South wins third sectional title this year
By Rich Fisher, Sports Editor
HILLSBOROUGH – At Saturday’s NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV meet, Sophia Ginez languished in fifth place in the 3200, which was still enough to advance her to another round.
She could have settled for that and moved on, but she didn’t.
Lauryn Strebeck suffered a sprained ankle and barely practiced during the week leading up to the event.
She could have sat out Saturday, but she didn’t.
Mariah Browne entered her final attempt of the triple jump in eighth place. She had already advanced in two other events so she could have taken what she already earned and gone home happy.
But she didn’t.
Those are just some of the examples of the grit and desire the South Brunswick High School girls track and field team had at Hillsborough High School, as they capped an unprecedented hat trick by winning the sectionals with 72 points. That means that during the 2008-09 school year, the Viking girls are CJ IV champions in cross country, winter track and now spring track.
”They came in ready,” said coach Stefan Moorhead, whose team won its second sectional in three years, and third overall. “They’ve been talking about this for a long time. They had a chance to make history, to become the first Group IV team to win all three sectional titles. They welcomed the chance to do that to prove they’re not just the best in Middlesex County but in this case, among the best in the state.”
The Vikings outdistanced Jackson by 16 and pre-meet threat Montgomery by 18 points, but Ginez had no idea what the team score was as she ran the 3200. It was the day’s last individual event and she saw a Montgomery runner between herself and the finish line before turning on the jets.
”I was pretty tired because I had run the 800 earlier” said Ginez, who finished third in that event. “I just wanted to hang back a little and just kind of sat during the first mile. I figured some of them would come back (to the pack).
”But after about five laps they weren’t coming aback and I said ‘I gotta go now.’ There were two Montgomery girls in front of me so I knew I had to get past them. I started picking off as many girls as I could during the last 400. I tried to close in (on first place) but she was up by too much. If I started earlier I might have done it.”
Nonetheless, she went from fifth to second and pretty much cemented the Vikings team victory. She admitted getting a spark from seeing Montgomery ahead of her.
”In the mile and 800 I had Cayla (Del Piano, who placed in both) with me, but in the 3200 it was just up to me to get past those girls and give us more points and keep Montgomery down. We’re trying for a sectional championship, we’re trying for the triple crown.”
And races like that provided just such an honor.
”Sophia’s race in the 32 symbolized the heart of our team today,” Moorhead said. “She could have just packed it in when she was fifth or sixth.
”They all had the kind of performances where they just left it all out there. They really got up for the meet and I’m just really proud of them.”
Despite her injury, Strebeck competed and finished sixth in the triple after finishing seventh and just missing advancing to the Group IV meet last year.
”It was a bad sprain, she only practiced once all week,” Moorhead said. “To go out and do that was impressive, and it was great because she missed advancing by so close last year.”
Then there was Browne, who went from eighth to fifth in her final attempt at the triple jump, which meant the sophomore medaled and will advance in the long jump, 100 and triple jump.
The Vikings will send a total of nine athletes to Saturday’s Group III meet in Egg Harbor Township, four more than last season.
Two will go as sectional champs, as Ginez won the 1600 on Friday night in a personal record 4:58.53 and junior Jamie Thompson copped the 400 intermediate hurdles in 1:02.69 on the same night.
It’s the second time Ginez broke five minutes, the first coming at last year’s Meet of Champions.
”I’m definitely happy with that,” said Ginez after lengthy procedure of packing up her belongings. “I really wanted to break five again.”
Ginez decided to let others set the pace and just hung in second for the first three laps.
”I just stayed on her shoulder,” she said. “At the start of the bell lap, a couple of girls made a move up on us. I hit the line and I just took off. It was a little nerve wracking at the end because you don’t know who’s around you.”
No one was really pushing Ginez, as Montgomery’s Jillian Prentice was second in 5:03.10.
While Ginez has piled up her share of sectional titles, Thompson earned her first.
”I was at least trying to get through and get a PR,” she said. “I got both today so it was great. I was really happy about it. I had a great time.”
Thompson admitted to some nerves early, but used that adrenaline to her advantage as she came from behind to win it.
”I was just thinking ‘Come on, let’s go, let’s get this over with,” she said with a laugh. “I was really nervous.
”I was second most of the way, I finally went ahead on the eighth hurdle (out of 10) and took a slight lead. I usually have a little kick at the end.”
Thompson finished just .21 seconds in front of second-place Ebony Young.
”She did a great job,” Moorhead said. “Everyone really did a great job. Before the meet I sit down and try and figure out a low ball total, and then how much we’d score if we did our best. I think when I figured out our best-case scenario, I came out with 72, which is what we got.”
And the third title of this school year is indeed, the most satisfying. Moorhead hopes his team is savoring every minute of it.
”There’s 16 events in this meet,” the coach said. “It’s not that the others aren’t important, but to win this you can’t just have good sprinters or good distance runners or good throwers. You have to be good all the way through.
”These things run in cycles. You’re not always going to have this kind of team. This is definitely something we don’t take for granted.”
The Vikings all-out effort from every athlete proved just that.