With the clock at 20:45, Ocean City had five finishers across the line, Seneca had six across the line and every other South Jersey Group 3 school combined had … five runners across the line.
This wasn’t a dual meet between the Ocean City and Seneca girls, but it sure felt like it!
Seneca placed all five of its scorers in the top 14 (and its sixth and seventh in 15th and 23rd) but Ocean City was even better, with its five in the top 12!
Ocean City won its ninth sectional title Saturday, 35-47, over Seneca. Toms River South, third with 68, was the only other team under 130 points.
Ocean City’s winning score is lowest in SJ-3 since the 2002 Moorestown team – which went on to win the Meet of Champions – scored 33. It’s fifth-lowest in meet history.
Senior Alexa Weber, freshman Alexa Palmieri, sophomore Casey McLees, senior Michaela Baker and junior Brook Farr ran 3-4-6-11-13 (with Baker and Farr scoring 10 and 12) for Ocean City,
Weber ran 18:49, Palmieri 19:01, McLees 19:27 and Baker and Farr just over 20 minutes.
Freshman Emma Klouchek led Seneca in fifth [19:15], followed by seniors Sydney Warner and Carley Tool [7th and 8th in 19:34 and 19:51] and then sophomores Morgan Hough and Chelsea Richards and junior Kayla Handt in 14th, 15th and 16, all between 20:30 and 20:42.
Seneca’s 47 points is a low enough score to have won South Jersey Group 3 exactly half the previous seasons — 21 of 42 races.
Since 2003, Ocean City and Seneca have combined to win 10 of the 15 South Jersey Group 3 titles, with Ocean City winning in 2003, 2004, 2013 and 2017 and Seneca winning in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014 and 2015.
Both will advance to the state Group 3 meet at Holmdel next Saturday.
Mainland senior Alyssa Aldridge, in only her second race of the fall, easily won her third straight individual title, finishing in 18:13. Aldridge joins Monique Purcell of Holy Spirit [1976-78], Mindy Rowand of Sterling [1983-85], Brittany McCann of Delsea [1999-01], Brittany Sedberry of Ocean City [2002-04] and Kingsway’s Chelsea Ley [2007-09] as three-time winners in the South Jersey Group 3 race.
Aldridge hasn’t lost a XC race to a New Jersey girl since the 2014 Meet of Champions, where she finished second, two seconds behind Cape Atlantic rival Devin Grisbaum of Ocean City.
Aldridge is seeking her third straight Meet of Champions title and third straight Foot Locker berth.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 