Haddonfield placed six runners in the top 10 and Haddonfield averaged 20:08 on the way to a record-setting 18-point total in Group D at the Shore Coaches Invitational Saturday.
The previous lowest winning score in Group D was 27 by Voorhees in 2003.
Junior Helene Usher, sophomore Anne Earp and junior Sabrina Miller placed third, fourth and fifth in 19:49, 19:54 and 20:01, with sophomore Sarah Fetter, senior Jess Goode and sophomore Audrey Naticchia also placing in the top 10. Fetter ran 20:20 for 7th, Goode 20:37 for 9th and Naticchia 20:39 for 10th.
As far as team points go, they finished 1-2-3-5-7. Haddonfield had a 48-second gap between 1 and 5.
Haddonfield graduated most of its sectional championship team from last year. Only Earp, Miller and Goode were on the Haddonfield team that ran at sectionals last year, and only Earp was a scorer.
Usher was part of the lineup at last year’s Holmdel Invitational, which served as an unofficial Meet of Champions. Haddonfield won that with Earp, Usher and Goode in the lineup.
Haddonfield outscored second-place Rumson-Fair Haven 18-41 to win its eighth Shore Coaches title.
The Haddonfield girls also won Shore Coaches in 1982 in Group B, 1993, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 in Group E and 2019 in Group D.
It looks like Haddonfield’s 20:08 average is their fastest at Holmdel since the 2013 team averaged a South Jersey record 19:35 at the Meet of Champions and 19:56 at the state Group 2 meet.
It was also 2nd-fastest of the day Saturday:
19:59 … Lakeland [1st Group E]
20:08 … Haddonfield [1st Group D]
20:25 … Cherokee [1st Group A]
20:27 … Kent Place [2nd Group F]
20:31 … Lawrenceville School [1st Group F]
20:40 … Rumson Fair-Haven [2nd Group D]
20:41 … Mendham [1st Group B]
20:51 … Union Catholic [2nd Group E]
20:56 … Freehold Township [3rd Group A]
20:53 … Montgomery [4th Group A]
West Deptford senior Hope Siner also placed in the top 20, taking 18th place overall in 21:43.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 