By: Redd E. Patrick
The South Brunswick High School girls track is in the middle of one busy week.
So far, so good.
The Vikings began their hectic schedule with an 86-54 victory over Sayreville in a dual meet on Tuesday. Sayreville is an up-and-coming program, which came in with a 3-0 record and a win over perennial Greater Middlesex Conference power Piscataway.
"I told the kids not to take Sayreville lightly," said veteran coach Brian Jost. "They have the talent to sneak up on you and beat you. So to the kids credit, they performed."
Sprinting star Yesenia Boynton and the versatile Stephanie McIntyre led the charge. Boynton won the 100 (12.6) and the 200 (26.1), while anchoring the winning relay team to a time if 4:16.8. She was joined on the relay by Rebecca Russo, Falen Watson and Danielle Hudak.
McIntyre captured the 400 (59.3), the long jump (16-9¾) and the triple jump (37-0). Hudak finished second in the triple jump with an impressive leap of 33-9.
Jazmine Burnet came up big for the Vikings, winning the shot (31-7) and the discus (96-2), while Indira Morton took the javelin (111-10) to make it a clean sweep in the throws. Stephanie Rodriguez chipped into the team effort by winning the 800 (2:34.5), while Krista Belick won the pole vault (8-0). South Brunswick improved to 3-1.
Next up for the Vikings are the Penn Relays where they will compete on Thursday in the 4×100 and 4×400 events. The Vikings will be one of over 600 schools from around the country and beyond competing in each event.
In the 4×100, which takes place in the morning, Morton, Simone Hill, Boynton, Eve Mizerak and Stephanie McIntyre are five athletes who are battling for the four spots. Morton and Hill are battling injuries, but if everything falls into place, Jost would like to shoot for the school record of 49.62, which was set in 2003.
"We’re a little banged up in that event," said Jost. "But our expectations are always high. The school record is a definite possibility. The handoffs have to be clean, we have to be relaxed. A lot of things have to be in place, but that’s how records are broken."
In the 4×400, which is later in the afternoon, the Vikings will send out a team featuring McIntyre, Mizerak, Russo and Boynton. The goal is to break the school record of 3:58.14, which was set last year. In a dual meet this season, South Brunswick ran a season-low 4:03.6.
"Stephanie has run 59.4 this season, Eve 60.0, Rebecca 62 and Yesenia 57,"’ said Jost. "If you add that up, it comes out to under 4:00. But a lot of things have to happen. It’s a crowded field, it’s a scratch start, so you need some breaks. The Penn Relays is just a special atmosphere, so we just want the kids to take it all in and give it their best. That’s the most important thing."
After the Penn Relays, South Brunswick will host the GMC Relays on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Vikings should be right in the hunt for the team standings, along with Old Bridge, Piscataway and J.P. Stevens.
"Last year, on paper, we were one of the top teams, but we took third," said Jost. "We were a little disappointed because we didn’t feel we competed up to our capabilities. So my hope for the relays this year is to compete at the highest level possible. If we do that, I’ll be happy. If that means first place or fourth, that’s not important. We just want to do our best."
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The boys team improved to 4-1 with a 103.5-36.5 victory over Sayreville on Tuesday. The Vikings turned in a true team effort as seven athletes won at least one event.
Justin Delpiano continued his outstanding season by winning three events … the 110 hurdles in 15.2, the pole vault at 11-6 and the javelin at 175-10.
""The kid’s a beast," said coach Wilfredo Rivera. "Everything he tries, he excels at."
Jeremy Guzman won the 100 in a flying 10.6 and the 400 in 51.9, while individual winners included Emery Greenfield in the 800 (2:02.6), Steve Sample in the 3200 (10:14), Mandeep Singh in the 400 hurdles (59.5), John Viotto in the shot (51-7) and Sean Lease in the discus (130-0).
The Vikings will also be competing at Penn. Guzman will anchor the 4×100 team on Friday and the 4×400 team on Saturday.
The Vikings are the defending GMC Relay champions and will be a contender once again, but state power Old Bridge is considered the favorite.
"We’ll have to compete at a real high level," said Rivera. ""But our kids will be ready."
