Schools
South Brunswick Girls Track Earns All-American Status
Sprint medley, shuttle hurdles both sixth in Nationals.
The South Brunswick High School girls track team earned its first All-American status for a relay team (in the outdoor season) in the history of the program on June 17.
By the following morning, South Brunswick had doubled its total.
"We were thrilled to have two All-American relays," South Brunswick Coach Stefan Moorhead said. "In outdoor track we have had one individual earn that honor before, but these were the first relays to achieve that distinction. The girls were very excited and it was great to see them so happy."
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Rachel Johnson and Janae Baker came home as two-time All-Americans.
Competing at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in North Carolina on Friday, the sprint medley team of Rachel Johnson, Janae Baker, Alicia Osley and Cayla Del Piano placed sixth with a time of 4:05.04.
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"The sprint medley relay also earned All-American honors during the indoor season, so it was nice to see them duplicate that feat," Moorhead said.
The following day, the shuttle hurdle team of Jen O'Laughlin, Laura Calderone, Baker and Johnson placed sixth in a time of 1:03.76.
"The shuttle hurdle relay team ran particularly well, and they had a very close finish to earn sixth by only .01 seconds," Moorhead noted.
South Brunswick also had girls entered in the long jump and 4x400.
In the long jump, Mariah Brown placed seventh with a distance of 18' 5 1/4".
In the 4x400, Osley, Baker, Joy Spriggs and Del Piano placed eighth with a time of 3:54.17.
"We also came agonizingly close to having all eight of our girls earn All-American," Moorhead said. "Mariah Browne was seventh in the long jump, only one centimeter (half an inch) behind the sixth place competitor, and Joy Spriggs ran on our eighth place 4x400, which was only 1.1 seconds out of sixth place."
South Brunswick had its 4x100 team of Osley, Marian Browne, Baker and Johnson place fourth in the emerging elite, a classification for the runners that just missed qualifying under the tougher standard for the race that determined the All-Americans.
"We had a great meet," Moorhead said. "They represented our team very well, and had a lot of fun doing it. It was an amazing experience for the girls, one I'm sure they will remember for a long time. It was a great way to close our season, and the careers for six of the girls who will be graduating this week (Baker, Browne, Calderone, Johnson, O'Laughlin, Spriggs)."
