By: Carolyn M. Hartko
At this time of year, the object of the game for New Jersey track and field devotees is to keep moving on. Several South Brunswick High School athletes did just that this past weekend by scoring a top-six finish in their respective events at the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV Sectional Championships held at Hillsborough High School.
The reward for those performances is a berth in the NJSIAA All-Group Championships, scheduled for Egg Harbor High School this coming Friday and Saturday. Athletes must again score a top-six finish in that meet in order to advance to the Meet of Champions.
Lady Viking senior Natalya Johnson qualified in four events, although she will probably only compete in three this weekend. Johnson took a silver medal in the long jump (17-11), came in fourth in the 400 meter intermediate hurdles (1:05.9), and fifth in the 200 (25.9). She also ran the opening leg of South’s fourth place 4×400 relay squad (4:05.1).
According to Lady Viking head coach Brian Jost, Johnson will definitely run the 400 hurdles, and do the long jump. They will wait to make a decision on the 200, based on how close that event is to the 4×400. Jost is very optimistic about Johnson’s chances to advance in the long jump.
"She fouled on one jump that was over 18 feet," Jost said. "So we know that she has it in her, and she knows that she has it in her. It was just like a half-inch foul. It was great to see that she’s very consistent now."
Lauren Broadnax, who ran anchor for the 4×400, has moved on in two individual events. She took second in the 200 (25.1), and third in the open 400 (58.0). Broadnax has a good shot at moving on in both sprints.
"In the trials of the 200, Lauren ran a 24.9, which is a new school record," Jost said. "That broke Sandy Humphries old record of 25 flat."
Senior Kim Yee had a good meet, placing second in the discus (117-8) on Friday night, then coming back to earn a fifth in the shot put (34-5) on Saturday. These two events will again be held on different days during the Group IV championship, so Yee will compete in both.
The other individuals moving on are both juniors. Morghan Transue threw 101-11 for third place in the discus, and Shafeeha Potts grabbed sixth in the 400 hurdles (1:07.3). Potts and freshman Eve Mizerak rounded out the 4×400 team.
"We thought we could have run a little faster in the 4×400, but it was the end of two long days of competition and the weather had been cruddy for both days," Jost said. "Sometimes, mentally you get down a little. So, we’re hoping for a lot better this weekend. I think the girls are, too. And we’ll see how we stack up against the rest of the state."
The SBHS boys’ team had four individuals advance to the next level. Senior James Promise came in fourth in both the 100 dash (11.0) and in the long jump (20-10.5), and he ran anchor on the Vikings’ fifth place 4×400 relay squad. According to boys’ head coach Wagner Marseilles, Promise should advance in the long jump, and he could do it in the 100 as well. In the later event, Promise ran 11 seconds flat in the trials, semis and finals.
"James was consistent, which goes to show that training has been going well," Marseilles said. "When you get an athlete at the end of the season who’s peaking at the right time, as a coach you can go back and say, I think we’ve done everything right. Hopefully, with that consistency, we’re going to take it to the Groups, and see if we can drop (his time) a little further there."
In South’s last dual meet of the season, at Woodbridge, Promise had one long jump that went 22 feet, but he fouled on the attempt. Because it looked like a very long one, the coach measured it anyway.
"It was only foul by a little bit, where his toe was over the board," Marseilles said. "So, I think that if he really pops a good one, he definitely will make it back to the Meet of Champions in the long jump.
James Ivey, who has been competing in spite of a sore hip, managed to place fifth in the long jump (20-9). Ivey has been limiting his practice time to avoid injuring the hip further.
"We were fortunate that he got through this round," Marseilles said. "That hip started to bother him after his first jump."
At all the venues around the state, it seemed that the high jumpers were the group most affected by the rotten weather. Tyrel Thompson, whose personal best is 6-2, only cleared 5-10 this past weekend, but it was good enough for sixth place.
Thompson is also fighting an injury. In his case, it’s a knee injury left over from football season. He felt pretty good earlier in the spring, but the knee became more of a problem as the season wore on. Thompson is a key member of the 4×400 squad, along with Steve Guadeloupe, Emanuel King, and Promise. Constant use of ice packs on Saturday kept Thompson limber enough to run the final event of the meet.
"We were really crossing our fingers," Marseilles said. "He’s our second fastest guy. If we were to throw in one of our younger guys, I don’t think we would have run that time, and even gotten sixth. We were fortunate enough that he hung in there, and James brought it back home for us, and took that fifth place."
The weather was also hard on the throwers. One of South’s strongest discus men fouled all three attempts. Senior Luke Steepy was the only Viking thrower to advance. He picked up a bronze medal in the discus (136-5).
The Group Championships will begin at 3 p.m. Friday and go for about five hours. Saturday’s competition begins at 10 a.m.
FOOTPRINTS: Mizerak ran just over 1:02 in the open 400, shaving a second off her best time . . . several of the Viking girls are close to qualifying for nationals, and they are hoping to hit the mark this coming weekend. Jost is looking for Johnson (long jump) and Broadnax (200, 400) to qualify, along with several relays (4×400, 4×200, 4×100, short sprint medley).

