From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Freshman Bella DeFinis, sophomore Dylan Hosty, junior Devon Gervasi, junior Madison Kelsey, junior Harper Benjamin, junior Saya Sood and junior Molly Mills swept the top seven places and packed within 20 seconds for Haddonfield in a Colonial Conference batch meet Tuesday at West Deptford Park.

DeFinis, in her first high school race, ran 22:02, as did Hosty, in her first race since a 4:40.40 mile in Renton, Wash., last June.

Gervasi ran 22:07, Kelsey 22:17, Benjamin 22:18, Sood 22:21 and Mills 22:22. Also for Haddonfield, junior Penelope Matthews [22:38], junior Grace McCool [22:55] and sophomore Hadley Godwin [22:57] rounded out the top 10 for Haddonfield.

Audubon was led by junior Sophia Rizzo in 11th in 23:03 and West Deptford’s top runner was junior Taylor Sierzega in 15th in 23:27.

Haddonfield sophomore Connor Brand ran away with the individual title Tuesday at the Colonial Conference batch meet over 5,000 meters at West Deptford Park.

Brand ran 17:10 and won by about 150 meters over West Deptford junior Lane McClintock, who ran 17:42. Audubon sophomore John Robinson placed 3rd in 18:01.

Haddonfield had five of the first seven finishers, with sophomore Luke Lindner [4th, 18:22], Owen Snyder [5th, 18:24], sophomore Graham Dodson [6th, 18:25] and junior Andrew Blum [7th, 18:26] also in the Bulldogs’ lead group. Freshman Lucas Larson [9th in 18:53] and junior Luke Patterson [10th in 18:58] also finished in the top 10 for Haddonfield.

Also in the top 10 was Woodbury sophomore Elijah Smith [8th in 18:38].

In her first XC race for Bloomsburg, senior Alexis Tepper from Cherry Hill East placed 4th in the Father Bede Invitational Saturday.

Tepper ran 15:02 over 4,000 meters at B&D Acres in Warriors Mark Township, Blair County, northeast of St. Francis’s campus in Loretto, Cambria County.

Tepper spent her first three collegiate XC seasons at University of Maryland Baltimore County. She transferred to Bloomsburg after XC last fall and ran PRs of 4:33.93 for 1,500 meters, 4:54.15 for the mile and 10:01.20 for 3,000 meters and placed 2nd in the 800 and 1,500 at the PSAC Championships at Shippensburg. Her PRs at 800 [2:14.77] and 3,000 [9:56.83] are from her days at UMBC.

Duquesne sophomore Sylvia Kashak was the overall winner in 14:37. Tepper was Bloomsburg’s No. 2 finisher, behind only sophomore Olivia Magagna, 2nd in 14:42.

Tepper’s brother Peter, also a Bloomsburg senior, placed 16th in the men’s race in 21:03 over 6,000 meters

Another big race for Pleasantville’s Gabriel Moronta, who ran within 1-100th of a second of his PR at the Serbia Athletics Meeting at Atletski Stadion, Smederevo, Serbia.

Moronta ran 44.68, finishing just behind Javier Gómez, who won the race and set the Venezualan national record of 44.58.

Moronta ran his PR of 44.67 in Medellin, Columbia, in June. He has run sub-45 six times this summer.

Gomez broke his own Venezualan national record of 44.66 set in May at Estadio Monumental de Puerto La Cruz José Antonio Anzoátegui in Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela.

Cherokee’s Ben Weiner, a Brandeis sophomore, placed 6th Saturday of 148 runners in the season-opening Bates Regional Preview at the Wainwright Sports Complex in South Portland, Maine.

Weiner covered 4.34 miles in 13:32, finishing just behind teammate and overall winner Hugh Licklider, who ran 13:21. Weiner was Brandeis’s 4th finisher.

Brandeis outscored Bowdoin of Brunswick, Maine, 22-68 to win the team title. Brandeis is ranked 9th in the NCAA Division 3 Northeast Region

[Random note: My dad grew up about two miles from the course in Portland and attended Bowdoin.]

Senior Sarah Rutledge from Egg Harbor Township, sophomore Madison Pratt from Absegami, junior Paige McCabe from Moorestown and sophomore Grace Wojciechowski from Chrokee all finished in the top 10 to help the Stockton women win the season-opening Jersey Pines Challenge.

Rutledge, Pratt, McCabe and Wojciechowski finished 3rd, 4th, 7th and 8th and were Stockton’s 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th finishers as the Ospreys won the title, 23-76 over Felician, with Holy Family 3rd at 79.

Stockton is ranked 5th in the NCAA Division 3 Metro Division, behind Swarthmore, TCNJ, Rowan and Moravian.

Rutledge ran 16:14 over 4,000 meters at Ocean County Park in Lakewood, Pratt ran 16:28, McCabe 17:02 and Wojciechowski 17:08. Also, freshman Shaelea Conway from Cherry Hill West placed 15th in 18:03 and was Stockton’s 9th finisher.

Gloucester graduate Dejia Robert, a Rutgers-Camden freshman, placed 12th in 17:33 and was the Scarlet Raptors’ 1st finisher.

Former Wildwood Catholic teammates Angelina Richardson, a Felician freshman, and Azucena Martinez Panesso, a Georgian Court freshman, finished 14th and 23rd, Richardson in 17:50 and Panesso in 19:02. Panesso was not a distance runner at Wildwood Catholic but placed 2nd in the state Parochial B meet last spring at Buena in the 400-meter hurdles.

Also, Cinnaminson’s Olivia Moyer, a Holy Family sophomore, placed 21st overall in 18:40 and was Holy Family’s 3rd finisher.

Stockton freshman James Clauson from Haddon Township opened his collegiate career with a 2nd-place finish at the Georgian Court Pine Barrens Challenge.

Clauson, a state Group 1 medalist in the 3,200 last spring, ran 20:40 over 6,000 meters at Ocean County Park in Lakewood and finished 2nd to sophomore teammate Sam Szczepanski from Mendham, who ran 20:35.

Four of Stockton’s top seven are from South Jersey. Stockton opened the season with a 30-56 win over Felician University of Rutherford.

Junior Patrick Storti of Cinnaminson ran 8th in 21:12 and was Stockton’s 3rd finisher, sophomore Zachary Hutchinson of Ocean City placed 14th in 21:54 and was Stockton’s 6th runner and sophomore Lewis Ianucci of Haddon Heights was 15th in 21:56 and the Ospreys’ seventh across the line.

Also in the top 20 was Felician freshman Vincent Perri of Winslow Township, who ran 22:21 and was the Golden Falcons’ 5th runner.

Stockton, ranked 7th in the NCAA Division 3 Metro Region, races Friday at the Herb Lorenz Invitational at TCNJ’s Green Lane Fields in Ewing.

In her first college race, Paul VI’s Giovanna Mantuano, a Colgate freshman, placed 11th in the Harry Lang Invitational Saturday in Hamilton, N.Y.

Mantuano ran 19:46 over 5,000 meters on Colgate’s Harry Lange XC course on campus and was Colgate’s 4th finisher in her collegiate debut. She was the No. 2 freshman finisher, behind only Syracuse’s Natalie Fouts, who placed 4th.

This was Mantuano’s 1st race since she ran a PR 10:45.33 for 3,200 meters at the Meet of Champions at Pennsauken.

Bucknell junior Kerry O’Day from Cherokee and Lafayette junior Anya Kazemifrom Bishop Eustace placed 1st and 4th Saturday in the annual Lafayette-Bucknell dual meet in Lewisburg.

O’Day ran 13:59 for 4,000 meters and tied for 1st with teammate Kailey Granger. Both were officially timed in 13:59.2.

Kazemi was Lafayette’s 2nd finisher, covering the course at Bucknell Golf Club in 14:07. Lafayette’s 4th finisher was senior Ava Severino from Haddon Heights, who ran 14:29. Also in the top 20 was Bucknell sophomore Dylan Melcher, who placed 18th in 14:44 in her first college race. She spent last year at Virginia Tech but didn’t race.

Bucknell outscored Lafayette, 21-40.

Ocean City’s Nick Scarangelli began his senior year at Embry-Riddle by placing 2nd out of more than 150 runners in the Florida Intercollegiate Invitational.

Scarangelli covered the 5,000-meter course at Cecil Field Golf Course in Jacksonville in 14:57.7. It was his first XC 5K in college. He’s run as fast as 14:17.52 for 5,000 meters on the track.

Scarangelli, the Peach Belt Conference 5,000 runner-up last spring and the 3,000 winner indoors, placed 2nd last fall in the Sunshine State Conference Championships with a 24:36.6 over 8,000 meters in Lakeland, Fla. (Apparently, the school changed conferences between XC and track.)

On Friday, he placed 2nd to Teammate Taye Newman, who ran 14:42. Embry-Riddle, located in Daytona Beach, placed 2nd to North Florida of Jacksonville, 41-62.