By John Beisser, Sports Writer
Under the direction of third-year head coach Wilfredo Rivera, the South Brunswick High School girls and boys cross country teams return plenty of talent.
The boys team went 5-2 a year ago and are looking to improve upon their fourth place showing in the GMC Championships. On the state level, the Vikings are hoping to advance out of the highly competitive Central Jersey Group IV field.
Based on last year’s times, the top returning runner is senior Matthew Boley, along with classmates Jonathan Bellizio, Daniel Boyle, Sean Monaghan and Jimmy Brennan. Other returning runners who are expected to impact the team include seniors Andrew Basile, Dan Medell, and Brian Park. Junior Connor Scharff is also back and Rivera is excited about the talents of promising freshman Tyler Blackburn.
”Our lineup is all seniors, for the most part, and I think having so many veterans will be a positive for us,” said Rivera.
The girls team, meanwhile, is coming off its second consecutive GMC Championship. The Lady Vikings, a perfect 7-0 in 2007, will be looking to not only defend their GMC crown but are also the defending Red Division. Like the boys, the girls team will be looking to once again advance out of the talent-rich Central Jersey Group IV race.
All eyes will be on defending GMC individual champion Sophia Ginez, a junior who is one of the area’s, if not the state’s, top runners. Her classmates, twins Jennifer and Amanda Smilgis and Lyndsey Sample, return along with senior Tersa Ha. Rivera said to keep an eye out for a trio of newcomers in senior Ashley Edwards and freshmen Cayla Del Piano Kayla Noll.
Ginez is well on pace to garnering the attention of college suitors seeking an excellent combination of student and athlete. She has her sites set on possibly pursuing an economics degree and mentioned the University of Pennsylvania’s renowned Wharton Business School as a possible college destination.
As a sophomore, she recorded a personal-best time of 18:52 at Thompson Park in Jamesburg and also turned in an impressive fourth place finish at the Shore Coaches Invitational in Holmdel.
It was only a couple short years ago when Ginez could be seen roaming pristine area soccer fields vs. hilly cross country courses. But she gave up soccer to pursue running and, literally and figuratively, has not looked back.
”I miss soccer but I am 100 percent positive I made the right decision,” said the affable Ginez. “Playing a more individual sport vs. a team sport, there’s definitely a different atmosphere. In soccer, you could play really well but your team might lose. In cross country, there are two competitions in one, the individual race as well as the team competition.
”Even if your team is struggling, you still have the chance to compete up to your standards,” she added.
Ginez is confident there won’t be a whole lot of struggling going on this fall with the respect to the team.
”I’m really looking forward to the season,”’ she says. “I put a lot of quality training in this summer. The returning girls all look strong and a couple of the freshmen look like they’re going to join right in.”
The girls and boys will kick off the 2008 season Tuesday at East Brunswick.
”We have a lot of returning talent and some promising newcomers on the girls side, so we are excited about the season and trying to defend our championships,” said Rivera.

