As a varsity gymnast in her first three years at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, junior Violette Cornfield is used to performing under pressure.
Doing so under the brightest of lights on top of that can be even more intimidating, particularly during a floor exercise alone on a large mat with loud music blaring and all eyes on her: judges, teammates, coaches, and spectators alike.
“I just try to focus on myself and the moment,” described Cornfield of this feeling.
“I wait for the mental cues that I keep to myself, and make sure that I know what I am doing at that moment.”
This is also true of her current first-time endeavor in the winter: one in which she lands on a different mat after serving as an all-around gymnast for the now five-time reigning Somerset County champion Panthers’ gymnastics team this past fall.
She is a pole vaulter for the Bridgewater-Raritan High School indoor track and field team.
One that tallied its best combined dual placements on the boys’ and girls’ sides at the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 Championships since sectional championships were brought to Toms River by the NJSIAA in 2007.
There may not have been a gymnasts podium present in Saturday evening’s venue, but Cornfield and the remainder of her trio of girls’ pole vaulters were each able to bring home a few key souvenirs on the Eve of Super Bowl Sunday.
Gold, silver, and bronze medals.
Cornfield (9-3 mark), junior Lillian Jalshgari (7-6 mark), and senior Durva Gandhi (7-0 mark) swept the top three girls’ pole vault spots to lead the way at the sectional championships for the Bridgewater-Raritan indoor track and field team. Senior Kaitlyn Chu tallied a team-high 18 points out of 53 points for the Panthers, including a gold medal courtesy of a six-plus second margin of victory in the 3200-meter run (11:16.32), on the way to a runner-up team finish for Bridgewater-Raritan just behind newly crowned state sectional champion Union High School (58 points).
Although the girls came up just short of a sectional title, Bridgewater-Raritan’s big day across the board will foreshadow one thing.
The Panthers are emerging as championship contenders, and it may only be a matter of time before they stand alone.
To round off a successful night at a venue called “The Bubble”, where Bridgewater-Raritan advanced to the Group 4 championships in a whopping 18 total events via top six finishes: nine each on the boys’ and girls’ sides, the Panthers’ boys’ indoor track and field team collected a third-place finish with 33 points.
Ten of these points were delivered via a gold-medal performance by junior pole vaulter Andrew Ciccotelli (11-6 mark) at the NJSIAA North New Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 Indoor Track & Field Championships, Saturday, February 7, at the Bennett Indoor Athletic Complex in Toms River.
Bridgewater-Raritan’s boys’ squad (33 points) was not too far behind runner-up Watchung Hills Regional High School (38 points) and champion Westfield High School (48), and the Panthers notably edged fourth-place Union High School (31 points) by two points amongst a gauntlet notably filled with fellow Skyland Conference representatives and other contenders from Middlesex, Union, Essex, and Hudson County.
The following athletes will represent Bridgewater-Raritan High School at the NJSIAA Group 4 State Championships at 9 a.m. Sunday, February 22, at this same venue:
Bridgewater-Raritan High School boys’ indoor track & field group qualifiers:
Junior Andrew Ciccotelli (first, pole vault, 11-6 mark)
Senior Anthony Ciminelli (third, 3200-meter run, 9:58.50)
Junior Jordan Estomata (fourth, shot put, 47-4.5 mark)
Junior Kenneth Graham (fourth, 400-meter dash, 51.99 seconds)
Junior Zachary Urbanowicz (fourth, 3200-meter run, 10:01.61)
Junior Zane Hoffman (fifth, 3200-meter run, 10:01.69)
4x400 meter relay team (sixth, 3:36.81)
Junior Jamelle Jones (sixth, high jump, 5-10 mark)
Sophomore Gary Jaeger (sixth, pole vault, 9-0 mark)
Bridgewater-Raritan High School girls’ indoor track & field group qualifiers:
Junior Kaitlyn Chu (first, 3200-meter run, 11:16.32 & second, 1600-meter run, 5:13.13)
Junior Violette Cornfield (first, pole vault, 9-3 mark)
Junior Lillian Jalshgari (second, pole vault, 7-6 mark)
Senior Durva Gandhi (third, pole vault, 7-0 mark)
Senior Dahlia Adams (third, 1600-meter run, 5:20.78 & fifth, 800-meter run, 2:26.01)
Junior Sofia Daniels (fifth, 1600-meter run, 5:30.40)
Junior Lana Guelich (sixth, 800-meter run, 2:26.53)
Not even factoring in the Panthers’ three gold medals, the depth of this program is evident, and its short-term and long-term future is very bright.
And there is a lot of overlap not only from past experiences this season but also from other sports for these well-rounded Panthers athletes.
For Cornfield, who had an immediate taste of the state championships when Bridgewater-Raritan’s gymnastics team went all the way to the state title meet in the fall of her freshman year on campus, she has been able to parlay this experience into what has been a successful stint as a pole vaulter both indoors (winter) and outdoors (spring) for the Panthers.
“In gymnastics, I’ve also been really good at blocking out all of the noise around me, and I think that has also helped me contribute to pole vault,” Cornfield explained of how this translates to track and field, which saw running events happen around the perimeter of The Bubble. In contrast, pole vaulters simultaneously sprung in an area enclosed within this track. “Like gymnastics, it’s just one person up at one time, and they’re competing to do their best. For track, it’s just me and the mat, and I’m just hoping to do my personal best. It helps me translate from gymnastics to track.”
“I really enjoy just trying to push myself to greater heights.”
Or in the context of pole vaulting this winter at Bridgewater-Raritan, leaping to greater heights.
Amongst the four biggest meets Bridgewater-Raritan has competed in this winter: the Somerset County Relay Championships (January 2), NJSIAA Group 4 Relay Championships (January 17), the Skyland Conference Championships (February 1), and Saturday evening’s North 2, Group 4 meet, the last three in a row were all at The Bubble.
The Panthers’ county meet was contested at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island, NY, which will also be the site of this winter’s Meet of Champions on Sunday, March 8.
That said, those who finished in the top six of their respective boys’ and girls’ events at their respective state sectional championship meets are now just one more solid performance away at the state championships two weeks from now to make it to the winter season’s final day.
Of course, according to the 2025-26 NJSIAA Indoor Track & Field Tournament Regulations, it will be a brutal field amongst New Jersey’s surviving contestants after this weekend.
Only those who finish in the top three of their corresponding events at the NJSIAA Group 4 Championships on Sunday, February 22, in Toms River are guaranteed a trip to Staten Island. For what would also be the 12 remaining wildcards combined in each event amongst all of the Garden State’s groups (Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, Group 4, Non-Public A, Non-Public B), they would have to sweat it out until all six groups are done competing, as anything outside of their direct group’s competition is outside of their control.
For Bridgewater-Raritan, it is prepared for the challenge, especially given the high level of competition it has already faced and the subsequent improvements it showed on Saturday evening.
For example, Cornfield finished runner-up at the Somerset County Relay Championships with a mark of 9-0, which she matched on February 1 at the Skyland Conference Championships in her trio’s first appearance in Toms River. Jalshgari and Gandhi both tallied marks of 6-6.
Six days later, at sectionals, they improved their leaps by 12 inches and six inches, respectively.
Even though their previous marks still would have been enough to advance to the group meet, that small distance was the difference in Bridgewater-Raritan sweeping the event’s three gold, silver, and bronze medals over Westfield High School’s top three girls’ pole vaulters.
“The future is really bright, especially with some new people coming in,” Cornfield went on to say about the future of Bridgewater-Raritan High School cross-country, track, and field. “This is my first year doing [the winter season], and I really love it. I’m really excited to contribute more to spring and come back for winter next year.”
“I want to try and help our team win sectionals next year.”
On the boys’ side, it was an even tighter triumph for Ciccotelli, who advanced to groups with pole vault teammate and Bridgewater-Raritan sophomore Gary Jaeger (9-0 mark).
Actually, it was the tightest possible margin of victory: a tiebreaker, which, by rule, is the fewest failed attempts at the previous height for pole vault.
Ciccotelli and both of his fellow medalists, Westfield High School sophomore Toby Bronsteen and Elizabeth High School senior Jaydan Cadet, sprang to marks of 11-6 on their first attempts but failed to clear the event’s final marks of 12 feet in each of their three attempts.
However, every jump matters.
The distinction of state sectional champion ultimately went to Ciccotelli, who cleared the previous mark of 11 feet on his second attempt.
That was the quickest clear, as Bronsteen and Cadet both cleared 11 feet on their third attempts.
As a result, Bronsteen and Cadet both tied for silver medals and a split of the otherwise combined eight points and six points for second place and third place, respectively, which factors in the meet’s scoring of 10, eight, six, four, two, and one points for places in order from first through sixth.
Thanks to Ciccotelli’s critical clear on a bar six inches lower than his final clear of the evening, he stood alone with 10 points and the event’s gold medal for Bridgewater-Raritan.
“It feels pretty good, but I know I have a lot more in me, so I just need to dial in and try and get some things worked out,” said Ciccotelli after the meet, who also took home first place at the Somerset County Relay Championships.
His event-winning mark of 12-6 was in Staten Island just over one month earlier. Still, Saturday evening’s state sectional title mark came in his first appearance this winter in Toms River: an understandable adjustment for the majority of the section’s contestants in attendance. While Ocean Breeze was filled with seats rising high into the venue and were on the opposite sides of the pole vault, it was fairly easy to spot the pole vaulters in action from the stands.
That may not have been as true in Toms River.
According to the NJSIAA’s website, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, one of the Panthers’ chief Skyland Conference rivals, was the first boys’ North 2, Group 4 champion in 2008 after the relocation of these meets to Toms River.
After its victory on Saturday evening, Westfield High School has won each of the last four state sectional titles since the state tournament was cancelled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This time at The Bubble, there was just a tiny area of standing room only on either side of the venue’s interior wall behind the longest parts of the track – not even a single bleacher. On top of this, most of the standing room was on the opposite side of the area where the pole vault was stationed.
This may create a lower-pressure environment than in Staten Island, especially given the frigid cold and high winds in New Jersey, which may have kept some potential spectators home for the evening. Regardless of the number of eyes and ears around you, however, it still requires a heavy amount of settling into this Toms River venue, which has an all-white surrounding area except approximately a 12-18 feet bottom of the interior that is dark blue.
Coincidentally, those roughly 12 feet matched the highest height attempted by the three North 2, Group 4 finalists.
Tuning out distractions in a much noisier venue that is more contained in Toms River than in Staten Island, such as running of track events or the cheering that simultaneously occurred, was just one challenge for pole vaulters on Saturday evening. The adjustment to running towards a sea of blue in the distance, seeing an all-white ceiling around you in midair, and then trying to clear your mark on top of it can be daunting if the big picture from start to finish is not fresh in your mind.
For the calm and collected Ciccotelli, it seemed very far from daunting.
“I don’t really need to actively block it out, because my brain just kind of does it on its own,” Ciccotelli revealed about the natural obstacles surrounding him in Toms River.
“It’s honestly lucky.”
While luck may be a factor in that, his poise and skill has been what has gotten the Bridgewater-Raritan junior to the top.
Or in this case, over it.
Many tense minutes elapsed over the course of the three-plus hour evening before the attempts at 11 feet. Ciccotelli’s first time may not have been the charm at this height, but his second time through ultimately was the deciding factor for his gold medal due to the aforementioned tiebreaker.
Notably, his clears of 11-0 and 11-6 came on consecutive attempts: one on the lower mark, and the next on his sectional-title winning mark.
While Cornfield and Ciccotelli were both in the middle of their gold-medal campaigns, Chu and her fellow Bridgewater-Raritan runners were helping the Panthers pile on points on the track.
Three different Bridgewater-Raritan runners scored in the top six of the same event three times: the girls’ pole vault, the girls’ 1600-meter run, and the boys’ 3200-meter run. Each of these outcomes were instrumental in Bridgewater-Raritan’s historic team finishes at the winter state sectional championships, and for Chu, she has picked up right where she left off after a monumental rise to the top as a member of the Panthers’ cross-country team in the fall.
“In cross-country, I really learned my racing strategies, how to stay patient, and how to stay behind someone,” revealed after the meet by Chu, who helped lead Bridgewater-Raritan to its first cross-country sectional title since 2006, was crowned Somerset County champion, and capped off this past fall with a trip to the Meet of Champions with Daniels. “That really has worked out for track. I haven’t been to The Bubble since freshman year, but Skylands got me used to how it felt.”
“I think I was able to use that experience here today to win the [3200-meter run], stay as strong as possible, and improve in my [1600-meter run].”
Notably, Chu trimmed off three and a half seconds from her time in the 1600-meter run at the Skyland Conference Championships to the North 2, Group 4 Championships just six days later. Her state sectional title in the 3200-meter run came thanks to a whopping 58-second improvement alone from the Skyland Conference Championships, where she finished in 11th place and outside of the top 10.
“In Group 4, I definitely want to try and advance to the Meet of Champions either automatically or as a wildcard in both the [1600- and 3200-meter runs],” Chu shared of her goals the rest of this winter.
“I’m really excited.”
Ciminelli, Hoffman, and Urbanowicz all also averaged an improvement of just under five and a half seconds between them, while Chu, Adams, and Daniels cut off an average of about 6.83 seconds from each of their times in just this six-day span.
“Everybody showed up and stepped up at the biggest stage, and we had a great meet,” praised Bridgewater-Raritan head coach Dave Evans of the Panthers’ big day in Toms River. “They loaded up with points in multiple events, including multiple events where we got three people through, and they just piled up the points.”
“It was an exciting meet, and it came down right to the end on both sides.”
All of this also came one year after Bridgewater-Raritan finished in 13th place on the boys’ side, and while last season’s girls’ team took fourth place at sectionals, 2025-26 was a monumental night across the board for Bridgewater-Raritan track and field.
“Our class is really kicking into high gear here,” Ciccotelli went on to say about Bridgewater-Raritan’s success this winter.
“It’s amazing and means so much that we can all come together, compete, and try and get ranked higher.”
Now, Bridgewater-Raritan will try to make even more history at the NJSIAA Group 4 Indoor Track & Field Championships at 9 a.m. Sunday, February 22, in Toms River.
Those who advance to the Meet of Champions will compete at 10 a.m. Sunday, March 8, at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island to conclude the winter season.
But no matter what happens for Bridgewater-Raritan and its fellow competitors across New Jersey leading up to this date, the Monday (March 9) after the Meet of Champions is the NJSIAA’s first approved day of practice for outdoor track and field.
A season where Bridgewater-Raritan will certainly be set up for success given its very productive winter.
“The biggest thing is just getting out there and competing, whether it be racing, throwing, or jumping,” concluded Evans of the objective for what will soon be the third trip the Panthers will make to the Bubble in February alone. “It was a quick turnaround [from the Skyland Conference to the North 2, Group 4 Championships], but they handled it well, and now we have two weeks to get ready for groups. A lot of our performances today were better than they were a week ago, including some personal records and season bests.”
“Hopefully if things go right in training the next couple of weeks, we’re in states fully healthy, we should have a really good meet two weeks from now.”
“And if we can get rid of some of the snow.”