From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Molly Cataline of Northern Burlington won the freshman girls race Friday at the Run the Night at Manalapan Recreation Center.

Cataline ran 11:53, presumably over two miles – the results don’t list a course length – and finished nearly 200 meters ahead of 2nd-place Poppy Kolb of Rumson-Fair Haven, who was 2nd in 12:36.

Catalione, who won the Cherokee Challenge Middle School race last year as an 8th-grader at Northern Burlington Middle School, ran 5:25.63 and 11:36.12 on the track last spring.

Also in the freshman race, Ocean City’s Makcenzie Jenkins and Cara Jefferson placed 3rd and 9th in 12:40 and 13:08. Mary-Kate Boyle of Northern ran 13:09 for 10th.

Rider freshman Ashley Doyle, a Delran graduate in her first college race, placed 6th out of 45 runners Friday in the Temple Invitational on Temple’s Ambler campus, which is in Upper Dublin Township and not in Ambler.

Doyle ran 4,000 meters in 16:06 and was Rider’s first finisher.

Rider placed 4th in team scoring with 77 points, behind Temple [29], Loyola [56] and Seton Hall [62].

For the Rider men, sophomore Melvin Lewis of Pleasantville and freshman Jacob Wickersham were the Broncs’ 2nd and 3rd finishers in 20th and 27th in 22:15 and 22:43 over four miles.

Seniors Lindsay Taylor from Egg Harbor Township and Samantha Swearingen from Paul VI helped the Delaware Valley University women win the season-opening Aggie Open over 5,000 meters on Delaware Valley’s home course in Doylestown and New Britain.

Taylor placed 3rd in 22:16 and Swearingen was 11th in 23:42. They were the Aggies 3rd and 6th finishers.

Delaware Valley won the team title 20-47 over Kean College, Jersey City campus.

Edward Abu-Adas of Cinnaminson placed 5th to lead all South Jersey runners in the senior boys race Friday at the 31st annual Cherokee Challenge.

Abu-Adas ran 10:22 and finished 5th overall. Gavin Oliver of Donovan Catholic in Toms River won the race in 9:58.

Also in the top 10 were Giovanni Fuchs of Sterling [7th in 10:24], Duke Snyder-Shellito [8th in 10:25], Bruce Novoa of Cherokee [9th in 10:28] and Nathaniel Friebel of Eastern [10th in 10:29].

St. Joe’s junior Matt Hoffman from Ocean City led a large South Jersey contingent Friday at the Lehigh Invitational with an 8th-place finish among 129 finishers.

Hoffman covered 6,000 meters on Lehigh’s south campus in Bethlehem and Lower Saucon Township in 18:49 and was St. Joe’s 4th finisher. The Hawks’ 5th runner was senior Ian Romea from Haddonfield, who took 12th in 18:55.

Rutgers edged St. Joe’s 35-36 to win the team title.

Rutgers’ 4th finisher was senior Kyle Rakitis from Kingsway, who placed 13th in 19:00.

Host Lehigh’s 4th runner was junior Will Mrozinski Paul VI, who was 24th in 19:21.

St. Joe’s sophomore Christian Napoli of Paul VI placed 28th and ran 19:24, followed closely by Rowan’s top runner, senior Colin Patterson from Haddon Heights, 31st in 19:25.

Rutgers senior Ryan Smith from Rancocas Valley ran 19:32 and placed 36th, and Rutgers freshman Peter Simpson from Haddonfield ran 19:35 and took 39th in his first college race.

Lenape’s Audrey McCorkle place 2nd in the senior girls race Friday at the 31st annual Cherokee Challenge.

McCorkle ran 12:05, finishing just behind winner Sophee Estrems of Demarest, who won the race in 12:01.

Also in the top 10 were Paul VI’s Grace Gutowski [6th in 12:22], Seneca’s Jaden Eberman [7th in 12:25], Egg Harbor Township’s Meghan Johnson [8th in 12:27] and Maple Shade’s Juliana Catalani [10th in 12:57].

Washington Township’s Trevor Szilier became the first runner to break 10 minutes on the Cherokee two-mile course Friday when he won the boys junior race in 9:51.

Szilier finished 15 seconds ahead of Aron Zola of West Windsor-Plainsboro South, who was 2nd in 10:06.

Others in the top 10: Egg Harbor’s Liam Aspenberg [6th in 10:19], Egg Harbor’s Timothy Rooney [8th in 10:30] and Lenape’s Jayden Carn [10th in 10:34].

Paul VI’s Morgan Kuzma, Cherokee’s Erin Healy and Egg Harbor Township’s Molly Rooney all finished in the top 5 Friday in the junior girls race at the 31st annual Cherokee Challenge.

Kuzma placed 3rd in 12:20.78, Healy was 4th in 12:24 and Rooney 5th in 12:38. Siena Rivera of Hightstown won the race in 12:00.

Also in the top 10 were Peyton Blake of Paul VI [9th in 12:53] and Hazel Straight of Collingswood [10th in 12:54].

Chase Bernardini of St. Augustine won the sophomore boys race Friday at the 31st annual Cherokee Challenge.

Bernardini covered the two-mile course at Cherokee in 10:29, edging 2nd-place Richard Lorenz of Highland, who ran 10:33.

Also in the top 10 were Shawnee’s Devin Lloyd [3rd in 10:38], Camden Catholic’s Jim Rotaeche [4th in 10:40], Shepard Byrne from Gloucester County Tech [6th in 10:48], Camden Catholic’s Daniel Clewell [9th in 10:54] and Cherokee’s Colton Harbold [10th in 10:57].

Paul VI’s Isabella Suarez won the sophomore girls race Friday at the 31st annual Cherokee Challenge, finishing four seconds ahead of Kayla Peckens of Princeton Day School.

Suarez, who placed 8th as a freshman in the South Jersey parochial championships, ran two miles at Cherokee in 12:22, and Peckens ran 12:26. Cherokee’s Ava Guarini was 3rd in 12:28.

Also in the top 10 were Egg Harbor’s Corinne Conley [6th in 12:51], Delsea’s Brooke Mashburn [9th in 13:311] and Audubon’s Emma Camm [10th in 13:13].