The Piscataway girls ended South Brunswick's 15-year winning streak, the South Brunswick boys extended their streak, and Chris Serrao, Jayden Phillip,
Sahil Sheth, and Molly Malague smashed records at the Greater Middlesex Conference Championships, which concluded on Wednesday at Lombardi Field in Old Bridge.
The individual boys stars of the meet were East Brunswick seniors Serrao and Phillip, who blew up the track by shattering meet and Middlesex County records, and Sheth, who broke the meet record in the 3,200m.
In the 100m dash on Tuesday, Phillip blasted his way to victory in an NJ No. 3 10.62 to take down the county record of 10.69, which was set at the 2016 Meet of Champions by Maurice Ffrench of New Brunswick, who currently plays for the San Diego Chargers. Philip also won the 400 on Tuesday in 49.57, and completed the sprint trifecta by taking first in the 200 on Wednesday in 21.61.
The Rutgers-bound Serrao broke his own county record and took over the No. 1 ranking in NJ this season when he stopped the clock at 13.81 to repeat as champion in the 110m hurdles. Serrao, who won the high hurdles at the outdoor M of C last year and the indoor M of C this last winter, set the county record of 13.84 last June at the East Coast Championships.
Serrao also finished second to Phillip in the 100m dash in 10.70, No. 3 all-time in Middlesex County history, and was also second in the 200m in 21.86.
The third boys meet record came in the 3,200 when Sheth dropped an eight second PR to win in a NJ No. 5 and school record 9:09.02, the sixth fastest time in Middlesex County history. Sheth, a senior, also placed second in the 1,600 on Tuesday in 4:17.58 as he helped South Brunswick outscored runner-up East Brunswick, 153-107.
South Brunswick has now captured nine of the last 10 GMC titles, and raised its total to 10 championships, two behind Old Bridge for the most titles in meet history.
South Brunswick nearly scored enough points in the field events alone as the Vikings exploded for a whopping 102 points combined in the throws (54) and jumps (48).
Senior Nicholas Wisbeski led a 1-2 finish in the javelin for South Brunswick with a PR and NJ No. 5 throw of 178-4. Wisbeski also led a 2-3-4 finish for the Vikings in the shot put with a PR of 49-0.50. South Brunswick also went 2-3-4 in the discus and high jump, 3-4-5 in the triple jump, 2-5 in the high jump, and picked up a runner-up finish in the pole vault. DOUBLING UP
On Tuesday, Oduro extended his NJ No. 1 mark and moved up to No. 9 all-time in Middlesex County history when the senior at South Plainfield soared 47-4.50 to win the triple jump for the second straight year. Then on Wednesday, he leaped his way to No. 3 in the state this season with his winning mark and personal best of 23-1.50
Meanwhile, in the circle, Voto, a senior at Sayreville, dominated the shot put and discus by winning those two events with throws of 54-9.75 and 159-4.
STREAK BUSTERS
The Piscataway girls ended one of the longest county winning streaks in state history when the Chiefs captured its first its sixth title overall with a 89-84 victory over runner-up Metuchen.
The last time Piscataway won the county title was in 2005, which is the last time that South Brunswick didn't win. South Brunswick, which had its streak of 15 in row snapped, placed third with 65.50.
Piscataway's victory was fueled by sprinters Brooke'Lyn Drakeford, Tamara Rawles, and Enobong George, who combined for 68 of Piscataway's 89 points
Triple-winner Drakeford, a junior, was the catalyst for the Chiefs. She won the 400 hurdles in an NJ No. 3 1:02.72, led a 1-2-3 finish for the Chiefs in the 200 with a winning time of 25.33, and she also captured the 400 in 56.91.
Rawles, a senior, won the 100 in 12.38, placed second in the 200, and was second in the 400, and George, a junior, finished third in the 100 and 200.
Piscataway also won the 4x100 in 50.41, and picked up a first-place from junior Olivia Willemsen in the javelin with a throw of 111-6.
DYNAMIC DISTANCE DUO
There aren't very many teams in the state that can match the 1-2 distance punch that Metuchen packs with seniors
Molly Malague and Caroline Schleif, who put on a sensational show to lead the Bulldogs to its best finish since sharing the title with Piscataway in 1995.
The Harvard-bound Malague and the Columbia-bound Schleif combined to score 54 points.
Malague smashed the meet record in the 1,600 with her winning time of 4:57.53, shattered the school record nearly broke the meet record in the 3200 with her first-place time of 10:37.65, which is the third fastest in Middlesex County history and No. 5 in the state this season. Malague also placed second in the 800. Malague's 10:37.65 came within an eyelash of the meet record of 10:36.8 set by the legendary Janet Smith of J.P. Stevens in 1983. Schleif won the 800 in 2:16.26, and placed second in the 3,200 and 1,600.
WHITE HITS THE TRIFECTA
Leah Williams-White of Sayreville was her usual splendid self, racking up 36 points with three wins and a third place finish!!!
The senior won the long jump on Tuesday with a leap of 17-8, and followed that up on Wednesday by winning the 100 hurdles in 14.98 (14.93 in the trials), and captured the triple jump with a NJ No. 3 mark of 37-4½, which is No. 9 all-time in Middlesex County history. Williams-White also cleared 4-10 to place third in the high jump.
