#b#XC: Bason, Rancan Qualify for Meet of Champions#/b#
South’s cross country teams’ season came to an end at the state group championships on November 14, but two individuals advanced to compete with the best in the state at the Meet of Champions on Saturday, November 21, at Holmdel Park.
On the girls’ side, Christina Rancan punched her ticket with an eighth place finish at the group meet in 19:12. For the boys, Tim Bason took third in Group IV in 16:00 to earn his spot.
South’s teams had both earned trips to the group championship with top five finishes at the state sectional championship on November 7 at Thompson Park in Jamesburg.
South’s girls, behind a first place performance by Rancan (18:28), finished second. Supporting Rancan were Elizabeth Petrov, 17th in 20:09; Kelsey Kobus, 20th in 20:12; Haley Rich, 25th in 20:33; and Alexandra Hesterberg, 27th in 20:39. A tie with third-place South Brunswick was broken by South’s sixth runner, Kavya Tummalapalli, who finished 37th in 21:06.
Like Rancan, Bason paced the South boys with a first place finish in 15:39. Behind him were Sam Williams, 14th in 16:36; Alex Petri, 34th in 17:08; Dexter Benkard, 37th in 17:09; and Ryan Joseph, 44th in 17:14. The Pirates took fourth place as a team.
At the Group IV meet the South girls took eighth, again led by Rancan. Petrov finished 39th in 20:09; Rich 61st in 20:41; Kobus 63rd in 20:45; and Hesterberg 81st in 20:59.
Behind Bason, South’s boys took ninth place. Williams was 45th in 17:03; Petri 61st in 17:12; Harish Venkatraman 77th in 17:27; and Joseph 82nd in 17:30.
#b#Serving Up Hope#/b#
High School South’s Volleyball Team raised close to $3,000 for Autism Speaks. Team members include Lillian Nose, Caroline Sabin, Connie Jiang, Maddie Lee, Kate Yuan, Jiwon Kim, Julianna Gay, Daniella Buchbinder, Jinae Park, Sweda Rajaram, Lauren Frullo, Nikitha Gadangi, and Sally Wu.
The team held its annual “Serve Up Hope” volleyball benefit between rival teams at South and North. During the game, the team hosted a concession stand, held raffles and soldTt-shirts, with all of the proceeds benefitting Autism Speaks. Team members also participated in Autism Speaks Annual Walk in October.
#b#Fencing Update#/b#
Daniel Ross, Reena Argawal, and Marina Lorenco of West Windsor received bronze medals on November 15 in a youth fencing tournament held at Escrimeur Fencing Academy in East Brunswick. Rohan Bohra of West Windsor won all of his preliminary matches and finished in fifth place. His fellow teammate Ahan Shankwalkar of Plainsboro finished in seventh place. They train at the Fencing Club of Mercer County in Robbinsville.
“I was pleased with how everyone fenced,” says John Friedberg, the coach at the fencing club. “They have all been working very hard to prepare themselves for the competitive season and these results demonstrate that effort translates into continual improvement.” Visit www.FencingClubOfMercerCounty.com for information about the program.
#b#Ping Pong Tourney#/b#
On Saturday, December 5, Princeton Pong at 745 Alexander Road in West Windsor will host an open table tennis tournament. Register now at Princetonpong.com or call 609-987-8500. Entry deadline is December 3.
