Some pretty stellar pack running by the Paul VI girls Saturday in their impressive win over Mainland Regional in the Division 2 Varsity race at the South Jersey Open.

Bridget Lyons placed second and all five Paul VI’s scorers placed in the top 12, and PVI edged Mainland 33-41.

PVI went 2-4-8-9-10 with individuals removed to Mainland’s 1-5-7-11-17. Seneca was a close third with 50 points.

Mainland’s Alyssa Turner ran 19:52 over 5,000 meters on Delsea’s South Jersey fast, flat sectional course to record the overall win.

PVI then had Lyons second in 20:05, Katie Sparks fifth in 20:36 and Annie Skiles 10th in 21:42, Madison Kelly 11th in 21:50 and Hannah WHitmire 12th in 21:55.

For Mainland,  Savannah Hodgens placed sixth in 20:54, with Abby Argentiero ninth in 21:39, Lily Malone 14th in 22:11 and Giselle Obergfell 21st in 22:55.

Seneca was led by Emma Klouchek, fourth in 20:12, Morgan Hough [seventh in 21:00], Chelsea Richards [15th in 22:19], Kayla Handt [16th in 22:26] and Reilly Ritter [19th in 22:34].

Some pretty stellar pack running by the Paul VI girls Saturday in their impressive win over Mainland Regional in the Division 2 Varsity race at the South Jersey Open.

Junior Bridget Lyons placed second and all five Paul VI’s scorers placed in the top 12 and PVI edged Mainland 33-41.

PVI went 2-4-8-9-10 with individuals removed to Mainland’s 1-5-7-11-17. Seneca was a close third with 50 points.

Mainland’ freshman Alyssa Turner ran 19:52 over 5,000 meters on Delsea’s South Jersey fast, flat sectional course to record the overall win.

PVI then had Lyons second in 20:05, sophomore Katie Sparks fifth in 20:36 and senior Annie Skiles 10th in 21:42, junior Madison Kelly 11th in 21:50 and senior Hannah Whitmire 12th in 21:55.

Mainland freshman Savannah Hodgens placed sixth in 20:54, with sophomore Abby Argentiero ninth in 21:39, freshman Lily Malone 14th in 22:11 and sophomore Giselle Obergfell 21st in 22:55.

Seneca was led by Emma Klouchek, fourth in 20:12, Morgan Hough [seventh in 21:00], Chelsea Richards [15th in 22:19], Kayla Handt [16th in 22:26] and Reilly Ritter [19th in 22:34].

Pitman junior Sebastien Reed continued his hot running Saturday with a 30-second victory in the Varsity E race at the Six Flags Wild Safari XC Invitational in Jackson.

Reed covered the 5,000-meter course in 15:42, finishing about 160 meters ahead of second-place Gabriel Cannavo of Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn.

The next-fastest time in any of the five varsity races was 15:57 by Colin Flood of Manasquan. Next-fastest time by a South Jersey runner was a 16:34 by Ocean City junior Anthony Conte, who ran 16:34 to place third in the Varsity C race.

Reed shaved one second off his overall 5,000-meter XC PR of 15:43, which he set at the Osprey Invite last weekend. Reid is undefeated over 5,000 meters this year. His only loss came at 3,200 meters in the junior race at the Cherokee Challenge.

Reed’s time is fastest at Six Flags since 2015, when Connor McMenamin of Souderton Area High ran 15:41. His time is fastest by a New Jersey runner since 2013, when Highland’s Steve Maine ran 15:38.

Pitman placed fourth of 20 schools in team scoring, with juniors Thomas Jackson and Tyler Jackson taking 15th and 16th in 17:33 and 17:40, senior Walter Foard 31st in 18:18 and junior Kamryn Dove 67th in 19:27.

For the first time in his college XC career, Cinnaminson graduate Tom Long was Rider’s first runner across the line in a major invitational.

Long ran 26:52 over 8,000 meters at the Crossings at Colonie in Latham, N.Y., to pace Rider in its sixth-place finish in the season-opening Siena Invitational. Monmouth won the event with 27 points.

Long placed 38th overall

“Tom Long had a really good race today,” said Rider coach Bob Hamer, the former Council Rock star. “He was a strong performer for us last year and he had another good performance today.

“He’s a tough kid who is willing to put himself out and in the race. When you do that and you are willing to grind, you get good results.”

Ben Woodward of Highland and Isaiah Jean-Baptiste of Cherry Hill East were Rider’s next two finishers, placing 43rd and 44th.

Junior Martin Riddell and senior Greg Eisenhower placed second and third, both in 16:19, as Haddonfield raced against a loaded field Saturday at the Bowdoin XC Classic in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.

Devin Hart, the national two-mile champ from Point Pleasant Boro, ran 16:14 for the win, with Riddell and Eisenhower just behind.

La Salle Academy of Providence, R.I., went 4-5-6-9-10 to take the team title, but Haddonfield placed its five scorers in the top 22 and took second out of 26 schools.

La Salle finished with a 29-53 win over Haddonfield, the No. 2 team in New Jersey and No. 1 in South Jersey. La Salle and Haddonfield are ranked No. 4 and 5 in the Northeast.

Junior Stephen Kasko was Haddonfield’s third runner, 12th in 16:58, with senior Sean Campiglia and junior Andrew Gostovich 19th and 22nd in 17:14 and 17:20 on the 5,000-meter course at Bowdoin Park.

Riddell and Eisenhower became the third- and fourth-fastest Haddonfield runners ever on the famed Bowdoin Park layout, behind Jon Vitez, who had a 15:41 and a 16:11 in 2009, and Ben Potts, who ran 16:11 in both 2009 and 2010.

Even without a runner in the top 10, the Kingsway girls packed so well they won the Varsity II race Saturday at the Bowdoin Invitational at Bowdoin Park in Wappinger’s Falls, N.Y.

Sophomore Ashlynne Burke, senior Lauren Trott, junior Allie Pierontoni and sophomore Sydney Watts placed 11th, 12th, 15th and 17th for the Dragons, all between 20:08 and 20:38, and they were backed up by juniors Kennedy Waterson and Emily Pierontoni in 36th and 37th.

Kingsway edged second-place Sacred Heart Academy of Atlantic Beach, N.Y., 76-79, and the keys to the victory were Pierontoni and Watts, who were the top third- and fourth-place finishers in the race. In fact, Watts — Kingsway’s fourth finisher — beat the next-fastest fourth runner, who was from Sacred Heart, by 41 seconds.

Kingsway’s scorers averaged 1:43:18, second-fastest among 39 schools in three varsity races. Niskayuna, N.Y., averaged 1:43:07.

The Kingsway freshmen also won, outscoring Trumbull (Conn.) 46-50. Allison McFarland was the Dragons’ top finisher, taking fourth in 12:33 over the 3,000-meter course. Allison Helkowski [8th in 12:59], Kaitlyn Duffy [18th in 13:51], Isabella Battaglia [32nd in 14:48] and Grace Cassidy [41st in 15:26] also scored for the Kingsway 9th-graders.

Sophomore Sophie Steidle of Collingswood won the girls varsity race at the Ray Hoagland Invitational Saturday by more than a minute!

Steidle covered the 5,000-meter course at the Rancocas Valley Sports Complex in Easthampton in 19:36, beating second-place Tabitha DiDonata by a a fraction of a second over a minute [60.44 seconds to be exact].

That’s about a 250-meter win over the field.

The time is a PR for any 5,000-meter course for Steidle. She ran 19:39 last October at the Colonial Conference All-Star Meet at Pennypacker Park in Haddonfield.

Steidle didn’t compete at sectionals last fall but she did place fourth at Group 2 states in the 3,200 last spring.

Sophomore Emma Klouchek ran 16:22 over 4,000 meters on the hallowed Van Cortlandt Park course and the Seneca girls placed fifth in a very competitive field of mainly New York schools Saturday at the Xavier Invitational in the Bronx.

Klouchek placed seventh overall, leading the way for Seneca. Junior Morgan Hough [25th in 17:31], junior Chelsea Richards [40th in 18:08] and seniors Reilly Ritter [56th in 18:37] and Kayla Handt  [58th in 18:39] also scored for the Golden Eagles.

Notre Dame Academy of Staten Island won the team title with 57 points, followed by Ward Melville of East Setauket, N.Y. [72], Washingtonville (N.Y.) [105] and South Side of Rockville Center, N.Y. [129]. Seneca scored 179.

 

Cinnaminson’s Austin Gabay ran the seventh-fastest time in course history Saturday and placed second in the junior boys race at the Thompson Park Class Meet in Jamesburg and Monroe Township.

Gabay ran 16:09, taking second to Liam Murphy of Allentown, who ran 15:39 and broke the course record of 15:56, set in 2011 by Cullen Davis of North Brunswick.

The previous-fastest time by a South Jersey runner at Thompson Park was a 16:29 by Ben Woodward of Highland last weekend.

Here are the top 10 times in course history:

15:39.37 … Liam Murphy, Allentown [2018]
15:44.92 … Vedang Lad, West Windsor [2018]
15:56.41 … Cullen Davis, North Brunswick [2011]
16:01.69 … Khari Bowen, Monroe Twp. [2011]
16:06.42 … Billy Hill, Franklin Twp. [2017]
16:08.20 … John McGovern, Somerville [2018]
16:09.70 … Austin Gabay, Cinnaminson [2018]
16:11.30 … Jonathan Torres, Hamilton North [2018]
16:15.00 … Paul Ehmann, Mendham [2015]
16:20.07 … Kyle Davis, North Brunswick [2011]

Gabay was a 4:17 miler last spring and placed fifth in the state Group 2 meet at 1,600 meters.

 

Stockton packed its five scorers in a 35-second span and ran away with the team title at its own invitational on Saturday morning.

Sophomore Daniel Do, senior Joe D’Amico, sophomore Cooper Knorr and senior Christian Mele placed 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th in 27:11 through 27:32 over 8,000 meters on Stockton’s campus in Galloway Township, and soph Kyle Navalance took 11th in 27:46.

Stockton finished with 33 points, nearly half of second-place The College of New Jersey. Jefferson of Philly – the combined program of Philadelphia University and Thomas Jefferson – was third with 76.

Do and Mele are South Jersey alums, Do from Absegami and Mele from Cherry Hill East. D’Amico ran at Central Regional, Knorr at Manalapan and Navalance at Toms River North.

Stockton’s five scorers were backed up by sophomores Stephen Conte of Paul VI, Andrew Fellin of Monroe Township and Nick Toth of Spotswood, who placed 17th, 18th and 19th in the field of 112 runners.

Three of TCNJ’s top four runners are South Jersey alums: junior Chris Coombs of Burlington Township placed 10th in 27:41, sophomore Noah Preihs was 12th in 27:49 and freshman Jack Ennis of Shawnee was 15th in 28:03.

For Jefferson, freshman Tyler Savage of Timber Creek placed 30th.