Cherokee senior Nico Grilli ran a personal best 16:01 on the DREAM Park course and was he first finisher in the seven-team Olympic Conference batch meet by over 100 meters Saturday morning.
Grilli’s previous PR on the Logan Township 5,000-meter course was 16:09 last October at the Olympic Conference Championships.
His 16:01 ties him for No. 5 performer in the three years the course has been used for major competitions.
Junior Billy Clewell of Camden Catholic, a first-year XC runner, placed second in 16:24.
Although team scoring wasn’t kept, Cherokee would have edged Washington Township 35-37 if it was.
Cherokee went 1-3-7-10-14, and Township went 4-5-8-9-11-13.
Cherokee also had senior Brett Shea [3rd in 16:28], sophomore Conor Jacob [7th in 16:52] and senior Dylan Odud [10th in 17:01] in the top 10.
Washington Township was led by seniors Cole Kolodziej [4th in 16:28] and Julian Lawson [6th in 16:29], with senior Mason Brewster [8th in 16:55] and junior Chris Colavita [9th in 16:59] also in the top 10.
Lenape sophomore Jake Buniva finished 6th in 16:50.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 