McCombs, Knights dazzle at state sectional
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

Above, Monroe's Bill Phillips competes in the 100-meter race at the CJGroup III championships in Tinton Falls on Friday. Below, Monroe's Sara Beth Moke clears a hurdle in the 100-meter hurdles event.

At this point, there is very little that Old Bridge's Bryant McCombs can do on the track that would surprise anyone, short of not winning any race he enters.

The Texas A&M-bound senior continues to add to his legacy with each passing championship meet, and this past weekend, he added four more sectional titles to his trophy case, leading the Old Bridge boys team to a dominating win at the Central Jersey Group IV Championships in South Plainfield.

The Knights finished with 145 team points, thanks in large part to McCombs' wins in the 100, 200, 400 and 4x400 relay.

On Friday, the speedster shattered his own meet record in winning the 400 in 47.6, then came back to tie the meet record in winning the 100 in 10.6 Then on Saturday, McCombs set another meet record in the 200 (21.1), before anchoring the Knights' relay team to a win in 3:22.2. Paul Racioppi (52.2), Allan Lunkenheimer (49.0) and Sean Davile (50.7) ran the first three legs of the relay, with McCombs cruising in 50.2.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff

With McCombs out of the picture next year, maybe Lunkenheimer can collect a quartet of gold medals at the sectional meet, having finished second this weekend to his teammate and friend in all three sprints.

Old Bridge also got wins from Ken Cardullo in the javelin (180-8), Jamaar Figueroa in the discus (177-10) and Jeff St. Florant in the long jump (21-7); Florant also finished third in the 110 hurdles (14.5), third in the triple jump (43-10) and sixth in the high jump (5-10). Figueroa was also second in the shot put (49-0).

With the top six finishers in each event advancing to this weekend's Group championships, there were plenty of other local stars who extended their seasons as well.

Among the other Knights to advance were James Hauser (fourth in the 800, 2:00.0), Matt Ciambrello (third in the 3,200, 9:47.4, and sixth in the 1,600, 4:24.3), Brendan Lyman (sixth in the 3,200 (10:09.8), David Ibrahim (third in the shot put, 46-5) and Brian Florek (third in the javelin, 165-1).

East Brunswick took eighth as a team (19 points), led by Jeremiah Lachaud, who took third in the 100 (10.8) and sixth in the 200 (22.4). Justin Granit also advanced to the Group IV meet with his fourth-place showing in the 1,600 (4:23.3), as did Yaw Sakyi, who took second in the long jump (21-3.5).

Sayreville's Aaron Ampaabeng will also be in action this weekend after taking sixth in the 800 (2:00.2).

In the CJ Group III meet, Monroe's boys finished in seventh place (27), on the heels of seven top-six finishes.

Zach Theinert finished in third place in the 800, while Bill Phillips was sixth in both the 200 (22.65) and 400 (50.93). Scott Roman added a third place in the 3,200 (9:48.16), while the Falcons' 4x400 relay team finished in third place as well in 3:28.22.

Also advancing for Monroe were Mike Baracz (sixth in the 400 hurdles, 58.53) and Matt Sussman (third in the javelin, 168-03).

South River's boys finished in ninth place in CJ Group I (15 points), led by a strong showing from Antonio Gomes - third in the 800 (2:01.1) and second in the 1,600 (4:38.8) - as well as a sixth-place finish in the 4x400 relay (4:03.2).

Spotswood's boys were 11th in CJ Group II, with Brad Schepise and Kevin VanDerveer advancing in the 3,200 after taking third and sixth respectively last weekend.

The Old Bridge girls had a solid showing at the CJ Group IV meet, finishing in fourth place (36). Jackson was the runaway winner with 105 points.

Ashley Gonzalez was the top performer for the Lady Knights, taking second in the 200 (25.6) and fourth in the 100 (12.3), while Cristine Marquez also collected a trio of medals, taking fifth in the 400 (57.7) and sixth in the 800 (2:21.7).

The Old Bridge 4x400 team (Brittany Gibbs, Jasmine Glover, Gonzalez and Marquez) finished in second in 3:57.0.

Also moving on to this weekend's Group IV meet for Old Bridge were Nneka Pile (sixth in the shot put, 35-8), Allyson Cardullo (third in the javelin, 113-7), and Gibbs (third in the triple jump, 37-7, and sixth in the long jump, 16-5).

Sayreville's girls were tied for 14th overall, with Lynn Mayer winning the high jump at a height of 5-6. Priscilla Senyah also advanced with a fourth-place in the 100 hurdles (15.1).

East Brunswick's Brittni Rodriguez (sixth in the 200, 26.7) and Erin Comerford (fifth in the 3,200, 1:47.2) also advanced.

In Group III action, Monroe's Nicole Ragucci advanced to the Group III championships with a fourth place in the 200 (25.15) and a second in the 300 (56.40), while in Group II, Spotswood's Valerie Bonczek took sixth in the 1,600 (5:21.45).

South River's Cherubin Rena also advanced to this weekend's action with a fifth-place showing in the 100 hurdles (18.0) at the CJ Group I meet.

Next up for the locals will be the NJSIAA State Group Championships. Group III will be at South Plainfield High School today and Saturday, while Egg Harbor will be hosting groups I, II and IV. The top six finishers plus wild cards from this weekend's Groups meet will qualify for the June 7 outdoor Meet of Champions at South Plainfield.