Vidhur Polam continued to add some hardware to his terrific 2019 fall season for the South Brunswick High School boys’ cross-country team in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 4 meet at Thompson Park in Jamesburg.
On Nov. 9, Polam took home gold by placing first in the meet with a time of 15:58, beating out Freehold Township’s Zachary Zawatski by a full 10 seconds.
It’s the first time in the South Brunswick team’s history that a runner has won an individual state sectional cross-country championship.
Polam and numerous Middlesex Couty boy and girls runners will be in action on Nov. 16 when the state group championships are run at Holmdel Park.
The state Meet of Champions race is slated for Nov. 23, also to be run at Holmdel Park.
Polam ran a school record 15:49 at the Greater Middlesex Conference meet to take home first place in the race.
The Old Bridge boys’ cross-country team also had a banner day at the Central Jersey, Group 4 meet.
Old Bridge had four runners qualify for the Group 4 Championships by placing in the Top-15 to help the Knights finish second in the meet as a team.
Senior Michael Keefe topped all Old Bridge runners by placing seventh in the race. Fellow classmate Charles Harvey finished 10th.
Junior Nicholas Medeiros and sophomore Kieran Donnelly finished 12th and 14th respectively to help the Knights take home silver.
For the Central Jersey, Group 2 meet, the Metuchen boys cross country team had one runner advance to the state tournament in Aakash Sood.
The senior placed 10th in the meet with a time of 17.01.
South Brunswick girls win second straight sectional title
After winning its fifth straight Greater Middlesex Conference championship a few weeks ago, the South Brunswick girls added another sectional championship to the program’s ledger at Thompson Park on Nov. 9.
Led by seniors Yashika Chidirala and Cassandra Vega, South Brunswick raced to a team victory in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 4 meet, upsetting favorite Hunterdon Central to win its second straight sectional championship.
Each senior posted a personal record mark to finish in the Top-10 for the Vikings and qualify for the state championship race. Chidirala placed fourth with a time of 19:17, while Vega came in seventh place with a mark of 19:34.
The 16th and 17th place finishes by Srinidhi Gopalan and Sophia Milla were crucial in the Vikings winning the sectional title.
Sophomore Victoria Lobrow turned in a good performance for the Old Bridge girls squad at sectionals, placing sixth in the race with a time of 19:31.
Teammate Lauren Man also qualified for the state tournament, finishing 13th in the race for Old Bridge.
In the Central Jersey, Group 2 race, the Metuchen girls’ team placed second overall, losing to Holmdel, which had four runners place in the Top-15.
Metuchen had two runners finish in the Top-10. Sophomore Caroline Schleif earned herself a seventh place finish with a time of 19:23. Fellow classmate Mary Malague placed ninth by coming in at the 19:33 mark.
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