As the spring sports season at WW-P came to a close, members of the boys’ track teams at both North and South went out with a bang, and with a few more titles in tow.
North twins Jim and Joe Rosa, juniors, picked up their own accolades. Jim Rosa wont the 1,600 in a meet-record of 4:07.89 at the Meet of Champions on June 3 at the Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield, beating the old record of 4:08.11 set by Morris Hills’ Liam Tansey in 2009. Meanwhile his brother, Joe Rosa, finished second in the 3,200, with a time of 8:48.55. Corey Abernathy also finished on a high note. He placed third in the shotput with a toss of 58-2.
The North boys finished second at the Group III championships on May 29, where Joe Rosa picked up the state title in the 3,200, finishing with a time of 9:08.07.
Meanwhile, South’s Alex Prieto capped off his career with a Group IV state championship in the triple jump at 46-6 1/4 feet on May 29.
The remaining WW-P teams in the state tournaments were defeated, but not without a hard fight.
The South girls’ softball team finished 16-8 when the team ultimately fell to East Brunswick, 4-2, in the state Group IV sectional final on May 28. Even as East Brunswick opened with a 3-0 lead, the girls fought back. The loss will only provide motivation to take the sectional title next year, when most of the players return for another season.
The North boys’ tennis team fell, 3-2, to Millburn in the state Group III final after first defeating Moorestown, 3-2, earlier in the day. First doubles team Abishy Pandita and Kevin Shi as well as third singles player Brandon Frank won their matches in the final for North, but it was not enough to stop Millburn.
The boys did not leave the 2010 empty-handed. Last month, the team earned the sectional title after battling Holmdel, edging out a 3-2 victory behind Evan Samet, who won his second singles match in three sets to clinch the title.