Old Bridge track teams favored to win GMC again
By george albano
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY Old Bridge junior Ron Green will look to help the Knights maintain their dominance of the local track and field scene this weekend at the GMC Track and Field Championships at South Plainfield High School.

There is little question as to where the best track and field teams — boys and girls — in the Greater Middlesex Conference reside.

The Old Bridge Knights certainly left little doubt about that last week while sweeping first place in both the boys’ and girls’ GMC Relays at South Brunswick High School.

If there is still any element of doubt as to who is the best, the two local teams can remove it this week at the 2003 GMC Track and Field Championships.

The Knights and Lady Knights will both be favored to repeat as they were at the relays. The Old Bridge girls finished first among the 25 teams to capture their fifth straight title, but they had to work hard for this one, edging runner-up and host South Brunswick by just seven points, 83-76.

In fact, Old Bridge was in second place going into the final event, the 4x400-meter relay. But the team of Kim Henry, Christine Marquez, Rachel Cruz and Ashley Gonzalez came in second while South Brunswick finished sixth. The difference added up to a seven-point victory by the Knights.

"We had a very close dual meet with South Brunswick and only beat them 68-62," said Marc Willems, who is in his second year as OBHS head coach after three seasons as an assistant. "So we anticipated the GMC Relays being a very, very close meet, too."

The 4x400 relay team not only came through but set a new school record with a time of 3:58.1, breaking a record mark they had set two weeks earlier. That was also one of five new school records the Knights established that day.

The four girls on the 4x400 have also done a bulk of the scoring for the Raiders this season. The Raiders came into the week with a 6-0 record and two dual meets remaining. Leading the way is Henry, the senior standout who finished second in the state in the hurdles last spring as a junior, and again this past winter during the indoor season.

"She can do just about anything," Willems said of Henry, who will be attending the University of Virginia on a track scholarship. "She can run the 100, 200 and 400. She’s also a very strong 400-meter hurdler, a good high jumper, and she’s a marquee long jumper. The hurdles and the long jump are her two best events."

Cruz, a junior, also excels in the 100 and 400 hurdles, while Marquez and Gonzalez, both freshmen, run the 100, 200 and 400.

Another key member of the team is senior Kim Stengle, the Knights’ best thrower in the shot put, discus and javelin, as well as a 100-meter hurdler.

At the Relays she had the best throw of anyone in the conference in the discus and javelin, and second best in the shot put. She was also a member of Old Bridge’s 4x100 hurdle relay team, which took first. The three-person shot put relay also finished first while the discus trio was runner-up.

The Lady Knights are also solid in the distance events, led by sophomore Kaitlyn Regan, senior Stephanie Zottoli and freshman Stephanie Lafergola.

"All three of them were on our three winning relay teams: the distance medley, the 4x800 and the 4x1 mile," said Willems, who was a distance runner himself in the early ’90s at Red Bank Catholic High School. "They’re all milers and two milers and can run the 800. They’re fairly diverse so I can mix them all up in different events."

Which is what he’ll be doing Friday when he makes out his lineup at the GMC Championships.

"I think it’s going to be another nail-biter between South Brunswick, Piscataway and ourselves," Willems said. "But we’re going into it very optimistic and I definitely think we can come out champions again."

The Old Bridge boys’ track team will also be looking to repeat as champion at the GMC meet Saturday at South Plainfield. veteran coach Jack Campbell warns that it won’t come easy despite a 5-0 dual-meet record so far.

"We haven’t faced Piscataway yet and they’re probably our toughest competi­tion," said Campbell, who is in his 17th season with the team. "We don’t face them head-to-head until after the GMCs."

The two conference powers did meet at last week’s Relays with Old Bridge scoring a first-place total of 98 points, and Piscataway runner-up with 72.

"And they were [disqualified] in one event which was probably 10 points for them and gave us two points," Campbell noted. "So it could have been 96-82, which is still fairly comfortable, but a little closer."

The Knights dominated the running events, finishing first in the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800, the distance medley, and the 4x1,600. They also took second in the sprint medley and third in the intermediate hurdles.

They didn’t do too bad in the other events, either.

"We entered 13 of the 15 events and placed in the top four in all 13 events we entered," Campbell said.

The Knights have been led all season by the quick quartet of Anthony DePalma, Kenny Goode, Brandon Nolen and Dave DePalma. DePalma is a junior while the other three are seniors.

"And all four of those guys are football players," Campbell said.

In fact, Nolen, the defending 100-meter champion in both the GMC and Central Jersey Group IV, will be going to Clemson University, South Carolina, on a football and track scholarship. The other three are also standout sprinters, while Goode com­petes in the high hurdles and long jump.

The Knights are not lacking in the dis­tance events, either, with seniors Ryan Bennett and Rich Lafergola, and juniors Ken Lascale and Matt Caporaso, all of whom can run the 1,600 and 3,200.

Chris Deleon, another senior, leads Old Bridge in the 800 meters and intermediate hurdles, while junior Ron Green excels in the high and intermediate hurdles.

Meanwhile, senior Joe Miller in the shot put and javelin heads the weight events, along with juniors Charlie Fradella in the shot put and Dennis Kennedy in the discus and javelin. The Knights swept all three weight-event relays last week.

With depth like that, no wonder Old Bridge is favored to win the GMC Championships again on Saturday.

"We’ve prepared," said Campbell, who expects his team and Piscataway to battle it out again for top honors. "If we can come out and perform at a high level that day and the chips fall our way, then I think we’re capable of winning it."