By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
SOUTH PLAINFIELD — Under the green tent at the top of the Frank R. Jost Field stands sat some happy medalists from West Windsor-Plainsboro High South.
The Pirates took home medals in three events with Paige Brown in the girls high jump, Eddison Gulama in the boys 800 and in the 4×800 relay with Edlyn Gulama, Sarah Moxham, Deirdre Casey and Christina Rancan, while Casey also set another school record in a fourth event at the Meet of Champions on Wednesday in South Plainfield. Coastal Carolina-bound senior Dan Riff competed for WW-P South for the final time and ran 4:18.52 for 16th in the boys 1600 meters.
”I was happy,” said Brown, a senior with the Pirates. “No complaints here.”
Brown closed her high school career by finishing second in the girls high jump with a season-best 5-feet-6, one-quarter inch off her best ever. She was fourth a year ago in the same meet.
”Last year, I actually cleared everything on my first attempt up to 5-8 and I just missed all my 5-8s and I still placed fourth,” Brown said. “This year, I’m excited I got 5-6 on my second attempt and I got second. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Brown took only one jump in the triple jump before injuring her quad muscle, but still managed to place 12th. That finish was fine, given that she’d already earned a silver medal in her final appearance at the MOC. Her prior experience on the biggest stage helped.
”It made me feel a lot more comfortable,” she said. “It made me feel more at ease, even though opening height was 5-2 and I didn’t find that out until I got here. That messed me up a bit, but I knew I’d cleared 5-4 so I thought, no problem, just don’t think about it and relax your mind and I did it.”
Brown is accustomed to doing four events per meet, and next year she will transition to a multi-event athlete at Penn State University as she picks up the heptathlon.
”I’m really excited,” Brown said. “I could take on four. Seven is only three more.”
St. Joseph’s-bound Eddison Gulama tied for fifth in the boys 800 meters in a personal best 1:52.21.
”I felt great,” said the Pirates senior. “That’s actually the first time I haven’t tightened up coming into that last 50. Most of the race I sat and waited. I knew the opening was going to be there. So when we started and I was sitting in 10th, I wasn’t too worried. I knew I’d move up eventually, with about 150 to go.”
Gulama looked boxed in, but was able to get out and make a move in the second half of the final lap. He finished far ahead of last year’s 17th place finish.
”I did make it last year, but this was a lot better,” Gulama said. “My confidence and experience was built up going into soccer fall and coming back. I don’t know what happened, but I just got a change a mind. I looked at everything as a challenge and was always trying to get better. That was the main difference.”
Gulama also fine-tuned his form, going from a heel-to-toe runner to a toe-striker. It paid off with a new personal best in the biggest meet of the year.
”Time wise it was OK,” Gulama said. “I was trying to break AJ (Chavez’s school) record. Place-wise, I’m really happy about it because that was a packed race, some of the best runners I’ve ever had the pleasure of running with. It was a great experience just to cap my season off with that.”
The Pirates’ quartet of Edlyn Gulama, Moxham, Casey and Rancan ran a school-record 9:20.91 to finish fifth in the girls 4×800 relay. The first three legs are sophomores while Rancan, whose scintillating 2:15 leg overtook three teams, is a freshman.
”The first thought in my mind when I got the baton was how many people I couldn’t allow to pass me and how many people I had to pass,” Rancan said. Rancan was counting her place even during her leg, but pushed forward for the team that surprised itself with its appearance at the MOC.
”I’m so shocked we even got this far,” Rancan said. “I know we’ve all worked hard this season, so it definitely paid off. I’m just really excited to see what we can do in the next two years and how much we can improve.”
Moxham didn’t even take up the 800 until halfway through the season. She was happy to make her first trip to the MOC on the relay.
”It feels great,” she said. “Being around this atmosphere is huge, and it helped us all realize it’s the end of the season, it’s the last 800 you’re ever going to run so make it count. I think it did. We wanted to break 9:20 as a team and we got 9:20 so that’s a big goal for us. We broke the school record. It’s the third time this year.”
With everyone back next year, it’s unlikely the record will stand for long. The MOC time inspires them further.
”We’re all sophomores, so I believe in us,” Edlyn Gulama said. “I think we’ll all be better next year. By then, we’ll all have gotten better PRs, and hopefully we’ll all be under 2:20 by next year.”
The 4×800 capped quite a day for Casey. Earlier in the MOC, she reset her own school record when she ran 4:55.82 for ninth in the girls 1600 meters.
”I felt pretty good. I definitely went out pretty fast, faster than I usually go out. I just wanted to stick to that group. There were three girls in the front and I really wanted to catch them. I never did, at the end I slowed down a little bit, but it’s fine.
”I think it’s really good,” she added. “Now I’m really, really excited for cross country and spring track next year. I was really happy with today.”
She will turn to higher goals for next year. She saw plenty of progress this year to encourage her.
”I didn’t get out of sectionals last year,” Casey said. “Indoor, I made it to MOCs last year, but last outdoor I didn’t make it out of sectionals. Last year, I had an injury so I was out for a month. Outdoor, I really wanted to do well to make up for last year.”
