By: Carolyn M. Hartko
South Brunswick High School seniors Prescott Hill and Yemi Ayeni solidified their tri-state reputation in the shot put by winning that event at the annual Holiday Classic Relay Meet held at the 168th Street Armory in New York City last week.
The Viking duo threw a combined distance of 99 feet seven inches. Just ten days earlier, at the Bishop Loughlin Games held at the same venue, Hill aced the field with a personal best throw of 51-1 ¼, while Ayeni came in third.
The Holiday Classic also featured flights for underclassmen in each event. In the sophomore boys’ competition, Vikings Mandeep Singh, Max Checo, Ameet Pande and Charles Willis combined to earn a set of sixth place medals in the 4×400. In the freshman girls’ division, the Lady Vikings scored a fourth in the same event. Stephanie Rodriguez led off, followed by Falen Watson and Alyssa Reinfeldt. Rebecca Russo ran anchor.
"The girls’ (varsity) distance medley team ran real well, although they didn’t place," Viking head coach Brian Jost added. "They had a 13:24, which is good for this time of year."
Freshman Jess Engel ran the opening 1200 leg of that race, handing off to junior Olivia Falcon for the 400 portion. Rodriguez picked up the 800 leg, while senior Amy Rhein ran the 1600 anchor leg.
The younger Vikings got some practice at an outdoor dual meet held at East Brunswick just before the winter break. The format may have been a little unusual, but the Greater Middlesex Conference could certainly take a few tips on efficiency from the South and East Brunswick track coaches.
"Between both schools, we probably had about 250 kids competing in about an hour," Jost said. "So all we did was time a lane. We weren’t concerned with places or anything like that. We had some good performances. It was basically a chance for the younger kids to compete. In the space of about an hour and five minutes, we ran through six running events on the track, and the shot put, all outside. We moved quickly, but efficiently, and everyone got a chance to compete."
The Vikings will be back indoors for the Hispanic Games at the Armory this coming weekend. The varsity competes on Saturday, and the freshman/sophomore events are scheduled for Sunday.
