Title a long time coming for Bears
BY RICHARD JEROME
Staff Writer

Above, members of the Old Bridge cross country team try to catch their breath after the GMCchampionship meet in Jamesburg on Saturday. At left, Old Bridge’s Matt Ciambrello races to the win, two spots ahead of Spotswood’s Kyle Price (below).

Sometimes, everything comes together — each cog in the machine works at the optimum level. That’s what happened for the East Brunswick High School boys cross country team at a damp Thompson Park last Saturday, as it edged Spotswood and nemesis Old Bridge to win the Greater Middlesex Conference championship.

It was the Bears’ first county title since 1982, and broke a six-year Old Bridge hold on the crown. Overall, EBHS had 61 points, SHS 63 and OB 71.

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“We were thrilled,” said EBHS coach Rich Murray. “The whole team had to run our best, and we did. Spotswood and Old Bridge did very well, and we had to be just a little bit better.”

Pacing the Bears was junior Eric Sorkin, who finished second in 16:20, behind winner Matt Ciambriello of Old Bridge, who ran a 15:56.

“That was easily Eric’s best time ever,” said Murray. “He’s mainly been our number three runner.”

It’s a close call between those top three, which Murray refers to as “the triplets.” As for the other two, senior Yannick Wood placed fourth, barely a second behind Sorkin and Spotswood’s Kyle Price; and Danny Gilbert, also a senior, finished fifth in 16:29.

“He was slowed by illness earlier in the year, but has come on strong,” said his coach.

The Bears’ reliable number four runner, senior Adam Cesanek, ran a personal best 17:04 in the GMCs, and sophomore Josh Marciano stepped up in a huge way, running a 17:36, 40 seconds off his previous best.

“He’s the biggest surprise of the year,” said Murray, who is assisted by Mike Harnett. “Josh has come way up, knocking a full three minutes off his best time since the start of the season.”

The other two EBHS runners also set personal bests. as junior Ira Guberman clocked an 18:12 and senior Phil Koller finished in 18:20 for the three miles.

Yesterday the 6-0 Bears had another meeting with Old Bridge, this time to determine the Red Division title.

“That,” said Murray, “would be icing on the cake.”

Notes ... While second-place Spotswood was paced by Price’s third-place finish in 16:20.4, he was followed by teammates Brad Schepise in seventh (16:32.0) Chris O’Dwyer in 11th (16:52.1), Kevin VanDerveer in 15th (17:01.6) and Garret Andren in 30th (17:30.9).

The Chargers’ strong effort speaks of their promise as the state sectional meet looms in the near future. Spotswood very nearly stole the GMC title from the perennial favorites (Old Bridge and East Brunswick) and has to be running with more confidence than ever.

The Old Bridge squad was paced by Ciambrello’s dominant effort, but the Knights also got solid runs from Nick Carbone (eighth, 16:33.9), Breandan Lyman (13th, 16:58.5), Hirsha Venkataraman (25th, 17:16.2) and Patrick Lyman (17:24.6).

Sayreville finished in ninth place (252), led by the 10th-place finish of Arron Ampaabeng (16:48.9), and the solid effort of Jon Vedia (17:26.8).

Monroe finished in 11th place, led by a 14th-place finish from Scott Roman (16:59.6).