Track: East Brunswick boys win first GMC Relays title in 30 years, South Brunswick girls win fourth-straight

It came down to the wire, but in the end, the East Brunswick High School boys indoor track team claimed its first Greater Middlesex Conference Relays title in 30 years on Saturday. 

East Brunswick, which last won a GMC Relays title in 1987, beat South Brunswick 52-46 at the Bennett Center in Toms River. The Bears only won one event, the pole vault, but finished second in the 4x400, the 4x800 and the distance medley to cement their victory. 

On the girls side, South Brunswick won its fourth-straight title with 74 points. 

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"We knew we had one of the best returning teams in the county," East Brunswick coach Pasquale DiGioacchino said. "We had the best shot putter in the county returning, one of the best pole vaulters returning and we had one of the best pole vaulters from spring come over, so we knew we had arguably the strongest team there and the boys knew the expectation was to take home a win and we did it, we accomplished the goal."

It came down to the wire, as the Bears didn't secure a first-place finish until the pole vault. Jake Stocki cleared 12-feet and Devin Kusmider cleared 11-6 to combine for the victory.

"We started off strong, second in the distance medley, the shuttle hurdles went well, shot put did well, it was up in the air for a little while, but once we found out the results from the pole vault, which our boys won, at that moment we realized all we have to do is perform well in the 4x4 and seal the deal," DiGioacchino said. "So it wasn’t really until the end that we knew that we had it. We knew we had a shot the whole time, but at times it looked a little bleak and we weren’t sure it was going to happen. The pole vault though, and the 4x4 had a great race, and sealed the deal."

Dawid Roter, Leland Davies, Jimaran Serede and Joshua Newton combined to take second in the 4x400 in 3:36.65 behind first place Piscataway (3:33.22). In the 4x800, Sajal Duppatla, Joey Coyle, Leland Davies and Reyden Davies took second behind Piscataway in 8:31.82. 

The distance medley team of Robby Arpaio, Ethan Pearl, Leland Davies and Reyden Davies took second behind Metuchen in 11:01.05. East Brunswick placed fourth in the 4x55 shuttle hurdles and fifth in the 4x200. Seth Oppong-Dwamena and Alex Coleman placed in the high jump, while Justin Zhang and David Comer placed third in the shot put. 

"I didn’t realize it was 30 years, we had a really strong team in 2011, before I got there, and we had some good athletes and I thought they had won it, but it feels great," DiGioacchino said. "It feels great to finally win one. Old Bridge and South Brunswick are such great programs and they’ve been dominating the conference in recent years, so it feels good to compete on the same level as those guys for once."

South Brunswick continued its dominance on the girls side, winning four events. 

"I think there was certainly optimism that we could win again," South Brunswick coach Stefan Moorhead said. "We never take anything for granted, coming off of two snow days where we were out of school and out of practice, but the expectations are always high and I think the girls rose to the challenge."

Misha Duverger, Joanna Taitt, Riley Ratcliffe and Lauren Powell took first in the 4x200 in 1:50.05 while Sabrina Ray, Essence Baker, Taitt and Inayah Jones placed first in the 1600 sprint medley in 4:23.66. In the shuttle hurdles, Grace Boekhout-Whiting, Janai Orders, Misha Duverger and Chelsea Eltringham placed first in 33.96. 

Ray and Ratcliffe won the pole vault for the Vikings, with Ray clearing 9-6 and Ratcliffe clearing 7-6. 

"It definitely feels great, this meet means a lot to us as a team because it’s a team effort, we need so many people to compete in the relays and we pride ourselves on a team with a lot of depth so we can cover all of the events," Moorhead said. "We scored in every single varsity and novice event, which is a nice accomplishment. All told, we had 18 varsity athletes and 18 novice athletes and everyone came home with at least one medal."

The Vikings took second in the 4x400 behind Woodbridge in 4:18.21 and second in the distance medley in 13:07.60 behind J.P. Stevens. 

The GMC Championships are next Saturday, and coming off their performances this weekend, both the Bears and the Vikings will be looking to claim another title. 

"It bodes well, I don’t think we performed as well as we could have so if we can get some of our guys back on track for next week, I think we have a better shot," DiGioacchino said. "The pole vaulters are strong, between the two of them I definitely feel like we’re one of the favorites or should be the favorite going into next week. We’ve learned not to expect anything so we’ll see what happens, the goal is to win the championship and I think we have a good a shot as anyone."

GIRLS RESULTS

TEAM SCORES: 1. South Brunswick 74; 2. East Brunswick 29; 3. Monroe 28; 4. Old Bridge 24; 5. Woodbridge 21; 6. North Brunswick 20; 7. J.P. Stevens 18; 8. Edison 14; 8. Piscataway 14; 10. Sayreville 11; 11. South Plainfield 10; 12. Metuchen 6; 13. J.F. Kennedy 2; 14. Perth Amboy 1. 

4x200 METER RELAY: 1. South Brunswick (Misha Duverger, Joanna Taitt, Riley Ratcliffe, Lauren Powell) 1:50.05; 2. Piscataway 1:50.15; 3. Monroe 1:53.13; 4. Old Brige 1:53.81; 5. North Brunswick 1:53.91; 6. Edison 1:55.95; 7. J.F. Kennedy 1:56.13; 8. Sayreville 1:56.20; 9. East Brunswick 1:57.44; 10. South Plainfield 1:58.27; 11. Perth Amboy 2:00.19; 12. Woodbridge 2:00.73; 12. J.P. Stevens 2:03.09; 13. Wardlaw-Hartridge 2:11.67. 

4x400 METER RELAY: 1. Woodbrige 4:13.41; 2. South Brunswick 4:18.21; 3. Piscataway 4:21.50; 4. East Brunswick 4:21.96; 5. Sayreville 4:22.56; 6. Metuchen 4:26.27; 7. North Brunswick 4:27.45; 8. Monroe 4:37.07; 9. Edison 4:42.25; 10. South Plainfield 4:54.85; 11. J.F. Kennedy 5:11.16; 12. Wardlaw-Hartridge 5:28.80. 

4x800 METER RELAY: 1. Woodbridge 10:09.87; 2. J.P. Stevens 10:14.25; 3. Sayreville 10:22.50; 4. East Brunswick 10:29.50; 5. South Brunswick 10:29.52; 6. Metuchen 10:35.44; 7. Edison 10:49.06; 8. Monroe 11:05.47; 9. Old Bridge 11:17.76; 10. South Plainfield 11:18.43; 11. Highland Park 11:34.16; 12. North Brunswick 11:39.73; 13. J.F. Kennedy 12:02.60; 14. Piscataway 12:12.38. 

1600 SPRINT MEDLEY: 1. South Brunswick 4:23.66; 2. East Brunswick 4:26.12; 3. Old Bridge 4:33.81; 4. Edison 4:40.12; 5. Monroe 4:43.34; 6. Perth Amboy 4:43.78; 7. Sayreville 4:54.66; 8. South Plainfield 4:56.52; 9. North Brunswick 4:58; 10. Piscataway 4:58.34; 11. J.P. Stevens 5:04.25; 12. New Brunswick 5:08.25; 13. J.F. Kennedy 5:12.58; 14. Wardlaw-Hartridge 5:57.90. 

DISTANCE MEDLEY RELAY: 1. J.P. Stevens 13:00; 2. South Brunswick 13:07.60; 3. Old Bridge 13:13.30; 4. Metuchen 13:31; 5. Sayreville 13:32; 6. Edison 13:48; 7. Highland Park 13:52; 8. Monroe 14:15; 9. South Plainfield 14:31; 10. Bishop Ahr 14:43; 11. North Brunswick 14:44; 11. East Brunswick 14:44; 13. Woodbridge 15:02; 14: J.F. Kennedy 15:38.

4x51.5 SHUTTLE HURDLES: 1. South Brunswick (Grace Boekhout-Whiting, Janai Orders, Misha Duverger, Chelsea Eltringham) 33.96; 2. Monroe 34.12; 3. North Brunswick 36.18; 4. East Brunswick 36.62; 5. Edison 37.49; 6. Sayreville 38.34; 7. Woodbridge 38.38; 8. South Plainfield 38.54; 9. J.F. Kennedy 39.03; 10. Metuchen 40.53. 

HIGH JUMP: 1. Laila Clark & Eliah Walker-Woodard, North Brunswick; 2. Raquel Ferrara & Chelsea Eltringham, South Brunswick; 3. Alyssa Berteletti & Kayla Heizer, Monroe; 4. Toyosi Adeleke & Ilana Rozenburg, Old Bridge; 5. Jelisa Lovett & Destiny Pagen, J.F. Kennedy; 6. Nyah Anderson & Camryn Taylor, Woodbridge. 

POLE VAULT: 1. Sabrina Ray & Riley Ratcliffe, South Brunswick; Gabrielle McSweeney & Maggie McGlyn, East Brunswick; 3. Kacy Colletto & Emily Henningsen, Edison. 

SHOT PUT: 1. Kayla Greenleaf & Brianna Atkinson, South Plainfield; 2. Adwoa Ansong & Ashley Darkwa-Anto, South Brunswick; 3. Khayla Jennings & Amaka Onukwugha, Monroe; 4. Kaitlyn Ha & Isabella Marte, Old Bridge; 5. Nadja Ifill & Graziella Torres, North Brunswick; 6. Samantha Proia & Shirell Battle, East Brunswick. 

BOYS RESULTS

TEAM SCORES: 1. East Brunswick 52; 2. South Brunswick 46; 3. Piscataway 38; 4. Sayreville 20; 4. Metuchen 20; 6. North Brunswick 19; 6. Old Bridge 19; 8. Edison 18; 9. St. Joseph (Met.) 14; 10. Woodbridge 10; 11. J.P. Stevens 8; 12. Monroe 7; 13. J.F. Kennedy 5; 14. Perth Amboy 2. 

4x200 METER RELAY: 1. Piscataway 1:35.86; 2. J.P. Stevens 1:37.50; 3. South Brunswick 1:38.49; 4. J.F. Kennedy 1:38.60; 5. East Brunswick 1:38.84; 6. Old Bridge 1:38.92; 7. Edison 1:39.01; 8. Perth Amboy 1:39.10; 9. Metuchen 1:39.32; 10. St. Joseph 1:40.02; 11. Woodbridge 1:40.95; 12. Sayreville 1:41.30; 13. Monroe 1:41.44; 14. North Brunswick 1:42.60; 15. South Plainfield 1:44.15; 16. Wardlaw-Hartridge 1:47.49. 

4x400 METER RELAY: 1. Piscataway 3:33.22; 2. East Brunswick 3:36.65; 3. Old Bridge 3:37.28; 4. South Brunswick 3:38.29; 5. Woodbridge 3:41.88; 6. Sayreville 3:43.06; 7. Edison 3:46.31; 8. North Brunswick 3:48.15; 9. New Brunswick 3:52.52; 10. Monroe 3:52.80; 11. Metuchen 3:55.23; 12. J.F. Kennedy 3:57.40; 13. South Plainfield 4:03.80; 14. Wardlaw-Hartridge 4:09.59. 

4x800 METER RELAY: 1. Piscataway 8:19.58; 2. East Brunswick 8:31.82; 3. St. Joseph 8:36.41; 4. South Brunswick 8:41.04; 5. Metuchen 8:44.97; 6. Sayreville 8:45.05; 7. Dunellen 8:53.11; 8. North Brunswick 8:57.58; 9. South Plainfield 9:00.41; 10. Old Bridge 9:01.04; 11. New Brunswick 9:01.80; 12. Edison 9:07.87; 13. Woodbridge 9:09.95; 14. Monroe 9:20.08; 15. Highland Park 9:30.51; 16. J.P. Stevens 9:40.58; 17. J.F. Kennedy 9:54.85. 

1600 SPRINT MEDLEY: 1. Edison 3:48.18; 2. Metuchen 3:48.62; 3. Monroe 3:48.63; 4. South Brunswick 3:49.43; 5. Perth Amboy 3:49.83; 6. North Brunswick 3:52.39; 7. East Brunswick 3:52.40; 8. J.P. Stevens 3:56.87; 9. St. Joseph 3:57.89; 10. Old Bridge 3:58.03; 11. South Plainfield 3:59.38; 12. Sayreville 4:01.06; 13. Piscataway 4:03.39; 14. J.F. Kennedy 4:12.88; 15. Wardlaw-Hartridge 4:14.56; 16. Woodbridge 4:16.64. 

DISTANCE MEDLEY: 1. Metuchen 10:58.15; 2. East Brunswick 11:01.05; 3. South Brunswick 11:04.36; 4. St. Joseph 11:05.10; 5. North Brunswick 11:14.75; 6. Sayreville 11:17.04; 7. Monroe 11:17.72; 8. Edison 11:23.77; 9. Woodbridge 11:24.18; 10. Old Bridge 11:24.28; 11. Highland Park 11:36.67; 12. Piscataway 11:51.58; 13. J.P. Stevens 11:55.52; 14. J.F. Kennedy 11:58.33; 15. Bishop Ahr 11:58.92; 16. South Plainfield 12:41.85. 

4x55 SHUTTLE HURDLES: 1. South Brunswick 33.25; 2. North Brunswick 33.54; 3. Sayreville 33.80; 4. East Brunswick 34.04; 5. Piscataway 34.33; 6. Monroe 35.20; 7. J.F. Kennedy 35.35; 8. Edison 36.89; 9. South Plainfield 38.71. 

HIGH JUMP: 1. Zaire Wright & Jacari Carter, Sayreville; 2. Aravindh Subramaniam & Majid Howard-Baker, South Brunswick; 3. Seth Oppong-Dwamena & Alex Coleman, East Brunswick; 4. Samod Wingo & Nigel Williams, North Brunswick; 5. Travis Mensah & Jared Zapanta, Old Bridge; 6. Adeesh Bhat & Nicholas Garison, J.F. Kennedy. 

POLE VAULT: 1. Jake Stocki & Devin Kusmider, East Brunswick; 2. Jason Mraz & Mason Posner, Edison; 3. Ediberto Castro & Ethan Pangilinan, Piscataway; 4. Matthew Franco & Brandon Hibinski, St. Joseph; 5. Matthew Hutchinson & Jared Budhu, South Brunswick. 

SHOT PUT: 1. Corey Durden & Gregory Kleinow, Old Bridge; 2. Amir Mustafa & Christopher Solivan, Woodbridge; 3. Justin Zhang & David Comer, East Brunswick; 4. Samod Wingo & Stephen Grant, North Brunswick; 5. Joaquin Ferrer & Daniel Sadek, South Brunswick; 6. Robert Voto & Johnathan Reveron, Sayreville.