Cochrane Crowned State Champion to Finish Indoor Career

Happy birthday, Kylene Cochrane. Your wish just came true.

The West Morris Central High School senior competed in the Meet of Champions indoor track and field event on Saturday, March 1, and took home the title in an event that has become her specialty.

In a field of 33 girls, Cochrane won the 1,600-meter (one mile) event by .19 seconds with a time of 4:53.17, crowning her best in the state. The cherry on top was that Saturday was her 18th birthday.

Cochrane’s entire high school career has been spent ahead of the pack, but her senior season has stood out. She helped the girls track team win its first ever Morris County title, and grabbed three individual gold medals at the sectional event, where Central came in second place by just three points.

Cochrane also recently announced her commitment to the University of Pennsylvania, where she’ll join the track team. 

Also representing West Morris Central was Brennan Sharkey, who ran in the 3,200-meter race. The senior Bucknell commit came in 13th overall in a field of 36 with a time of 11:08.03.

Off the track and into the pole vault event, Central was represented by senior Marlena Paz, the sectional title gold medalist in the event. With a vault of 10-feet even, Paz tied nine other athletes for 16th in the event.

Paz’s counterpart on the boys side, Max Maroney, took to the pole vault with an impressive 14-foot mark in the event. The figure was good for four-way tie of ninth place in a field of 22. The winning vault was an even 15-feet.