Crossroads teams win GMCs, go combined 20-0

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   If you think what the South Brunswick High School track and field program did was impressive this spring, you should have caught the Vikings-in-waiting.
   The Crossroads Middle School boys and girls teams both finished 10-0 and both won Greater Middlesex Conference championships this year.
   For coach Diane Yeager’s girls team, Cayla DelPiano had an outstanding GMC meet, taking first place in the 800 and 1600 meters, and a fourth in the 400. Tamara Todd was also a double winner in the shot put and discus.
   Other gold medal winners were Jennifer O’Laughlin in the high jump and Mariah Browne in the long jump. The day’s highlight was the 4×100 relay team, which took first in a meet record time of 52.2. The team consisted of Browne, Janae Baker, Rachel Johnson and Shadae Riggins.
   DelPiano, Todd, Riggins, Browne and O’Laughlin were the team’s leading scorers during the season.
   As for the rest of the GMC highlights, they were:
   Hurdles: O’Laughlin 4th; Laura Calderone 5th; 100 meters: Browne 3rd, Johnson 4th; Baker 6th; 1600: Nicole Issac 4th; 200: Riggins 2nd, Chandler Antezak 5th, Yasmine Burd 6th.
   Shot Put: Amber Brown 2nd; Tori Brokaw 6th; discus: Adwoa Darkwa-Anto 2nd; high jump: Brooke Sassman 3rd, Jackie King 4th.
   Other team members were Angela Attanasio, Kaamya Bhandari, Jerika Boulware, Alexa Caputo, Bianca Celi, Lauren Del Piano, Alyssa Dockweiler, Kathleen Farago, Cassidy Gable, Danielle Gianetto, Hannah Grossman, Chloe Hall, Monet Hall, Samantha Haveson, Melanie Huen, Sophie Hyde, Stephainie Issacs, Ramya Kappagantula, Sravya Khasinavees, Madison Klarer, Holly Korzenowski, Julie Korzenowski, Amanda Kotey, Cristina Losito, Nikki Mateescu, Heather Mihalik, Nia Nanton, Ashley Nelson, Sidney Nelson, Kayla Noll, Patricia Omollo, Hannah Pawlak, Kylie Plummer, Cristina Raghavan, Danielle Resnick, Pardees Saba, Marian Sarri, Soraya Selamie, Neha Sharma, Sabrina Singh, Kelsey Sjolund, Joy Spriggs, Jessica Stanislawczyk, Amber Taylor, Priya Thangamathesvan, Danielle Viotto and Amanda Wang.
   The Viking boys were equally impressive in a record-breaking season under coach Michael Januszka. The squad, led by an outstanding group of 8th-graders who could contribute to the high school team next year, set seven school records and four GMC marks.
   The throwing team was lead by Fabian Jackson, who set a school record in the 4K shot put at 42-feet, 10-inches, and Dominick Padavano, who set school and county records in the 8-pound shot (48-1) and discus (153-5 and 144-10, respectively). In the high jump, Derek Forthun won the GMC meet in a school record 5-9.
   In the running events, the 4x100m relay team of Anthony Parel, Fritz Kennely, Alex Haveson and Rolland Burnett set both the county and school record by running 47.9 seconds. Howie Gorden helped out by scoring in the high jump and setting a school record in the 400 (58.3)
   While the team will miss the aforementioned 8th-graders, it will welcome back talented distance runner Saifadeen Nausrideen, who set both a school and county record in the 800 (2:13).
   Also returning next year are distance runners Brendan Dempsey and Justin Goldstein, who will have to fill the holes left by Michael Weber and Stephen Ragany. Other returning team members include Austin Hemenway in high jump and Jake Pietrefesa in the 400.