South Brunswick High School inducting 10 into Athletics Hall of Fame
Pioneering athletics director Elaine McGrath headlines 10 individuals and one team that will be inducted into the South Brunswick High School Athletics Hall of Fame.
The Class of 2022 will be honored during a ceremony at halftime of South Brunswick’s Sept. 23 football game against Piscataway, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online or at the ticket booth on gameday.
"We’re very excited to honor these inductees as they come back home to be recognized for their outstanding achievements at South Brunswick," said CJ Hendricks, who last year succeeded McGrath as the high school’s athletics director.
The induction class features highly respected coaches John Coppola (girls lacrosse) and Joe Dougherty (wrestling), as well as the state championship 1980 baseball team.
Prolific distance runners and track & field performers Cayla Del Piano, Sophia Ginez, and Indira Morton will be inducted, along with school record-holding gymnast Jessica (Macay) Diggory and South Brunswick’s all-time winningest wrestler Ryan Smith.
Talented multiple-sport performers Brendan Vercammen and Lindsay Carbone round out the impressive list of inductees.
The female athletes who are being inducted or played under Coppola owe a debt of gratitude to McGrath, who played a key role in the ascent of girls sports, which are celebrating their 50th anniversary under Title IX this year.
As a freshman at Governor Livingston in 1972, the same year Title IX became law and started to level the playing field for girls, McGrath played girls basketball, the first varsity sport offered for girls at the high school.
Governor Livingston added a new girls varsity sport each academic year thereafter with McGrath taking advantage of opportunities to letter in field hockey and softball on the way to becoming a three-sport athlete before graduating.
McGrath graduated from Kean College in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in education before receiving her supervisor and principal’s certification.
After coaching basketball and softball at Immaculate Conception High School in Montclair (1980-90) and at Rutgers University-Newark (1990-93), McGrath was hired as an assistant principal and athletics director at Highland Park.
The headline in the Home News Tribune announcing McGrath’s hiring at Highland Park referenced her gender – “School board taps woman sports head” – and the lead to the story read “The Board of Education, in a first for the school, has approved a woman as the supervisor of athletics.”
McGrath was as an athletics director for nearly three decades, along the way becoming among the state’s most respected administrators. Toward the end of her distinguished career, McGrath served as NJSIAA president.
In 2017, McGrath became only the third woman in the 43-year history of the Directors of Athletics Association to be named its New Jersey’s Athletics Director of the Year. The organization has more than 440 members.
McGrath spent the bulk of her career as an administrator at South Brunswick, which has grown from a Group II school in the ‘80s to a Group V school.
Under McGrath, the Vikings made tremendous strides on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
Following are biographical sketches of South Brunswick’s other Class of 2022 inductees, listed in alphabetical order and based on information high school historian James Zinsmeister provided.
Lindsay Carbone (‘12), Gymnastics and Track & Field
The Greater Middlesex Conference all-around champion in 2011, Carbone enjoyed her most successful gymnastics campaign in 2009, finishing fourth at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions before earning first-team All-State honors all-around, on bars and on beam. She commenced that season with a Raider Invitational championship. The two-sport star excelled in track & field as a pole vaulter. Her vault of 11-feet in 2009 is the third best in school history. Carbone went on to win back-to-back Greater Middlesex Conference titles in the event.
John Coppola, Girls Lacrosse Coach
Coppola’s 101-30 career record (.770 winning percentage) included a 64-game winning streak against Greater Middlesex Conference opponents. From 2009-11, Coppola led the Vikings to a 50-7 overall mark while posting victories over several traditional state powers. His 2010 team’s 19-2 record remains the best single-season mark in program history. Coppola’s peers recognized him as Greater Middlesex Conference Coach of the Year four times during a five-year stretch from 2009-13.
Cayla Del Piano (‘12), Cross Country and Track & Field
The Greater Middlesex Conference cross country champion in 2010 (19:15) and 2011 (19:38), Del Piano was also part of South Brunswick school record-setting relay teams in the outdoor 4 X 400 (3:53.00), indoor 4 X 400 (3:56.73), indoor sprint medley (4:07.95) and indoor distance medley (12:10.83). Del Piano won the conference indoor 800 (2012), 1600 (2010-12) and 3200 (2009 and 2011) championships. She enjoyed similar success outdoors, winning conference titles in the 800 (2011), 1600 (2011-12) and 3200 (2012). At the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, Del Piano placed seventh in the 1600 in 2011 and fifth in the same event the following year. Del Piano was part of units that placed fourth indoors (4:07.95 in 2011) and sixth outdoors (4:05.04) in the New Balance Nationals. She also won the Eastern States Championship in the two-mile (11:18.72). Del Piano was named South Brunswick’s Most Valuable Performer in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track two times each.
Jessica (Macay) Diggory (’10), Gymnastics
As a senior, Diggory set school records on vault (9.725), beam (9.85) and floor (9.9). The latter was a state-best mark in 2009. Diggory’s all-around score of 38.625 also established a new South Brunswick standard. With Diggory leading the way, South Brunswick posted a team score of 114.175, the school’s best ever. The team’s Most Valuable Gymnast in 2008 and 2009, Diggory was named first-team All-State all-around and first-team All-State on vault, beam and floor as a senior. The 2009 Greater Middlesex Conference Gymnast of the Year, Diggory finished second that season at the prestigious NJSIAA Meet of Champions. She placed 15th in the Meet of Champions as a sophomore.
Joe Dougherty, Wrestling Coach
Dougherty led South Brunswick to four District 20 championships including a string of three consecutive district titles beginning in 1998. He also guided the Vikings to five straight Greater Middlesex Conference division crowns, winning the White Division championship from 1998-2000 and the Red Division title in 2001. Relying on Dougherty’s technical expertise and guidance, the program produced 56 District 20 champions, 13 Greater Middlesex Conference/Middlesex County Tournament champions, 12 Region V champions, and seven NJSIAA Tournament placewinners.
Sophia Ginez (‘10), Cross Country and Track & Field
Among the most prolific distance runners in school history, Ginez was named Most Valuable Performer for three consecutive seasons in cross country (2006-08) and indoor track (2007-10). She also earned the accolade for outdoor track in 2009. Ginez won the Greater Middlesex Conference cross country title (19:47) in 2007. She set outdoor school records in the 1600 (4:53.15) and 3200 (10:47.10) and an indoor school mark in the 3200M (10:59.59). Ginez was a three-time Greater Middlesex Conference indoor 1600 (2007-09) champion and two-time conference 800 indoor champion (2008-09). Outdoors, Ginez won the conference 1600 and 3200 titles four consecutive years. Ginez was the Central Group IV outdoor champion in the 1600 (4:58.43) in 2009 and won the 800 sectional title (2:14.64) the following season. Ginez placed in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions 1600 four straight years, finishing seventh in 2007, fourth in 2008, fifth in 2009 and sixth in 2010. She won three indoor sectional titles (800, 1600, 3200) in 2009. Ginez was also part of South Brunswick’s school record-setting indoor and outdoor distance medley and outdoor sprint medley relay teams.
Indira Morton (‘07), Cross Country and Track & Field
Among the most versatile track & field performers in school history, Morton’s throw of 139-4 in the javelin ranks third all-time among South Brunswick juniors. Her outdoor long jump of 18-6.25 is second all-time at South Brunswick, while her long jump of 17-7.5 at the Eastern Championships is fourth all-time. Morton was also part of a 4 X 100 relay team whose time is among the school’s 10 best. Morton won the Greater Middlesex Conference outdoor javelin title from 2005-07 and claimed the conference outdoor long jump championship in 2007. She was the Central Group IV long jump champion (18-6.25) and javelin champion (126-7) in 2007. Morton won the javelin title (129-7) the previous year. Morton went on to win the State Group IV javelin championship in 2006 (139-4) and 2007 (133-5) before placing second (127-11) and fourth (132-8) in respective years at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. Morton was the cross country team’s Most Valuable Runner in 2010 and 2011. She was a two-time indoor and outdoor Most Valuable Performer. Morton also holds the school pentathlon (2,851 points) record.
Ryan Smith (‘08), Wrestling
The school’s career leader in victories (124), points (390) and pins (68), Smith ranks second all-time with an .810 winning percentage (124-29). After claiming his third consecutive District 20 championship in 2008, Smith went on to win the Region V title before placing fifth in the NJSIAA Tournament at 152 pounds. Smith commenced his senior campaign in stellar fashion, reaching the finals of the prestigious Beast of the East tournament.
Brendan Vercammen (‘10), Soccer, Wrestling and Track & Field
Owner of a 92-21 career record on the mat, Vercammen ranks sixth all-time with 92 wins and fifth all-time with 312 points. He is also 10th in school history with 44 pins. The four-year letterwinner placed fifth in the NJSIAA Tournament at 171 pounds in 2010. He also won a Greater Middlesex Conference title and a second straight District 20 championship that year. Vercammen’s ascent included a Region V title the previous season. On the pitch, Vercammen helped lead South Brunswick to the 2009 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament final, scoring the game-winning goal in the quarterfinals against Piscataway and netting a key tally in a semifinal win over Woodbridge. A two-year letterwinner, Vercammen registered seven of his nine career goals and three of his five career assists as a senior. In track & field, Vercammen’s throw of 153-6 led South Brunswick to a Greater Middlesex Conference Relays championship in the javelin.
1980 Varsity Baseball Team
Under the tutelage of head coach Dennis Duttry, the Vikings culminated a 22-5 season in 1980 with a 3-1 victory over Garfield in the State Group II championship. The Star Ledger recognized the team’s accomplishment with a Top 10 final statewide ranking. Duttry, who coached the Vikings from 1970-86, compiled a 223-152-3 career mark. His finest season was the 1980 campaign, during which South Brunswick was crowned Bicentennial Athletic Conference champions and defeated Ridge 8-5 for the Central Group II title.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: South Brunswick High School inducting 10 into Athletics Hall of Fame
