Thanks in large part to its dynamic duo in the shot put, the South Brunswick High School boys track team placed eighth in the Central Jersey Group IV championships on Feb. 11.
Freehold won the meet with 52.33 points. South Brunswick finished with 15.33 points. A total of 14 teams scored at least a point in the event, held at the Bennett Center in Toms River.
"The boys did all right," South Brunswick Coach Stefan Moorhead said.
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Dominic Padovano and Adam Dickert combined to score the majority of South Brunswick's points in the shot put. Padovano was second with a distance of 52' 9 3/4". Dickert placed fifth with a distance of 48' 6".
"We were definitely happy to qualify two in the shot put," Moorhead noted.
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Not that it was a huge surprise, considering how well that pair has done this season.
"They were the state relay champions, so we knew they could qualify," Moorhead said. "What was a pleasant surprise was that was a personal best by about a foot for Adam."
Derek Forthun placed in two events -- the high jump and the pole vault. Forthun was fourth in the high jump (6' 2") and he tied for sixth in the pole vault (12').
"The high jump tied a personal best," Moorhead noted of Forthun's efforts. "The pole vault was also a personal best. He needed every bit of it because he tied for sixth."
The top six finishers in each event advance on to the Group IV finals, which will be held on Feb. 19 at the Bennett Center.
Joining Padovano, Dickert and Forthun on the trip back to Toms River will be Matt Eder, who placed sixth in the 3200 in a time of 9:53.
"That was a personal best by 11 seconds," Moorhead noted. "That was a huge drop.
"Matt was in a battle for the sixth spot down to the last 50 meters. He was really pushing hard to get that last spot. You could see he really wanted to run again next week."
