Viking track & field teams win big at Highland Park

By: Rich Fisher
   The Cranbury School track and field teams had an easy time of it on Monday, as the boys and girls squads both rolled to big victories over Highland Park.
   And while coach Jay Gilligan would rather have stronger competition for his troops, he was happy for the meet if only to sample the HP facilities.
   "I liked going there because the runners got to run on an all-weather track, and the shot put and discus people were able to throw off a concrete circle," Gilligan said. "That makes a big difference when they can train on a nice track and facilities."
   Gilligan pointed out several noteworthy accomplishments at Highland Park. For the girls, there were first-place finishes by Zara Stasi in the 200, Sue Hanson in the mile, Maggie Bleach in the high jump and Olivia Johnston in the 800. For the boys, Matt Chester took first in the mile, Michael Manning won the high jump and Marcus French won the 100 and 200 and participated in the winning relay team.
   "Marcus French is doing an exceptional job," Gilligan said. "He’s one of the smoothest runners I’ve seen here. He can run high school track, and he might even run college track if he sticks with it. He and DaQuan Hester are both exceptional runners."
   Chester continues to pursue the school record in the mile, having come up one second short in the past two meets.
   "I think he just needs some stiffer competition," Gilligan said. "When you get that, it pushes you to go faster."
   The Vikes had a meet with Witherspoon on Wednesday, and face a dual meet with West Windsor and Fisher on Monday before the Middlesex County Championships in South Brunswick on Wednesday.
SOFTBALL
   The Vikings continue to stay on the plus side of .500, as a 1-1 week left their record at 4-3.
   Cranbury defeated South River, 4-3, on Monday as Dylan Zink pitched a two-hitter, allowing one walk and one earned run while striking out 15.
   The Vikings took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Lisa Faraci singled, stole second and scored on Zink’s double. South River scored two in the fourth for a 2-1 lead.
   In the sixth, Amy Jacobi singled, Zink walked, and Jacobi scored when the ball was thrown away as she stole third base. Laura Mawn then singled home Zink to make it 3-2. Mawn stole second and third and, while Ellie van der Veken was drawing a walk, scored on a wild pitch to complete Cranbury’s scoring.
   Amanda Santa Maria and Katie Lindberg also had hits in the victory.
   The Vikings lost a tough one, 2-1, to Pond Road last week. Cranbury scored its lone run in the fourth when Kelly Wright walked, stole second and third and scored on van der Veken’s single. That made the score 1-1, but Pond Road tallied in the sixth to win it.
   "That game could have gone either way," coach Leigh Zink said. "It was a tough loss. They fought really hard. We left some girls on base and we had three girls thrown out at home."
   Lindberg, Faraci, Zink and Mawn all had hits in the game, while Dylan Zink threw another gem. The 8th-grader now has 95 strikeouts in seven games this season, an average of 13.6 per game.
   Overall, the landscape continues to look much brighter for the softball team this year, particularly defensively. Faraci had several strong defensive games at first base while Lindberg played well at second. Amanda Santa Maria tracked down several long fly balls that looked like they could have been hits, and Mawn has been solid at both shortstop and third base. "I’m happy with their progress and they’re happy with their progress," Leigh Zink said. "They’re getting some wins and they’re seeing the fruits of their labor. They looked good out there against South River. They had a few bobbles, but they know what they did wrong.
   "The mistakes are fewer and fewer. It’s certainly not they way things were last year. They really work together as a team. They push each other and rely on each other. They like each other so they play hard and pull for each other."
   The Vikings took on Pond Road on Wednesday and MacFarland on Thursday. They visit Millstone Monday and conclude the season against Allentown next Wednesday.
   "We had a game with New Egypt rained out, and I’d like to get that re-scheduled," Zink said. "That would give us a good idea of where we are as a team."
TENNIS
   It’s official.
   This has become the second best tennis team in Cranbury School history.
   Not since the 1996 team went undefeated has a Viking squad done this well, as Cranbury carried a 7-4 record into Thursday’s season finale with Kreps. What makes this year’s accomplishment impressive is, as opposed to the 1996 team, the talent level is spread thin this spring.
   There were no softball or baseball teams in ’96, meaning the tennis team had a larger talent pool to draw from.
   "I just have one of the strongest teams I’ve ever had," coach Lynn Totten said. "The way the middle school tennis is set up, we play as many matches as we can to give as many players a chance to play. That’s to our advantage this year because I have so much depth."
   And the Vikings are winning against larger schools. Unlike the other team sports at Cranbury, the tennis team is not in the Tri-County Conference. The teams in that conference are closer to Cranbury’s smaller population, so the Vikes must take on schools with larger enrollments.
   "I think that makes it even more impressive with what this team is doing," Totten said. "The talent is spread out and we only have 180 kids to begin with."
   The Vikings won two of their last three matches, starting with a 6-2 win over West Windsor Community last Friday.
   Miheer Mhatre won at second singles, while the doubles teams of Greg Bredariol-Rahool Padhye, Mike Mayes-Arjun Vikuntam, Shabeg Singh-Andrew Paterson, Will Rogers-Vikuntam and Ram Yamarthy-Bredariol all posted victories.
   That was followed by a 5-2 win over Princeton Academy on Monday. Padhye and Mayes won at singles, while Bredariol-Vikuntam, Paterson-Sandeep Tummala and Yamarthy-Singh won at doubles.
   On Tuesday, the Vikings fell to Crossroads of South Brunswick, 4-3. But there was a bright spot there, as Rohit Gawande won at first singles. He had lost to the same opponent earlier in the season and Totten felt it could be a big boost for the 8th-grader’s confidence.
   "Rohit is a very good player, and he’s also very good mentally," Totten said. "He’s very tough and very focused. But when you play first singles, it’s very tough. To face the best players from the other schools, that shows where our size disadvantage comes in.
   "But he has done a great job of being in that position for us, he hasn’t gotten discouraged. He plays every point very well. It’s not that he’s far out of a match. I think the win over Crossroads will help his confidence."
   Other winners in that match were Padhye-Mayes and Vikuntam-Paterson.
   The Vikings concluded their season with a match against Kreps on Thursday.
BASEBALL
   The post-Madden era of the 2003 Viking season continues to be rough, as Cranbury dropped three straight one-run games.
   But, while the injured Mark Madden is missed, the team’s woes can not be traced to his replacement.
   "I put Chris Fiorentini in to take Mark’s place at third base, and he’s doing a phenomenal job," coach Frank Silva said. "He was playing the outfield and we moved him into third and he’s done well. I can play him pretty much anywhere in the field and he’ll do the job.
   "He’s really stepped it up. I’m the most proud of his efforts and Ryan Gordy’s pitching efforts."
   Hitting has been the problem, as the Vikes have not been able to generate much offense.
   Cranbury fell to Applegarth, 4-3, last Wednesday. Clint O’Brien and Gene Buckley each had two hits, while John Ryan, Joe Deramo and David Kirkner all added hits.
   That was followed by a 7-6 loss to South River in which the Vikings trailed most of the game and had a last-inning comeback fall short. Tyler Distasio and Deramo each doubled in that game, while O’Brien and Sam Grubb had the only other Viking hits.
   The heartbreak continued at Pond Road on Tuesday, as Cranbury fell 4-3 in eight innings.
   Ryan Gordy went the distance in that game and added a hit. O’Brien had a triple, two singles and two RBI, while Fiorentini also had a hit.
   "It’s tough with all the one-run losses," Silva said. "We just can’t seem to take it to that next level."
   The Vikings played MacFarland Thursday, will visit Millstone Monday, New Egypt Tuesday and Allentown Wednesday.