From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Middle Township senior Jamar Mack won the individual title and Ocean City, running its B team, placed five runners from 2nd through 6th place to win its 11th straight team title Tuesday at the Cape May Championships in Middle Township.

This is the third straight year Mack has broken up an Ocean City sweep. He was 6th in 2024 and 4th last year.

Ocean City has now won 24 Cape May County titles in the last 25 years. Middle Township won by five points in 2014, 29-34, to break up the Red Raiders’ winning streak.

Ocean City won the team title with 20 points.Ocean City has won 44 of 52 team titles and 43 of the last 49 dating back to 1977. The Raiders have placed 1st or 2nd in 49 consecutive county meets since taking 4th in 1976. They’ve also scored fewer than 40 points in 27 consecutive meets. During their current streak of 11 straight wins they’ve averaged 18.3 points.

Mack ran 16:53 over 5,000 meters at Cape May County Park and won by nearly a minute over Ocean City junior Hayden Tarves, who was 2nd in 17:48.

Also in Ocean City’s scoring group were junior Ryan Jefferson [3rd in 17:50], senior Jeffrey Taccarino [4th in 18:00], senior Eric Buck [5th in 18:01] and sophomore Aidan Sokorai [6th in 18:14].

Also in the top 10: Middle Township junior Rey Cruz Bruno [7th in 18:30], Ocean City sophomore Peyton Spaulding [8th in 18:40], Ocean City senior Logan Goodwin [9th in 18:44] and Middle senior Darp Patel [10th in 18:54].

Kingsway senior Ryan Duffy and Egg Harbor Township junior Timothy Rooney finished 5^th and 7^th and the EHT and Kingsway boys placed 2^nd and 4^th out off over 230 runners in the Varsity E race Saturday at the Manhattan Invitational.

Duffy ran 13:12 over the VanCortlandt Park 2 ½-mile course and Rooney was five seconds back.

Salesianum School of Wilmington, Del., won the team title with 117 points, 15 fewer than Egg Harbor Township. Father Judge of Philadelphia was 3^rd with 159 and Kingsway 4^th at 188.

EHT placed its first four runners in the top 30, with Rooney 5^th, senior Daniel Svec 16^th in 13:36, junior Liam Aspenbherg 27^th in 13:49 and senior Ben Gettings 28^th in 13:51. They were backed up by senior Stephen Slusarski and Gabe Hudec in 55^th and 56^th, both in 14:09. Sophomore Christopher Sanchez ran 14:20 for 72^nd.

For Kingsway, junior Michael Beaver and sophomore Logan McKeever took 17^th and 18^th, both in 13:37, senior Payton Veilleux was 59^th in 14:12 and senior Joseph Moczydlowski 92^nd in 14:38.

The Paul VI girls put three in the top 14 but fell three points shy of winning the Varsity D race Saturday at the Manhattan Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

Freshman Peyton Barger placed 4^th in 15:32, junior Morgan Kuzma was 13^th in 13:55 and sophomore Isabella Suarez 14^th in 13:59 to lead the PVI pack. Senior Grace Gutowski placed 31^st in 16:33 and sophomore Emilia Grelli placed 47^th in 16:57.

Barber was the fastest freshman in the race, the fastest freshman from New Jersey in any of the six girls races and the 3^rd-fastest freshman overall.

Tatnall School of Wilmington, Del., won the team title 99-101. Nobody else was under 189.

Senior Keenan Neuman finished first in a field over 200 runners and senior Nathan Aschmann and junior Nevin Millstein also placed in the top 10 and Ocean City raced to the Varsity C team title Saturday at the Manhattan Invitational.

Neuman ran 12:43 over the 2 ½-mile Van Cortlandt Park course in the Bronx, winning by three seconds over Isaac Deyoe from Shaker High in Latham, N.Y. Aschmann was 3^rd in 13:05 and Millstein 10^th in 13:17.

Junior Benjamin McCarthy and senior Michael Romano were also in Ocean City’s scoring group, McCarthy 22^nd in 13:35 and Romano 39^th in 13:51.

Ocean City won the team title 74-103 over Tatnall School of Wilmington, Del., with Flagler Palm Coast (Fla.) 3^rd with 123.

Middle Township senior Jamar Mack edged Sterling senior Giovanni Fuchs to win the Division 2 race Saturday at the South Jersey Open at DREAM Park in Logan Township.

Mack ran 16:17 and finished two seconds ahead of Fuchs, who was 2^nd in 16:19. The actual margin was 1.53 seconds based on their times to the hundredth of a second.

Haddon Township won a close four-way team battle with 60 points, nine fewer than Camden Catholic’s 69. Woodstown [81] and Sterling [88] also scored below 90 points.

For Haddon Township, junior James Strimel was 5^th in 16:58, then sophomore Kieran Adams, freshman Ryan Luke and sophomore Simon Pierwola ran 11^th, 12^th and 13^th in 17:13, 17:15 and 17:16. Sophomore Isaiah Williams was Township’s 5^th runner, taking 20^th in 17:48.Township’s 6^th and 7^thrunners weren’t far behind, with sophomore Bryce Davis 22^nd in 17:54 and sophomore Nick Bernardo 26^th in 18:01. That’s no seniors, one junior, five sophomores and one freshman in their top seven.

Camden Catholic sophomore Jim Rotaeche [3^rd in 16:28], West Deptford senior Lane McClintock [4^thin 16:42], Woodstown senior David Farrell [6^th in 17:05], Camden Catholic sophomore Daniel Clewell [7^th in 17:07], Woodstown senior Pacey Hutton [8^th in 17:10], Sterling senior Brady Kay [9^th in 17:12] and Woodstown sophomore Torsten Duva [10^th in 17:12] rounded out the top 10.

Moorestown junior Zander Kane placed 5^th out of more than 200 runners in the Varsity B race Saturday at the Manhattan Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park, leading the Quakers to a 5th-place finish out of 32 schools.

Kane ran 13:11 and finished just 13 seconds behind winner Noah Klahn of West Valley Central in Ashford, Cattaraugus County, N.Y.

He was the first underclassman across the line.

Moorestown senior Ethan Taylor ran 14:11 for 40^th place, sophomore Brandon Castner was 58^th in 14:28 and senior Finley Smith 63^rd in 14:41.

Egg Harbor packed its first four runners in 15 seconds and senior Aubrey Bishop, junior Kaitlyn Orazi and senior Kathlyn Gallinaro of Kingsway all placed in the top 20 out of nearly 200 runners and Egg Harbor and Kingsway placed 4^th and 5^th out of 31 schools in the Varsity B girls race Saturday morning at the Manhattan Invitational in the Bronx.

Egg Harbor scored 146 points and Kingsway 158.

For EHT, senior Meghan Johnson ran 20^th in 16:24 over the 2 ½-mile course on the Yonkers border, junior Molly Rooney was 21^st in 16:29, sophomore Corinne Conley placed 24^th in 16:32 and senior Addison Lambert took 29^th in 16:39.

Junior Carlee Street and junior Marisa Mazur placed 56^th and 59^th in 17:20 and 17:22 for Egg and sophomore Katie Johnson ran 17:51 for 81^st.

For Kingsway, Bishop ran 15:50 and placed 11^th, Orazi ran 16:03 and was 16^th and Gallinaro was 18^thin 16:13. Freshman Audrey Scheeper [49^th in 17:13] and senior Ava Buchanan [72^nd in 17:35] were also in Kingsway’s top 5. Freshman Alyssa Stankovich placed 80^th in 17:48, with junior Skyla Bowen 115^thin 18:29.

Ward Melvile of East Setauket in Suffolk County, N.Y., won the team title with 64 points.

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Two days after winning her 2nd straight Salem County title, Woodstown junior Abby Marino raced to the win in the Division 2 race Saturday at the South Jersey Open at DREAM Park in Logan Township.

Marino ran 19:43, with Maple Shade senior Juliana Catalani 2nd in 19:58.

Haddon Township placed its five scorers among the top 20 team scorers [4-7-12-13-19] and won the team title 55-69 over Camden Catholic.

The rest of the top 10 looked like this: Collingswood junior Hazel Straight [4th in 20:33], Gloucester junior Corrinne Kelly [5th in 20:41], Haddon Township senior Tanner Lajoie [6th in 20:55], Sterling senior Brianna Gilligan [7th in 21:07], Sterling junior Riley Sharp [8th in 21:10], Haddon Township junior Isabella Dodd [9th in 21:19] and Maple Shade sophomore Johana Perez [10th in 21:27].

Also in Haddon Township’s winning group were seniors Reagan Maher [16th in 22:23], Biz Maher [18th in 22:34] and Chloe Lajoie [24th in 23:06].

Ocean City junior Riley Tolson ran the 2nd-fastest time ever by a South Jersey girl on the historic 2 ½-mile layout at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx Saturday morning, leaading Ocean City to the team title in the Varsity A race at the Manhattan Invitational.

Tolson ran 14:29, 2nd-fastest behind Briana Gess of Haddonfield, who ran 14:10 in 2015. Her performance was not on the initial Van Cortlandt all-time list I was looking at.

The Red Raiders placed all five scorers in the top 20, with senior Carly Godfrey 6^th in 15:46, senior Lillian Flora 9^th in 15:55, freshman Mackenzie Jenkins 16^th in 16:20 and junior Lenna Driscoll 19^th in 16:22.

Ocean City won by over 100 points, 47-188 over Fiorello H Laguardia of Manhattan.

Freshman Cara Jefferson ran 16:48 for 31^st and sophomore Bella Cera 17:17 for 45^th for Oean City.

Seniors Cian Sherlock and Aneesh Rajagopal and junior Benjamin Dodulik swept the top three spots and Cherry Hill East won the Division 3 race at the South Jersey Open Saturday in Logan Township.

Sherlock ran 15:55, Rajagopal 16:16 and Dodulik 16:22 and East topped 2^nd-place Highland, 38-83, with Cherokee [89] and Gloucester County Tech [93] were next.

Also in Cherry Hill East’s top five were freshman Lucas Clark [11^th in 16:38] and sophomore Conan Poerner [21^st in 16:53].

Othes in the top 10: Gloucester Tech sophomore Shepard Byrne [4^th in 16:24], Vineland senior Maximelio Giardino [5^th in 16:25], Bridgeton senior Dylan Benitez Gonzalez [6^th in 16:29], Vineland junior Isaiah Strickland [7^th in 16:33], Gloucester Tech senior Duke Snyder-Shellito [8^th in 16:34], Cherokee senior Bruce Novoa [9^th in 16:34] and Washington Township junior Ryan DeVecchis [10^th in 16:34].