By Michael Holcombe, Sports Writer
With a pair of easy wins over Perth Amboy and North Brunswick on Tuesday, the South Brunswick High girls cross country team wrapped up a 7-0 dual meet season. But in spite of the wins, all of the Vikings’ thoughts were turned to defending their title at the Greater Middlesex Conference Championship Meet this Saturday at Thompson Park.
The boys, meanwhile, were idle last week but are gearing up for this weekend just as intently, looking to continue the success of their five meet win streak at the GMC meet.
While the boys team will not be defending a championship, or vying for one, thanks to the presence of the state’s eighth ranked team, Old Bridge, the Vikings are looking to finish in the number two spot at the county meet.
To do that South Brunswick will have to fight off a horde of other competitive squads including Metuchen, St. Joe’s, Piscataway and East Brunswick, a team which defeated the Vikings in the opening meet of the season.
”I think the guys are in a place where they know that if they do everything they are capable of doing they have a good shot at finishing second,” said coach Wil Rivera. “There are going to be a lot of good teams competing for second because Old Bridge is the cream of the crop. The guys know that we come at them with realistic goals and we think that finishing second to the eighth ranked team would be a great accomplishment.”
In addition to finishing second and capping a successful comeback from a disastrous 0-2 start, Rivera and his charges are also looking to gain a measure of revenge against one of the two teams that was able to beat them this season.
”Our main focus is to get a little redemption from a team that beat us earlier,” Rivera said of East Brunswick. “For sure we are definitely a lot more experienced and the guys are a lot more focused and understand what they need to do. Our hope is that the fact that we started off 0-2 and then won five in a row and had everything start to click bodes well for this Saturday.
”I’ve told them basically to do the best they can, rely on their teammates and push each other. But don’t get complacent. Every spot you see, every guy you can catch, do it. Go out and get them. I think physically they are there. All the hard work has been done. They just have to go out and execute.
”We’re healthy and here we are just a couple of days away. All they have to do is leave it out on the course.”
The girls, meanwhile, will be under pressure of a different kind. The Viking girls will be fighting off challengers to the title they won a year ago as they look to pile the championship of the county meet on top of winning the Red Division of the GMC during the regular season.
In addition, South Brunswick also sports the favorite to win the GMC meet this Saturday, Sofia Ginez, who was the runner-up a year ago as a freshman.
”Sofia has the fastest time in the area on that course,” Rivera says of his star runner. “She was second last year and is going in as the favorite. She dictates the kind of race we have. If she goes out and has a good race it will help our cause.
”She works hard and I think she’s got a lot more experience this season. She’s a veteran now and knows more about it. She knows how to handle herself and deal with the adversity in the middle of a race. She’s a winner.”
While the girls as a whole are also favored, they will be receiving some stiff challenges. While J.P. Stevens, the team that deprived South Brunswick of the Red Division title a year ago, was easily handled during the dual meet season, last year’s tournament sleeper, Bishop Ahr, returns its full lineup and poses a serious threat.
”The county is going to be challenging,” says Rivera. “There are going to be some good teams there. Bishop Ahr was second last year and returned everyone. We only beat them by three last year and I’m sure they’re going to be fired up and geared up and trying to win this meet. But our girls are ready.
”They (Ahr) are going to be the main challenge and our focus in terms of competing. The girls are aware of them. Last year we went in figuring it would be a two-horse race with J.P. Stevens and Ahr came out of nowhere. This year they will not be able to surprise us. They’re not coming out of left field and shocking us. We know what they are capable of and they won’t be able to sneak up on us the way they did last year.
” I believe that we are ready to go. The girls are excited. From a physical standpoint they are rested and are the best they are going to be. From a mental standpoint they just have to keep everything positive and be into what they need to do. We talk to them and keep them motivated on a team basis. We talk about race strategies. Then, all that’s left is to execute.
”It sounds easy but that’s usually the hard part. But all these girls were on the varsity team last year that won the GMC Meet. It’s not like they are inexperienced.”
