Falcons on their way to fourth straight division title
Old Bridge dominates Greater Middlesex Conference Relays
FARRAH MAFFAI Monroe’s Kristi Motyka runs the first leg of the 4×1,600 relay at the GMC Relays at South Brunswick High School on May 1.
When this year’s crop of seniors on the Monroe girls’ track team were freshmen, they set a pretty high goal for themselves.
"They said they wanted to win four straight division titles," said head coach Lew Stonaker. "And at this point, it looks like they’re going to do it."
At 5-0, the Falcons have once again established themselves as one of the Greater Middlesex Conference’s top teams, and they’ve done it with a good mix of talent at a number of events.
Leading the list of talented performers is junior Ashley Maguirre, the defending conference champion in the 800 and owner of the fastest time in Central Jersey this year. She has also run the second fastest time in the intermediate hurdles.
"Ashley has been everything we expected her to be and more," Stonaker said.
Another junior, Nova Roman, has excelled in the distance events (1,600 and 3,200), and is one of the top-ranked distance runners in the area, along with junior teammate Meghan Farrell.
Senior Jill Byrne and sophomore Ashley Theinert are the team’s top sprinters and have established themselves as two of the best in the area.
The Monroe hurdle specialists are a trio of seniors, Danielle Brown, Kim Garaventi and Heather Walker.
"They’ve been together for four years and have become one of the top hurdle relay teams in the area," Stonaker said. "They really work well together."
The Falcons’ two throwers are junior Lindsay Jones and sophomore Asya Perry, a duo that Stonaker said continues to improve with each competition.
Monroe finished fourth in last week’s GMC Relays behind Old Bridge, Piscataway and South Brunswick.
However, the sprint medley team of Byrne, Walker, Theinert and Maguirre took first place, beating second-place Metuchen by nearly eight full seconds (4:19.9-4:27.4).
"That was a group that I just really put together just for that meet and was obviously very happy with the results," Stonaker.
With the win, the sprint medley team qualified for a trip to the nationals.
"They’re hoping to go down there, improve on their time and just have a good showing," the coach said.
Monroe’s three distance teams also did well at the GMC Relays, taking third place in the 4×800, 4×1,600 and the distance medley. The Falcons used five runners in those three events including Roman, Farrell, Kristi Motyka, freshman Jessica Magad and senior Laura Grabowski.
With the GMC Championships being held this weekend at South Brunswick High School, Stonaker has some definite goals set for his team.
"We’d like to finish in the top three this Saturday, but there are lots of big Group IV schools up there so it should be a great challenge," he said.
In addition, Maguirre will be looking to defend her 800 title.
From there, the Falcons will set their sights on the state playoffs where they feel they have an excellent chance of winning a state sectional now that Hopewell Valley has moved to Group III.
"That really made the section wide open, and I think we’ll be right there with the other elite teams," Stonaker said. "We’ve seen teams like Freehold Borough and Voorhees, and we’ve run very well against them, so I like our chances."
Old Bridge dominates GMC Relays
Both the Old Bridge boys’ and girls’ track and field teams reaffirmed their status as the area’s top squads last week, dominating the GMC Relays in impressive fashion.
The Lady Knights overcame the loss of standout Kim Henry on Saturday, who missed the second day of the meet while being disciplined because of an in-school matter, to win five events, topping second-place Piscataway 102-62.
Old Bridge got wins from the distance medley team of Linda Sanders, Rachel Cruz, Kaitlyn Regan and Stephanie Zottoli (13:22.7); the 4×1,600 team of Mara McInerney, Danielle Haggaig, Zottoli and Sanders (22:06.7); the intermediate hurdles team of Henry, Kim Johnston, and Brianne Ruffe (3:28); the shot put trio of Brittany McCombs (34-2 and 1/2), Eti Ebewo (33-6) and Kim Stengle (31-10 and 3/4); and the javelin trio of Sarah Convery (106-7), Stengle (104-8) and Katie Shaw (89-11).
Sayreville’s tandem of Jen Caro, Meredith Phair and Nicole Vassallo won the high jump, clearing a combined height of 14-2, while East Brunswick’s shuttle hurdles team of Kathy Cammidge, Jamie Doud, Kelly Kowal and Zeena Hazuri crossed the line first in 1:09.3.
In the boys’ competition, the Knights won the two-day meet with 102 points despite the absence of standout distance man Dan Harding who was battling the flu. Old Bridge won a total of six events, propelling it past second-place Piscataway 102-62.
The Knights got wins from the 4×1,600 team of Rich Lafergola, Tim Paule, Eddie Jimenez and Ryan Bennett (18:23.6); the 4×200 team of Kenny Goode, Anthony DePalma, Dave DePalma and Brandon Nolen (1:29.7); the 4×100 team of Goode, Nolen, Dave DePalma and Anthony DePalma (43.6); the 4×800 team of Lafergola, Bennett, Jimenez and Chris DeLeon (8:30.2); the discus trio of Mike D’Ambrosio, Matt Betti and Francis Barnett (384-11); and the shot put trio of Alexx Bonaparte, Charlie Fradella and Betti (137-8 and 3/4).
Sayreville’s javelin trio of Steve Lopez, Scott Armstrong and Matt Bodak took first place with a combined distance of 469-11, while the East Brunswick shuttle hurdles team of Vito Spadafino, Duane Schultz, Manoj Bupathi and Jon Kaczmarek won with a time of 1:04.6.
This Saturday’s GMC Championships will be held at South Brunswick High School beginning at 9 a.m.