E.B. duo, Spotswood’s Thorpe move on to MOC
Old Bridge boys and girls, Chargers boys fall short of qualifying for team competition
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff South Brunswick’s Cole Crosby races to the finish during the Central Jersey Group IV meet at Holmdel Park on Nov. 8.

The cold and blustery conditions at Holmdel Park on Saturday got the best of many local harriers hoping to qualify for this weekend’s Meet of Champions.

Except for four.

The East Brunswick duo of Ryan Williams and Greg Bull, along with Spotswood’s Kevin Thorpe, will be returning to the famed 3.1-mile Holmdel course this weekend to race one last time against the top cross country stars from around the state.

The top 10 individuals plus the 10 fastest non-qualifiers from all the groups, and the top three teams plus two wild cards advanced to the MOC.

Williams and Bull managed to capture a pair of wild card spots by finishing 18th (16:40) and 22nd, respectively, in the Group IV race. Their times were among the 10 fastest for non-qualifiers, with Williams’ consisting of a personal best for the Bear senior.

Mohamed Khadraoiu of JFK-Paterson took first overall in 15:39, eight seconds faster than his winning MOC time last year.

Spotswood’s Thorpe met his preseason goal of qualifying for the season’s final meet by taking sixth in the Group II race with a time of 17:04. Cinaminson’s Jon Anderson was the first Group II harrier across the line in 16:19.

The only other local runner to advance to this weekend’s race was Bishop Ahr’s Carolyn Lipovsky, a senior, who qualified out of Parochial A by finishing fifth in 20:17.

While the four local runners will hope for even better times this weekend, when the weather conditions are expected to be a bit more conducive, none of the local teams will be competing for the first time in some time.

The Old Bridge boys, usually a lock to qualify out of Group IV, missed out on a spot by placing seventh in the team competition last weekend. Frank Vulpis was the first Knight to cross the line in 35th (17:01), followed by Ray Furslew in 42nd (17:11), Kenny Pascale in 43rd (17:14), Matt Caporaso in 51st (17:20) and Umar Seed in 60th (17:28).

It was an uncharacteristically disappointing showing for a Knights team that finished fourth last year, and has made a habit of qualifying for the MOC, having been there every year since 1998.

Their counterparts on the Old Bridge girls team also finished seventh in Group IV, after struggling to maintain their dominance of the Greater Middlesex Conference this year despite a rash of injuries to three of their top runners.

Saturday’s result was particularly disappointing to Kaitlyn Regan, the GMC champ, who finished in 23rd (20:15), just five seconds shy of a wild-card berth. She was followed by Stephanie Lafergola in 25th (20:17), Mara McInerney, who is one of the Knights who has battled injury this fall, in 43rd (20:57), Cristine Marquez in 54th (21:17), and Danielle Haggaig in 85th (22:03).

The Spotswood boys team entered the Group race as the top Group II team from Central Jersey, but were unable to secure a spot in the MOC, finishing sixth.

After Thorpe’s seventh-place finish, Mike Moriarty was the next Charger to cross the line in 35th (17:48), followed by Brad Schepise in 41st (17:59), Chad Vidal in 46th (18:05), and Steve Farparan in 55th (18:17).

Though their effort fell short of what they had hoped for entering the race, the Chargers continued to impress with their results, capping what has been the best season in school history.

For Thorpe, Williams and Bull, there is one more race to run before closing the book on the year.