, Southern: The senior struck gold in the shot put with a heave of 39-0.75, winning my more than three feet.
5. Sheridan Martinez, Manchester: The senior won the javelin with a distance of 124-6, prevailing by four feet.
