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.
Ocean City’s Riley Tolson ran away with the junior girls race Friday at Manalapan’s Run the Night.
Tolson ran 11:12 for two miles at Manalapan Recreation Center, winning by 200 meters over Sophie Nash of North Hunterdon, who was 2nd in 11:57.
Tolson, 3rd in the state Group 3 race last fall at Holmdel and a 10:38.56 runner for 3,200 meters, was South Jersey’s fastest runner at Manalapan and 2nd-fastest overall.
Moorestown’s Makayla Zell [4th in 12:13] and Ocean City’s Lenna Driscoll [6th in 12:24] also finished in the top 10.
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].
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 