East Brunswick High School’s Sam Mattis (above) became just the third thrower in the history of the NJSIAA Meet of Champions to win three straight discus championships on June 11 at Old Bridge High School. The University of Pennsylvania-bound senior won by more than 30 feet with a best throw measuring 206-0. His teammate, sprinter Donald Urschel (below), finished seventh in the 100-meter dash final clocking 10.86. JEFF GRANIT staff Lauren Cram is about to enter her senior year at East Brunswick High School and wants everybody to understand how important her coaches, Cindi Todoroff (field hockey) and Kevin Brady (softball), have been to her success playing the sports.
The feeling is mutual, Lauren. Listen to Cindi and Kevin talk about their star athlete.
“What? Lauren’s a senior already? She has a year left and I’m already thinking about how I’m going to miss her,” says Todoroff. “Very simply, Lauren has been the cornerstone to our program’s success since she started playing.”
Hear Brady: “Lauren is the type of athlete I love to coach. She’s fiery and a fierce competitor who always wants to win. Lauren brings energy to everything she does.”
Actually, East Brunswick High School has been the beneficiary of an athlete who spent her prior years growing up and playing sports inWall Township. That’s where she played a variety of sports—soccer, basketball, softball and even participated in gymnastics. She was introduced to field hockey as a sixth-grader when her speed and quickness paved the way for a starting spot on the eighth-grade team.
While she continued to play softball, Lauren Cram’s passion turned to field hockey, so when her family moved to East Brunswick when she finished eighth grade, she easily transitioned into Todoroff’s field hockey program. Cram’s arrival and the fact the Bears have enjoyed a resurgence, which includes back-to-back Greater Middlesex Conference and Central Jersey Group IV Tournament titles, isn’t a coincidence. She has led the team in scoring both seasons and continues to be, as Todoroff says, “our heart and soul’.”
Cram has also been an integral piece on Brady’s teams, which have captured a pair of sectional titles and have finished with multiple 20-win records.
“As our leadoff hitter,” he says, “Lauren has been responsible for setting the tone and she plays the game at a blistering pace. She immediately puts pressure on the opponent with her lightning-quick feet.
“We knew she was a versatile athlete so the coaches decided to teach Lauren to bat left-handed to maximize her speed and shorten the distance to first base,” Brady says. “Lauren took to it immediately. It takes a special athlete to do that.”
Cram’s statistics were impressive this past spring. She contributed 25 hits, scored 19 runs and, most impressive, stole 19 bases.
“Both sports are very different,” contends Cram. “Field hockey is a much faster-paced game and you are involved 100 percent, whether or not you have the ball. You need to have a lot of endurance. I played outfield for the softball team and I didn’t get a lot of balls hit to me (which was a good thing for the team, she jokes). It’s only as a batter that the spotlight is on you.”
Lauren does say there are a few similarities. Both are played with a ball and each requires good hand-eye coordination. Of course, her speed is an asset, no matter which sport.
To prepare herself for the fall field hockey season, and when she moves on to college, Cramhas been busy this summer. She recently attended College Quest, a showcase at Drexel University, plans to attend an elite camp at Drew University, and participate in summer tournaments.
“My goal right now is to play for a Division III college in Pennsylvania or Maryland,” Lauren says.
The only child of Lisa Manfreda and Brian Cram, Lauren has played sports and maintained her grades as evidenced by membership in the high school National Honor Society and Mathematics Honor Society.
“I’ve played sports year-round since I was young,” Cram says, “so I have developed a pretty structured schedule which allows me to balance that and school. My life has been consumed mostly by school, followed by practice and games, and then I go home and eat dinner and finish my schoolwork.”
What Cram hopes to achieve her final season on the field hockey pitch and softball diamond is to contribute to each program’s winning tradition.
“I’ve been fortunate to have been part of two excellent varsity teams the last two years,” she says. “We’ve won championships and it’s been extremely gratifying to play for East Brunswick.”
East Brunswick feels the same way about you, Lauren.