While she had to wait a little longer than all of the other girls to know for sure, East Brunswick senior Bianca Nfonoyim has qualified for The Meet of Champions.
The top six finishers in each event at each of the group meets qualify for The Meet of Champions, which will be held at Old Bridge on tonight, (Thursday, June 9). The next six fastest times from all of the group meets combined also make The Meet of Champions as wild cards.
Nfonoyim placed 10th in the 800 (2:16.32) while competing in the Group IV meet at Old Bridge this past weekend. Because she was competing in the Group IV meet -- which generally has the toughest competition -- this still left the door open for qualifying. And after making a call to the site of the other groups meets, it was confirmed Nfonoyim would be advancing.
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"Her race was fast," East Brunswick Coach Kevin McEvoy noted. "It was exciting. It was so fast, we thought she had a chance to advance. We were able to find out for sure before she left. Bianca was able to go home knowing she ran well, had a school record and will run again on Thursday."
For the second week in a row, Nfonoyim set a new school record at East Brunswick. Last week, she set the record in the 1600. This past weekend, she broke the record in the 800 previously held by Naomi Stahl.
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"When I got home, I sent Naomi an email to let her know her record was broken," McEvoy said. "After spending so much time and caring so much about these girls, you keep in touch with them."
Stahl is a junior at Dartmouth. Nfonoyim is heading to Harvard University in the fall. This was the case of one future Ivy League student breaking the record of a current Ivy League student.
"I didn't even think of that," McEvoy said. "To me, it was one East Brunswick girl breaking the record of another East Brunswick girl.
"It's a whole different world (going to an Ivy League school). Bianca is going to Harvard to study. You talk to some kids and they'll say they are going to a school to run track or play some other sport. Bianca is going to Harvard to study."
Nfonoyim qualified to run in both the 800 and 1600. After consulting with her coach, it was decided Nfonoyim would run in just the 800, keeping her fresher and giving her a better chance to qualify for The Meet of Champions.
"You're talking Group IV here," McEvoy noted. "These are the big dogs in the state. Unless you are some full-blown scholarship girl, you're not doing two distance races. She had to pick and she chose to run the 800."
Nfonoyim qualifying for The Meet of Champions extends an East Brunswick season in which the team went 3-5 in the regular season. East Brunswick was both fourth in the Greater Middlesex Conference relays and GMC individual event.
"We had a good season," McEvoy said. "We have a lot of quality kids and seniors. Bianca advancing to The Meet of Champions is a nice way to end the season."
