Chargers ready to be a force at GMC meet
Spotswood boys are best team in school’s history
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

The Spotswood High School boys cross country team is looking at this Saturday’s Greater Middlesex Championship meet at Thompson Park in Jamesburg as just another step on the road to a state championship.

Head coach Roland D’Orvilliers has what he calls "the best team in school history" ready to make its presence felt against the best the GMC has to offer, but added that his team remains focused on the goals it set in the beginning of the year.

"They’ve done everything I expected them to thus far," he said. "They’re 7-0 in the Blue Division, they won the Passaic Invitational in September, and they took second in the Varsity B race to a team from Arlington, Va., at the Eastern Championships (held at the famed Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y.). Yes, they’ve done very well so far."

This weekend, D’Orvilliers expects his team to battle for second place.

"Old Bridge is annually the class of the GMC, and should be again this year," he said. "But I think we might stand a chance at taking second place. It will be a battle against East Brunswick, and South Plainfield and St. Joseph’s are very strong as well."

The Chargers will be led once again by senior Kevin Thorpe, although D’Orvilliers said his squad is deep and talented.

"Our strength is our team concept," he said. "We have five guys who all run within 30 seconds of each other. Kevin may the first man across, but the guys in the back are the reason we’re successful."

While Thorpe is the top gun, the Chargers include a number of other runners who are capable of cracking the top 10 on Saturday.

Senior Mike Moriarty has improved dramatically, according to his coach, and is a proven leader for the squad.

"Mike has done everything he had to do to get better, and has become real consistent," D’Orvilliers said.

Juniors Chad Vidal and Steve Farparan are also strong runners who have already posted some low times this year, along with sophomore Brad Schepise.

Sophomore Garret Andren has seen limited action after breaking his collarbone, but is another guy D’Orvilliers has been able to count on, along with senior Mike Dovork, junior Jimmy DeMarco and sophomore Chris O’Dwyer.

"Those guys all keep changing positions, so I can’t really rank them," he said. "They keep scrambling around, and that competitiveness drives them."

As for Thorpe, D’Orvilliers said he is hoping to win the individual title at this weekend’s race, but added that he may be at a disadvantage.

"He’s been nursing a sore back for about a month now, and may not be at full strength yet," he said.

While Spotswood hopes for a strong showing at the GMCs this weekend, D’Orvilliers is stressing the upcoming state meets as they place where they really hope to make some noise.

"We’re looking at the states, with a goal to make the Meet of Champions," he said. "We finished 12 in Group II last year, in our first year in Group II."

This year’s squad is a good mix of upper and lower classmen, which should pave the way for Spotswood to be a solid team over the next few years as well.

"This is a nice blend of kids," D’Orvilliers said. "And it is without question the best team we’ve had at Spotswood. We’ll lose some strong runners to graduation after this year, but I think we’re going to be all right."

Notes... This weekend’s GMC championships at Thompson Park should include some highly competitive races in both the boys’ and girls’ events.

The individual portion of the boys’ championship is being billed as a showdown where any one of 10 harriers could escape with the title. Among the favorites are East Brunswick’s Ryan Williams and Greg Bull, Old Bridge’s Matt Caparaso, Spotswood’s Kevin Thorpe, South Plainfield’s Galen Johnson, North Brunswick’s Tim Riley, St. Joseph’s Chris Avalon and J.P. Stevens’ Ron Fialk.

Spotswood’s Mike Moriarty has the top time at Thompson Park this season (17:20), but that mark is not expected to set the pace this weekend.

The girls’ individual races should be competitive as well, as a number of top local harriers will be in the mix.

Edison’s Oghogho Aifuwa is the favorite, since she has posted the top time at Thompson Park this year (20:42). However, Old Bridge’s Kaitlin Regan has been impressive throughout the fall and has run 20:56 at Thompson Park already. She should be a factor on Saturday, along with her teammates Mara McInerney, Danielle Haggiag and Stephanie Lafergola.

JFK’s Megan Szotak has run 20:43 at Thompson Park and is certainly among the favorites entering the race. Among the other harriers who could battle for the title are Woodbridge’s MaryLynn Skarzenski, Bishop Ahr’s Carolyn Lipovsky and East Brunswick’s Megan Donovan.

The team competitions will feature a pair of heavily favored Old Bridge teams. The Old Bridge girls are the class of the GMC and will likely defend their team title because of their overwhelming depth.

Meanwhile, the Old Bridge boys have held off every challenge thus far and are expected to do so once again on Saturday. Strong teams from East Brunswick and Spotswood are expected to challenge the Knights.