The Boys Indoor Track team saw a winter season for the history books, with junior Kennan Byers breading the 1600m record and senior Tommy Damiano breaking the 200m record. The Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team of Byers, seniors Thomas Amato and Preston Gumann, and junior Jacob Conti also set a new record, running a 10:22.13.
Byers broke his record first, running a 4:14.96 in the 1600m at the Morris County Championships on Jan. 29, 2025, placing him second. This overcame the previous record set by Collin Frost after running a 4:18.48, on Feb. 18, 2014, 11 seasons ago.
“His time is currently the third fastest in the state this year,” Head Coach Luke Suttile said of Byers’ record-breaking run. “The old record was 4:18 by Collin Frost in 2014 when he won the Group 4 championships. Collin is currently a track and field coach at Delbarton and was there to witness Kennan’s record-breaking performance.”
Later in the season, Damiano broke the school record in the 200m, when he ran 22.81 at the Garden State Invitational on Feb. 14, 2025. This beat the previous record held by Julian Rodriguez, who ran a 23.24 on Feb. 24, 2009.
“The record I achieved belongs to everyone who has helped me and believed in me along the way,” Damiano said. “I’m proud of what I accomplished, but I know there’s still more to achieve.”
“We don’t get a lot of chances to run the 200m indoors, as it’s not a traditional race for our local series of meets,” Suttile noted. “So, whenever I have athletes that I think have a chance at it, I seek out meets to run the 200. We went to the Garden State Invitational at the Ocean Breeze Indoor complex, which is a fast-banked track, in the hopes that Tommy could let one rip, and that is exactly what he did.”
Most recently, the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team also set a new record, running a 10:22.13 at the Eastern States Championships on March 4, 2025. The team consisted of seniors Thomas Amato and Preston Gumann, along with juniors Kennan Byers and Jacob Conti. They broke the previous record of 10:25.20, set on Feb. 7, 2011.
Fresh off of their record-breaking performances this past winter season, watch out for these fantastic runners during this year’s upcoming RHS spring track season.
