Girls track still has ample talent

By Sean Richards, Sports Writer
   When a team loses some of the top athletes in the history of the entire school, you would think it might be headed for a bit of a rebuilding stage.
   Well, shed no tears for the South Brunswick High School winter girls track team.
   South Brunswick might not be quite up to the standards of last year’s awesome powerhouse, but there’s still enough talent for the Vikings to possibly repeat as the Greater Middlesex Conference champion and have another outstanding season.
   ”Let’s just say I’m cautiously optimistic,” said coach Stefan Moorhead, whose team will open Saturday at the Bishop Laughlin Games at the New York City Armory.
   ”We lost some great ones from last year, that’s for sure. But the rest of the league has a long way to go to catch up to us. We had 62 girls come out for the team, which is very good. We’ve got some nice young talent.”
   Among the standouts who graduated were Stephanie McIntyre, Indira Morton and Yesenia Boynton. You could write a book about all they accomplished over the past few years, but the Vikings have returned one star who can pile up the points with the best of them.
   Namely, standout sophomore Sophia Ginez, a defending GMC champ who already owns the school indoor record in the 1,600. Ginez, who also anchored the highly successful cross country team, owns the South Brunswick outdoor records in the 800, 1,600, and 3,200 as well.
   ”One of our biggest strengths will be in the distance events,” said Moorhead. “The entire cross country team came out for winter track and we have real nice depth in that area.”
   Other distance runners include Jess Engel, Megan Behrend and Sara MacMurray. All three of them are seniors and give the team excellent depth in that area.
   Looking at some of the other events, senior Simone Hill projects as one of the top sprinters. The team also has pair of excellent senior hurdlers in Falen Watson and Stephanie Rodriquez, who will compete in the 800 as well.
   Junior Stephanie Greco enters the season as the top shot putter for a South Brunswick team that is also the defending GMC Red Division and New York City Holiday Classic champion.
   ”We lost some very talented kids, but I think we can pick up the slack,” said Moorhead. “We have very talented freshmen and sophomore classes. It will be fun to watch these kids develop. I really think we’re going to be in pretty good shape.”
   The beat just goes on and on for a program that has really come into its own.