What to Watch For: Ocean Breeze Invitational

Get ready for February! It’s a big month for winter track, and it starts off with a big meet: the Ocean Breeze Invitational. The two-day meet is one of the largest meets in the United States. The boys will compete on Saturday, and the girls will follow on Sunday.

One of the most anticipated events for Mercer County fans will be the boys triple jump, where Ian Borges (Peddie, Sr.) and Matin Mahmoud (Lawrence, Sr.) will square off in the same flight. Those two are not just the best jumpers in Mercer County — they’re #2 and #3 in all of New Jersey! Mahmoud just set his PR of 46’ 1” to win the CVC Championship last week, which is only a half-inch off Borges’s best of 46’ 1.5” from November 30th. Borges ran a PR in the 45m dash at his home invitational last week, and he’ll carry that momentum (literally) into his jumps this weekend. They’ll both face a strong challenge from North Brunswick’s Zachary Jefferson, who is tied with Mahmoud for NJ #3. Should be quite the battle!

Another don’t-miss event at Ocean Breeze will be the boys shuttle hurdle relay, where Notre Dame is the top seed and will hope to run another hot time. The Irish have already run 30.42 (NJ #4) twice this year, so Trenton’s county record of 29.93 from 2013 is on notice.