(JKHA) Spurred on by the success of their high school counterparts, the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy middle school inaugurated its own running-oriented programs in 2022-23. First came cross country in the fall, followed by a springtime track and field squad that competed against local public and secular private schools, in the absence of competition from other area yeshivot.

On May 10, the Flying Cobras warmed up with a successful dual track meet with Liberty Middle School of West Orange, winning 107-102. That set the stage for their participation in the Greater Morris County Middle School championship, a competition that involved 16 schools across the county from Whippany to Morris Plains.

JKHA came away with several notable performances in the meets, held separately for girls and boys on consecutive days in early June. On the girls’ side, Alexandra Jacobi finished fifth in the mile race with a personal-best time of seven minutes, six seconds. The girls’ relay team (Leann Avraham, Maya Avraham, Arielle Magid, Eliana Levenson) came away with a sixth place finish.

The boys had their share of success as well. Nathan Klein finished seventh in the 200-meter race with a time of 28.2 seconds. The boys’ relay team of Erez East, Noam Simon, Noah Feder and Dovi Mordkovich matched the girls’ sixth place finish.

Next season, the Flying Cobras welcome competition from any or all day schools that are up for the challenge!