Viking Girls Track Ready for Meet of Champions

Competing in the Group IV championships at Old Bridge on June 3-4, eight was both a good and bad number for the South Brunswick High girls track team.

"Although our team finish (8th) was not what we had hoped for, we are happy to have eight girls qualify for the Meet of Champions on Thursday where we will hopefully perform better," South Brunswick Coach Stefan Moorhead said.

The top six finishers in each event at the Group IV meet qualified for The Meet of Champions, which will be held at Old Bridge. An additional six top finishers from all of the groups qualified as wild cards.

Mariah Browne made The Meet of Champions by winning the long jump with a distance of 18' 6 3/4".

"The highlight of the weekend was clearly Mariah Browne winning her third straight state title in the long jump," Moorhead said. "What made it so special was that she had been hampered by a sprained ankle for the past month, which has limited her training and ability to compete like she is capable of. She was only ranked seventh entering the meet, but she led from the first jump and put an exclamation point on the night by jumping her furthest on her sixth and final jump. It was a great moment for her and she was understandably very excited."

Alicia Osley was fourth in the 400 (57.59). She also competed in the 100 and placed 13th in a time of 13.05.

Cayla Del Piano was sixth in the 1600 in a time of 5:02.12. Del Piano placed seventh in the 800 in a time of 2:15.41. Del Piano qualified for The Meet of Champions in the 800 as a wild card.

"She won't run that event (800), but instead focus on the 1600 and 4x400," Moorhead noted.

In addition to DelPiano, the other members of the 4x400 team are Janae Baker, Joy Spriggs and Alicia Osley. The South Brunswick 4x400 placed third in a time of 3:54.29.

The 4x100 team of Osley, Browne, Baker and Rachel Johnson qualified for The Meet of Champions based on results from earlier in the season.

Amber Brown was seventh in the discus (111' 7") and 12th in the shot put (35' 1 1/4"). Chloe Hall was eighth in the discus (111' 3") and 13th in the shot put (34' 4"). Brown and Hall both made The Meet of Champions as wild cards in the discus.

Rachel Johnson competed in the 100 (13.25), 200 (26.24) and 100 hurdles (15.73).

Julia Lekht was 15th in the triple jump (34' 6 1/2"). Alyssa McFarlane (javelin) and Lindsay Carbone (pole vault) also competed in the meet for South Brunswick.

"We had a solid showing at states, but overall I thought we could have done better," Moorhead said. "Only two of our 11 competitors improved their marks from sectionals. However, on the bright side, we did manage to qualify eight of those 11 athletes for the Meet of Champions."

Those eight girls will all get another chance to improve their performances at The Meet of Champions.