East Brunswick boys claim Group 4 track title with dominant performance
FRANKLIN (Somerset) – High-level silver medals are a great accomplishment.
Don’t get them wrong, but when you keep finishing as runners-up, well, it’s nice to pull out that victory, especially at the biggest meet of the season.
Saturday, the East Brunswick boys captured the NJSIAA Group 4 championship for the second time in program history and the first outright title. In 2010, the Bears shared it with Hackensack.
There was no drama this time as East Brunswick rolled up 56 points and South Brunswick finished second with 37.50 points.
“It feels great,” senior Chris Serrao said. “Always getting gold is always better than second.”
Teammate Jayden Phillip smiled and added, “It feels better.”
While the Bears have been among the state’s best squads over the last two years, they’ve had a handful of near-misses for that championship plaque.
In 2021, the Bears placed second to Southern in Group 4. In this past indoor season, East Brunswick placed second in the Group 4 Championships to Westfield.
This spring, the Bears took second to South Brunswick in the NJSIAA Central Group 4 meet, as well as in the Greater Middlesex Conference Championships and the GMC Relays.
Now, they start a new list – state group champions.
“We were close last year,” East Brunswick coach Pat DiGioacchino said. “We were close in winter. We had some of the best teams we’ve ever had in our school the last two years. It’s obviously very validating to finally get to hold that trophy.”
DiGioacchino projected the team would score in the high 50s or low 60s, which is exactly what they did at host Franklin High School.
“They all stepped up,” he said. “No disasters. Everyone ran about what they needed to or maybe a little bit worse. Or a little bit better. So we just did our thing. We scored as many points as I kind of thought we would.”
Serrao led the way over the two-day event with winning Saturday’s 110-meter hurdles in 13.85. He foreshadowed things to come by setting a PR in the preliminaries (13.77). He also took second in Friday’s 400-meter hurdles (54.41).
The two relay teams earned gold medals in the 4x100 (James Sparrow, Serrao, Aiden Baldelli, Jayden Phillip) and the 4x400 (Josh Augustine, Serrao, Baldelli, Phillip).
Phillip finished third in the 100 meters (10.78) and fifth in the 200 meters (21.95) over the two days.
“It gives the other guys some confidence for sure, they can lean on two superstars to just get the job done,” DiGioacchino said. “Chris has just been so good for the last two years. You can always count on him to score big points. … Every year he’s improved. He is just such a good athlete. He’s coachable. He’s easy to teach stuff. He’s a good listener. Easy to coach and he’s talented – it’s a good combination.”
It wasn’t just the top-heavy stars who contributed. The top six finishers in the individual races score team points.
Chiemelie Anosike surpassed his seed and took fourth in Saturday’s 110-meter hurdles with a season best of 14.81. In Friday’s 400 hurdles, Anosike placed fifth (55.92).
High jumper Zack Muyingo placed fourth with a PR of 6-6 and Jayvee Dumas just missed scoring team points with a seventh-place finish in the pole vault (13.6).
Serrao and Phillip also credited their teammates for stepping up.
DiGioacchino said it would have been “a much, much, much closer meet” if Anosike and Muyingo didn’t score.
“It’s a team effort and these guys have been working hard together all year,” he said. “It’s a really close group and they really deserve it. I was bummed out for them when we didn’t win in the winter time, but it’s really validating. They earned the trophy that they really deserve.”
Down to the wire
With about 200 meters left in Saturday’s Group 2 1600 meters race, Metuchen’s Molly Malague made her move.
It turned into one of the most exciting moments of the entire weekend.
The senior briefly overtook Lakeland Regional’s Angelina Perez, one of the best runners in the country. Perez came right back and the two were stride by stride to the finish line.
Perez won by .30 of a second, finishing in 4:48.68 while Malague ran 4:48.71, setting a new PR.
“I wanted just to see what I can do and the last lap I went for it,” said Malague, who is attending Harvard. “I tried to make a move, maybe a little too early. ... she got me by three hundredths of a second.”
Perez said, “We were almost like neck and neck at the end and it was kind of like, 'This is my last 1600 I’m ever going to run for my high school career.' I was like I’m just going to give it all I got. It was a cool way to finish. I never had a race like that where I’m able to come back, so it was very exciting.”
In Friday’s 3200, the University of Florida-commit Perez set a meet record in 9:53.29 and Malague placed second in 10:16.46.
However, Malague remained with her for the first mile before Perez pulled away. That singled both runners that the 1600 would be close despite Perez entering with a PR that was one second faster than Malague’s best time.
“I couldn’t sit,” Malague said. “I knew she had a kick. Obviously, she has a two-mile kick so it’s going to be longer. I just went too soon.”
Even Malague on the track could hear the crowd getting into it.
“I kind of heard it,” she said. “It was something I’ve never heard while I’m in a race. I’m always the one cheering on the sidelines. So it was exciting.”
Other MOC qualifiers
The top two finishers in each race in the six Group meets across the state earned automatic entry into next Saturday’s Meet of Champions at Franklin High School. Also, six wildcards received a berth from the best finishes of every event.
In the Group 2 and Group 4 meet, the following GMC athletes also automatically qualified for the MOC.
In Group 2 girls, Metuchen’s Caroline Schleif placed second in the 800 (2:14.20).
In Group 2 boys, Metuchen’s Brandon Sinclair won the 800 (1:55.07). Additionally, Metuchen’s 4x800 relay took first in 8:01.87 (Juan Nicholas Hidalgo, Alex Patelski, Eric Schleif, Brandon Sinclair).
In Group 4 boys, Edison’s Akshay Vadul placed second in the 3200 (9:16.09) and South Brunswick’s Yathin Vemula was second in the high jump (6-06).
In Group 4 girls, Piscataway’s Brooke'Lyn Drakeford won the 400-meter hurdles (1:01.85) and the Chiefs’ 4x100 relay took second in 49.01 (Tamara Rawles, Drakeford, Morgan Jean, Enobong George). Piscataway’s 4x400 team also placed second in 3:50.96 (Rawles, George, Olivia Willemsen, Drakeford).
Email: amendlowitz@njpressmedia.com
Andy Mendlowitz is a sports reporter for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to local news throughout Central Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: East Brunswick boys claim Group 4 track title
