Raiders’ Jackson earns a double at GMC meet
By doug mckenzie
Staff Writer

FARRAH MAFFAI North Brunswick’s Guy Jackson clears the bar at 6-8 to win the high jump at the Greater Middlesex Conference Championships at South Brunswick on Saturday.

On a day when the Old Bridge boys’ and girls’ track and field teams were once again the story, North Brunswick junior Guy Jackson made some noise of his own.

The Raider field star pulled off a magnificent double, claiming both the boys’ long jump and high jump events at Saturday’s Greater Middlesex Conference Track and Field Championships at South Brunswick High School.

In the high jump, Jackson tied a meet record by clearing the bar at 6-8, and cleared five different heights on his first attempt. The Raider tied his personal best with the jump, and came close to clearing 6-10 on a couple of attempts, a height which he hopes to have cleared by season’s end.

In the long jump, Jackson beat defending champion Lawrence Adjah of Piscataway in his final jump of 22-0. Adjah was second at 21-2 1/2, while East Brunswick’s Vito Spadafino took fourth (20-9) and Old Bridge’s Kenny Goode, sixth (19-11 1/4).

FARRAH MAFFAI South Brunswick’s Natalya Johnson crosses the line in fifth in the 400 at the Greater Middlesex Conference Championships at South Brunswick on Saturday.

Jackson entered the meet as the overwhelming favorite in the high jump, but was not expected to top Adjah in the long jump. His victory reaffirmed his status as the GMC’s top field performer.

But if you ask him, he’s just getting warmed up. Jackson said he plans to participate in the triple jump at the state sectionals, and has every intention of becoming a sectional champ in three separate events. All of this, and he’s only a junior.

The only other local star to become a champion came from South Brunswick. In the javelin, defending champion Sarah Convery, of Old Bridge, was surprised by South Brunswick’s Linda Paquette, who threw a shocking 119-8 to win the event. Convery came in second at 119-5, followed by Sayreville’s Nicole Vasallo (118-3) and Kim Stengle (112-7). Paquette came out of nowhere to win the event, easily topping her previous best of 106-1 with her championship throw.

Elsewhere at the GMC championships, in the latest example of just how far ahead of the pack Old Bridge’s track and field teams are, both the Knights boys’ and girls’ teams won conference team titles in impressive fashion.

It’s become a familiar theme, with Old Bridge athletes earning medals in track and field events alike and easily out-pointing the competition with both dominance and depth.

On the girls’ side, the Lady Knights totaled 137 points, well ahead of second-place South Brunswick (74) and third-place Piscataway (59).

Kim Henry won the 100m hurdles in 14.5, pulling away from East Brunswick’s Zeena Hazuri at the midway point for the win.

Hazuri finished in second at 15.3, followed by South Brunswick’s Shafeeha Potts (15.6).

In the 400 hurdles, Henry defended her conference title, dominating the field en route to a time of 1:04.0. Henry’s third gold medal came in the long jump, where she landed a 16-9 3/4 jump on her first attempt. That mark stood up, as South Brunswick’s Natalya Johnson could only manage 16-1 1/4.

The Old Bridge star’s attempt at a fourth gold fell short in the 200, where her time of 25.7 left her in fourth place. South Brunswick’s Johnson finished in sixth in 26.3.

In the 1,600, the Knights had a 1-2-4 finish as Linda Sanders crossed the line first in 5:22, ahead of teammate Stephanie Zottoli (5:24.7), Edison’s Kristan Lucas (5:29.5) and Old Bridge’s Danielle Haggaig (5:31.05). North Brunswick’s Tricia Veloso took sixth in 5:36.0.

In the 3,200, Sanders led a 1-2-3 Old Bridge finish, crossing the line in 11:30.8, just ahead of teammates Mara McInerney (11:32.3) and Haggaig (11:36.9). North Brunswick’s Andrea Bradshaw took fourth (11:40.3).

Brittany McCombs led Old Bridge in the field events, defending her county shot put and discus titles.

In the discus, she set a new meet record with her throw of 128-1, topping the previous mark of 127-8. South Brunswick’s Rebecca Dezan took second in the event with a distance of 110-6, followed by McCombs’ teammate, Sarah Convery (106-3), South Brunswick’s Kim Yee (100-6) and Old Bridge’s Stengle (100-1).

In the shot put, McCombs’ throw of 37-3 3/4 in the trials portion of the competition stood up as the top distance, beating New Brunswick’s Tiffany Hammond (35-9 1/4) and McCombs’ teammate Eti Ebewo (35-6 and 1/2).

South Brunswick’s Yee finished sixth in the event with a throw of 33-10.

The Knights got another win in the field events when Kim Johnston won the pole vault after clearing the bar at 8-6, as a trio of vaulters (South Brunswick’s Risa Levine and North Brunswick’s Chelsie Yauch and Veloso) tied for second after clearing 7-1.

East Brunswick’s girls got their lone gold medal in the high jump, where Kelly Kowal beat out South Brunswick’s Danya O’Connor as each recorded a mark of 5-0, but Kowal had fewer misses.

North Brunswick’s Katie Cosgrove finished tied for fourth at 4-8.

South Brunswick’s 4x400 team finished third (4:11.6) behind Piscataway (4:06.0) and Bishop Ahr (4:09.4), while Monroe’s foursome finished in fifth (4:17.6) and Old Bridge finished sixth (4:21.4).

North Brunswick’s team finished in fifth place with 26 points, followed by Monroe (25), East Brunswick (24) and Metuchen (17). Sayreville finished 10th with 11 points.

On the boys’ side of competition, Old Bridge had only two winners but managed to easily outscore Piscataway 115-62 with its depth.

In the 800, the Knights’ Tim Paule crossed the line in second (1:56.6) behind Metuchen’s David Edgcomb (1:56.4), while South Brunswick’s Dan McDonald took third (1:56.9) and East Brunswick’s Anthony Harris sixth (2:03.7).

South River’s Iuri Pinto took third in the 1,600 (4:28.9), followed by East Brunswick’s Alex Shatskov (4:31.3) and South Brunswick’s Scott Yeager (4:33.1), while Old Bridge’s Eddie Jimenez took third in the 3,200 (9:47.7), followed by Dan Harding (9:55.6, sixth) and South Brunswick’s Matt Randal (9:59.7)

Old Bridge’s Goode scored another second-place finish in the 110 hurdles (14.5), where he finished behind Piscataway’s Adjah (14.2). East Brunswick’s Jon Kaczmarek took fifth (15.4), followed by South Brunswick’s Steve Foulkes (15.5).

The 4x400 relay went to Metuchen (3:21.9), with Old Bridge (3:22.4), Piscataway (3:23.4) and South Brunswick (3:29.1) following. Sayreville took sixth in the event (3:36.5).

In the high jump, Sayreville’s Rich Torak took third at 6-0, while East Brunswick’s Kaczmarek was fourth at 5-10 and North Brunswick’s Bassey Onyile was fifth at 5-10.

Metuchen’s Mike Moore won the pole vault by clearing the bar at 11-6, while Old Bridge’s Rob Giovbine also cleared the bar at 11-6 but lost on fewer misses. South Brunswick’s Alex Persaud and East Brunswick’s Matt Duncombe finished tied for third at 11-0. South Brunswick’s Sean Carner finished third in the shot put (49-1/4).

While Old Bridge finished atop the team standings, East Brunswick finished in fourth with 30 points, followed by Sayreville (26), South Brunswick (25) and North Brunswick (22).