The Cherokee girls staked their claim as one of the greatest cross country teams in state history Saturday with a commanding win at the 14th annual Nike Cross Country Regionals.
Junior Kelsey Miglio and senior Nicole Clifford finished 6th and 7th overall and the Chiefs outscored 2nd-place Ridgewood 67-86 to win the team title at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
Haddonfield scored 102 points for third place and a 1-2-3 New Jersey sweep.
This is the third straight week Cherokee has out-raced Ridgewood, previously ranked No. 1 in the state.
Niglio ran 19:37 and Clifford 19:38, and the Chiefs, coached by Mark Jarvis and assistant Dave Petruzzi, placed all five runners in the top 30 out of more than 120 runners. For team scoring purposes, Cherokee packed its five scorers in the top 22.
Freshman Megan Niglio ran 20:04 for 20th, sophomore Olivia Parkinson 20:30 for 28th and sophomore Kerry O’Day 20:34 for 30th.
At states and the Meet of Champions, Ridgewood led through three runners and Cherokee’s 4th and 5th runners made the difference, but this time Cherokee led 24-31 through three runners. O’Day finished a whopping 13 spots ahead of Ridgewood’s fifth runner.
Cherokee had a 57-second gap from first to fifth.
Sophomore Alaina Bromley and senior Noelle Falzone also raced for Cherokee,
Normally, Cherokee would have earned a spot at Nike Cross Nationals at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore., but Nike cancelled the national meet this year.
The Nike series began in 2007. Cherokee is the first South Jersey school and third New Jersey school to win Nike Cross Regionals. Voorhees won in 2010 and North Hunterdon in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. The meet wasn’t held last year.
The best previous finish at Nike Regionals by a South Jersey program was Kingsway’s 2nd place in 2017. Kingsway also placed 6th in 2015 and 2016.
Led by senior Jack Gaffin in 23rd place, Cherry Hill East placed 6th out of 23 teams Saturday morning in the Nike Cross Northeast Regionals.
Gaffin ran 17:04 on the 5,000-meter course at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
Senior Dylan Hagan placed 39th in 17:21, senior Ethan Anderer 42nd in 17:24, junior Michael McCurdy 54th in 17:35 and senior Jacob Cheng 66th in 17:47 for East, which had a 43-second gap between its first and fifth scorers.
Bishop Hendricken of Warwick, R.I., won the team title with 73 points. Cherry Hill East scored 199 points.
Seth Clevenger moved into the all-time South Jersey top-10 at legendary Van Cortlandt Park Saturday at the Eastbay Cross Country Northeast Regionals, formerly Foot Locker (and Kinney).
Clevenger, a Haddonfield senior, ran 15:42.3 on the challenging 5,000-meter course in the Bronx, New York, and placed 12th. The top 10 finishers earn a trip to Eastbay Nationals in San Diego in two weeks.
Marco Langon of Bridgewater-Raritan placed second in 15:09.6 – fastest ever by a New Jersey runner at Vanny – and Shane Brosnan of Union Catholic took 5th in 15:24. The previous New Jersey best at Van Cortlandt was Craig Forys’ 15:15.5 in 2006.
Full results aren’t yet available. Or if they are I sure can’t find them!
Here’s a look at the all-time South Jersey list at Vanny:
15:17.6 … Jason DiJoseph [Paul VI], 1988
15:24.0 … Kevin Antczak [Mainland Reg.], 2019
15:25.6 … Kevin Pumphrey [Highland], 1985
15:27.7 … Murad Campbell [Overbrook], 1997
15:28.4 … Josh Clark [Highland], 2015
15:30.4 … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], 2003
15:33.4 … Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2014
15:40.1 … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2001
15:40.7 … Loui Corgliano [Hammonton], 2013
15:42.3 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2021
15:42.5 … Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 2012
Dennis Fortuna joined the sub-16 minute club at Holmdel Saturday, and not only did he join it, he moved way up on it.
Fortuna, a senior at Triton, ran 15:46 to place 8th at the 49th annual Meet of Champions at Holmdel County Park. That’s a 16-second Holmdel PR after his 16:02 at Shore Coaches. Fortuna didn’t race at Holmdel last year – states and the M-of-C were cancelled – and his sophomore best at Holmdel was a 16:33 at the state Group 3 meet.
Fortuna’s time is the No. 25 all-time performance by a South Jersey runner at Holmdel and makes him the No. 18 performer at the legendary 5,000-meter course in Monmouth County. He’s also No. 10 in Camden County history.
After running 9:28.26 and 4:22.60 on the track last spring, Fortuna blossomed on the trails this fall. He won the Manhattan Invite, Shore Coaches, Camden County, Group 3 sectionals and states before recording a top-10 finish at Meet of Champions. He ran as fast as 15:09 on the DREAM Park speedway.
His time Saturday was 2nd-fastest among South Jersey runners, behind only Seth Clevenger of Haddonfield, who was 6th in 15:36.
Before this year, the Triton school record at Holmdel was Robert Rawls’ 16:16 when he placed 27th at the 2010 Meet of Champions.
Here’s an updated look at the all-time South Jersey sub-16 list at Holmdel:
ALL-TIME SOUTH JERSEY HOLMDEL SUB-16 LIST
15:16 … Jason DiJoseph [Paul VI], 1988
15:29 … Kevin Antczak [Mainland], 2019
15:32 …….. Antczak, 2019
15:33 …….. DiJoseph, 1988
15:33 … Josh Clark [Highland], 2015
15:36 … Louis Corgliano [Hammonton], 2013
15:36 …….. DiJoseph, 1987
15:36 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2021
15:37 … Aaron Groff [Cherry Hill East], 2015
15:38 …….. Hughes, 2003
15:39 … Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2014
15:39 …….. Groff, 2015
15:40 … Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 2012
15:40 … Brett Johnson [Ocean City], 2008 15:40 … Steve Maine [Highland], 2013
15:41 … Jon Vitez [Haddonfield], 2009
15:42 … Ben Potts [Haddonfield], 2010
15:41 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2019
15:42 … Shawn Hutchison [Bishop Eustace], 2014
15:43 … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2001
15:43 … Miles Schoedler [Ocean City], 2010
15:44 …….. Johnson, 2008
15:45 … Keith Krieger [Cherokee], 2002
15:45 …… Wilson, 2011
15:46 … Jack Shea [Cherokee], 2015
15:46 … Dennis Fortuna [Triton], 2021 15:47 … Urie Ridgeway [Bridgeton], 1988
15:48 … Chris Platt [Haddonfield], 2001
15:48 …….. Krieger, 2002
15:48 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], 2019
15:48 … Oliver Adler [Cherry Hill East], 2019
15:49 …….. Hughes, 2003
15:49 … Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2014
15:50 … Mike Myers [Eastern Reg.], 2000
15:51 … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], 2003
15:51 … Murad Campbell [Overbrook], 1998
15:51 …….. Wechsler, 2019
15:52 …….. Antczak, 2019
15:54 … Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1978
15:54 … Paul Szulewski [Williamstown], 2010 15:54 … Skip Stiles [Haddonfield], 2001
15:54 … Mike Myers [Eastern], 2000
15:55 … Dominick Munson [Timber Creek], 2014
15:55 … Breton Bonnett [Haddonfield], 2001
15:55 …….. Groff, 2014
15:55 …….. Clevenger, 2021
15:56 … David Forward [Shawnee], 2008
15:56 …….. Wechsler, 2018
15:56 …….. Johnson, 2008
15:56 …….. Vitez, 2009
15:56 …….. Potts, 2010
15:56 … Kyle Kirk [Camden Catholic], 2012
15:57 … Nate Miller [Highland], 1998
15:57 …….. Szulewski, 2009
15:57 … Connor Herr [Shawnee], 2010
15:57 … Michael Ungvarsky [Cinnaminson], 2016
15:58 …….. DiJoseph, 1987
15:58 …….. Pelerin, 2000
15:58 …….. Shea, 2016
15:58 …….. Gabay, 2019
15:58 …….. Adler, 2019
15:58 … Martin Ridell [Haddonfield], 2019 15:58 … George Andrus [Haddonfield], 2021
15:59 … Anthony Dentino [Washington Twp.], 2010
15:59 …….. Maine, 2012
15:59 … Robert Edwards [Bridgeton], 2002
15:59 …….. Hutchison, 2014
Northern Burlington freshman Liliah Gordon put together a historic performance in her first Meet of Champions Saturday.
Gordon was the only South Jersey runner in the top 10, taking 8th in 18:29, making her the 15th-fastest runner ever from South Jersey at Holmdel County Park.
Her time appears to be No. 4 all-time by a South Jersey freshman, behind Briana Gess of Haddonfield [17:45 in 2013], Alyssa Aldridge of Mainland Regional [18:22 in 2014] and Grace Yoon of Cherry Hill East [18:28 in 2016].
Her top-10 finish is the first by a Northern Burlington girl at the Meet of Champions in 27 years, since Colleen Sunderland placed 6th in 19:26 back in 1994.
The only Burlington County girl ever to run faster at the historic Holmdel 5,000-meter course is Cherokee’s Megan Lacy, whose fastest performance at Holmdel was 17:54, when she won the 2010 state Group 4 meet.
Four of the top five freshmen in the race were from South Jersey schools.
Mainland’s Sofia Day ran 18:49 for 15th, Cherokee’s Megan Niglio ran 19:58 for 60th and helped Cherokee win the team title [see story ], and Cherry Hill East’s Kiley Walsh ran 20:07 for 70th.
Gordon is the first runner ever from the Burlington County Scholastic League to break 19 minutes at Holmdel. She ran 19:00 at Group 3 states, and the fastest time before that by a BCSL runner at Holmdel was a 19:17 by Kari Vigerstol of Holy Cross when she won the 1994 state Parochial A race.
Highland junior Grace Wassell placed 13th in 18:48, which makes her the third-fastest Highland girl ever at Holmdel. Megan Venables ran a series of fast times, including the former course record 17:27 at the 2010 Meet of Champions, and Arianna McKinney ran 18:44 at the 2003 Shore Coaches Invitational.
Here’s a complete look at all 16 South Jersey runners in the top-50:
With senior Seth Clevenger placing 4th overall in 15:36 and junior George Andrus also running sub-16, Haddonfield turned in one of the greatest performances ever by a South Jersey school at Holmdel and placed 3rd at the Meet of Champions Saturday.
Haddonfield averaged 16:21, 3rd-fastest ever at Holmdel by a South Jersey school and fastest since Haddonfield averaged 16:21 when it placed 2nd at the 2010 Meet of Champions.
It was Haddonfield’s 2nd straight 3rd-place finish. The Bulldogs also placed 3rd in 2019, the last time the meet was held.
Union Catholic won the team title with 67 points, followed by Christian Brothers Academy with 84. Haddonfield was the top public school and the top South Jersey school, scoring 134 points to finish 63 ahead of 4th-place Ridge. Cherokee (242) and Cherry Hill East (259) also finished in the top 10.
Clevenger’s 15:36 makes him the 5th-fastest South Jersey runner in Holmdel history and is the 6th-fastest performance. The fastest previous Haddonfield runner at the legendary Holmdel County Park course was Jon Vitez, who ran 16:41 at the 2009 Meet of Champions.
Andrus placed 16th in 15:58, Senior Tobias Janssen ran 16:29 for 46th, junior Robert DiMedo 16:44 for 67th and junior Ian Romea 84th in 17:00. Sophomore Liam Dougherty [17:12] and Junior Donald Jellig [17:28] also raced for the Bulldogs.
For team scoring purposes, Haddonfield went 4-8-26-41-55-(71-88).
Incredibly, Haddonfield has placed in the top-5 at the Meet of Champions 12 times, including 10 of the last 15 times the meet was contested.
Other Haddonfield top-5 finishes: 5th in 1989, 1st in 2001, 3rd in 2006, 3rd in 2007, 4th in 2008, 4th in 2009, 2nd in 2010, 5th in 2014, 4th in 2015, 2nd in 2018 and 3rd in 2019.
Here’s a look at the 10 fastest South Jersey runners in Holmdel history:
15:16 … Jason DiJoseph [Paul VI], 1988
15:29 … Kevin Antczak [Mainland Regional], 2019
15:32 …….. Antczak, 2019
15:33 …….. DiJoseph, 1988
15:33 … Josh Clark [Highland], 2015
15:36 … Louis Corgliano [Hammonton], 2013
15:36 …….. DiJoseph, 1987
15:37 … Aaron Groff [Cherry Hill East], 2015
15:38 … Gregory Hughes [Mainland], 2003
15:39 … Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2014
15:39 …….. Groff, 2015
15:40 … Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 2012
15:40 … Brett Johnson [Ocean City], 2008
15:40 … Steve Maine [Highland], 2013
And here are the top-10 South Jersey team averages in Holmdel history:
16:19 … Mainland Regional, 2003, Meet of Champions [1]
16:19 … Haddonfield, 2010, Meet of Champions [2]
16:21 … Haddonfield, 2001, Meet of Champions [1]
16:21 … Haddonfield, 2021 Meet of Champions [3]
16:22 … Kingsway, 2017, Group 4 [1]
16:25 … Mainland Regional, 2003, Group 4 [1]
16:26 … Cherry Hill East, 2014, Group 4 [1]
16:28 … Haddonfield, 2021, Group 2 [1]
16:30 … Haddonfield, 2018 Meet of Champions [2]
16:30 … Cherokee, 2019 Meet of Champions [4]
Photo courtesy of Lisa Burkholder’s Facebook page.
Led by senior Nicole Clifford in 11th place, the Cherokee girls turned in a historic performance Saturday, placing five girls under 20 minutes and becoming the first South Jersey school in 18 years to win the XC Meet of Champions.
Cherokee outscored Ridgewood 117-126 to join Moorestown and Shawnee as only the third South Jersey program to win the M-of-C in the meet’s 49 years of existence.
Shawnee won in 1991, 1997, 2002 and 2003 and Moorestown in 2001.
Clifford ran 18:43, junior Kelsey Niglio placed 35th in 19:22, sophomore Kerry O’Day 38th in 19:24, sophomore Olivia Parkinson 44th in 19:30 and freshman Megan Niglio 60th in 19:58.
Sophomore Alaina Bromley and senior Noelle Falzone also raced for Cherokee. Bromley ran 21:05 and Falzone 21:45.
As far as team scoring points, Cherokee went 8-22-24-26-37 to Ridgewood’s 9-16-21-39-41. So Ridgewood was up 46-54 through three runners before Parkinson finished 13 places ahead of Ridgewood’s fourth runner.
Ridgewood was ranked No. 1 in the state until Cherokee beat them at the state Group 4 meet on the same course last weekend.
Top-ranked Colts Neck was 3rd with 147 points, three-time defending champion North Hunterdon was 4th with 149 and Haddonfield was 5th with 179. So Cherokee has out-raced the No. 1 team in the state on back-to-back Saturdays.
The nine-point margin of victory is the smallest since 2014, when Red Bank Catholic won by seven (88-95) over Hillsborough.
Cherokee’s five scorers averaged 19:23, fastest ever by a South Jersey school over the challenging 5,000-meter Holmdel County Park course. The previous record was Haddonfield’s 19:31 last fall at the Holmdel Invitational, which replaced the cancelled Meet of Champions.
Clifford’s 18:43 makes her the 2nd-fastest Cherokee girl ever at Holmdel. Megan Lacy ran 17:55 at the 2010 Meet of Champions and sub 18:30 five other times.
This was only Cherokee’s third trip ever to the Meet of Champions. The Chiefs placed 8th in 2004 and 6th in 2010.
Congrats to coach Mark Jarvis and assistant Dave Petruzzi and the entire Cherokee program for this monumental achievement!
Next weekend Cherokee will race at the Nike XC Regionals at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
From left to right: Liam Daugherty, Donald Jellig, Tobias Janssen, George Andrus, Seth Clevenger, Andrew Sullivan and Robert DiMedio (courtesy @dawgsxctf)
So much for running cautiously with a short week before Meet of Champions.
Led by individual winner Seth Clevenger, a senior, and with junior George Andrus and Senior Tobias Janssen also in the top 5, Haddonfield blazed to its 19th state XC title – and 11th in the last 15 years – at the rain-delayed state Group 2 championships at Holmdel County Park.
And the Bulldogs did it with one of the fastest team averages in South Jersey history!
The boys Group 2 race was one of three delayed two days because of wind and thunderstorms that tore through Monmouth County Saturday afternoon.
So instead of six days between states and the Meet of Champions, Haddonfield only has three days.
But the notion of two hard efforts in five days didn’t deter Haddonfield, which averaged 16:28 over the challenging Holmdel 5,000-meter layout, the 7th-fastest team average ever run at Holmdel by a South Jersey school and fastest since Kingsway’s 16:22 at the 2017 state Group 4 meet.
Clevenger ran 15:51, a four-second Holmdel PR, and finished 65 meters ahead of senior Jack Tavaglione of Voorhees, who ran 16:04.
He became Haddonfield’s 12th individual state champion but first in 11 years.
Andrus placed third in 16;11 – a 32-second Holmdel PR – and Janssen ran 16:24 – a 27-second Holmdel PR.
Haddonfield then placed its next three runners – all underclassmen – between 12th and 18th. Junior Rob DiMedo ran 16:50, Junior Donald Jellig 17:07 and sophomore Liam Dougherty 17:13. Senior Andrew Sullivan also raced for Haddonfield, placing 48th in 17:59.
Ten of the top 13 runners in the Group 2 race were from South Jersey schools.
Scoring South Jersey vs. the field, South Jersey wins 22-33.
Rapidly improving Cinnaminson with its all-underclass lineup placed second with 88 and Haddon Heights scored 119 for third. This will be Cinnaminson’s first trip to the Meet of Champions since 2008.
Woodbury sophomore Peyton Shute ran 16:27 for 6th and a spot in the Meet of Champions, Haddon Heights juniors Jack Bolling and Colin Patterson placed 7th and 8th, both in 16:31, to qualify for Saturday back at Holmdel, and West Deptford senior Jacob Cobb made it seven South Jersey runners in the top 10 with a 10th-place finish in 16:35.
Juniors Alex Boyko [11th in 16:41], Tyler Schill [16:55] and Matt McCarron [17:17] placed 11th, 13th and 19th for Cinnaminson. Juniors Derek Coceano [17:22] and Patrick Storti [17:39] placed 23rd and 38th.
This was the first 1-2-3 South Jersey sweep in the 101-year history of the New Jersey state championships.
This was the third team Haddonfield and Cinnaminson finished 1-2 in Group 2. They also did it in 2002 and 2008.
Haddonfield also won Group 2 in 1978, 1980, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and Group 1 in 1985, 1987, 1989 and 1990.
The meet wasn’t contested last year, so Haddonfield has now won four straight state titles. That’s the 7th-longest streak in state history. Haddonfield’s streak of five straight from 2006 through 2010 is tied for 4th-longest.
Haddonfield’s total of 19 state championships is 3rd-most in state history, behind Christian Brothers Academy, which has won 30, and Bernards, which has won 23.
Here’s a look at the top 10 team averages by South Jersey schools in Holmdel history:
16:19 … Mainland Regional, 2003, Meet of Champions [1]
16:19 … Haddonfield, 2010, Meet of Champions [2]
16:21 … Haddonfield, 2001, Meet of Champions [1]
16:22 … Kingsway, 2017, Group 4 [1]
16:25 … Mainland Regional, 2003, Group 4 [1]
16:26 … Cherry Hill East, 2014, Group 4 [1]
16:28 … Haddonfield, 2021, Group 2 [1]
16:30 … Haddonfield, 2018 Meet of Champions [2]
16:30 … Cherokee, 2019 Meet of Champions [4]
16:31 … Cherry Hill East, 2014, Meet of Champions
Clevenger’s 15:51 made him the 4th-fastest Haddonfield runner at Holmdel and the fastest in 11 years.
15:41 … Jon Vitez [Haddonfield], 2009
15:42 … Ben Potts [Haddonfield], 2010
15:48 … Chris Platt [Haddonfield], 2001
15:51 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2021
15:54 … Skip Stiles [Haddonfield], 2001
15:55 … Breton Bonnett [Haddonfield], 2001
15:55 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2021
15:56 … Jon Vitez [Haddonfield], 2009
15:56 … Ben Potts [Haddonfield], 2010
15:58 … Martin Ridell [Haddonfield], 2019
Here’s a look at all of Haddonfield’s state champions:
1978 … Jim Smith, Group 2 [16:04]
1985 … Dan Gough, Group 1 [16:57]
1986 … Dan Gough, Group 1 [16:24]
1987 ..;. Joe Shanahan, Group 1 [15:36]
1995 … Eric Bonnette, Group 2 [17:13]
1996 … Eric Bonnette, Group 2 [16:43]
2001 … Chris Platt, Group 2 [16:11]
2002 … Chris Platt, Group 2 [16:11]
2007 … Jonathan Vitez , Group 2 [16:20]
2008 … Jonathan Vitez , Group 2 [16:33]
2009 … Jonathan Vitez , Group 2 [15:57]
2010 … Ben Potts, Group 2 [16:09]
2021 … Seth Clevenger, Group 2 [15:51]
Senior Jack Ennis of Shawnee, freshman Chase Miller of Cherokee, sophomore Steve Mendez of Burlington Township and junior Pat Mulligan of Haddon Township helped The College of New Jersey record its best finish in 16 years at NCAA Division 3 Regionals Saturday.
Ennis placed 9th of more than 160 runners in 25:52 over 8,000 meters at DREAM Park in Logan Township, Miller was 16th in 26:18, Mendez ran 26:40 for 31st and Mulligan was 60th in 27:24.
Haverford topped TCNJ 50-99 to win the NCAA Division 3 Metro Region Championship and automatically qualify for nationals this weekend in Kentucky.
Only the regional winners qualify automatically for the national championship race, so TCNJ will wait to learn whether it receives one of 22 at-large bids.
The NCAA Division 3 Championships are scheduled for Saturday morning at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park in Louisville.
Rowan junior Kevin Lauer from Lenape placed 8th overall in 25:48 and was the Profs’ top finisher. Noah Cziryak, a Triton graduate and Rowan junior, was 30th overall in 26:39 and was Rowan’s fourth runner. Rowan placed 4th with 121 points.
Stephen Conte, a Stockton senior from Paul VI, was Stockton’s No. 2 runner and placed 35th in 26:47.
Moravian junior Liam Duffy, a Haddon Township graduate, was 43rd in 27:01.
And for Widener, sophomore David Millar of Ocean City ran 27:03 and placed 45th overall.
The Meet of Champions will remain on Saturday, the NJSIAA has decided.
There was conversation in Robbinsville that the meet might be delayed until Monday because of the weather postponement that forced meet officials to move three of the 12 races to Tuesday starting at 2 p.m.
A two-day delay would create a much more level playing field among athletes from the 12 races who advanced to the Meet of Champions.
Now., instead of the usual full week between the two biggest meets of the year, schools racing in girls and boys Parochial A and boys Group 2 will have to race four days after their state meet.
For a program like the Haddonfield boys, who are a contender to win the Meet of Champions, that’s a significant handicap.
The 50th Meet of Champions is scheduled for 11 a.m. for the girls race and 11:45 a.m. for the boys race.
On Tuesday, the Parochial A girls race is scheduled for 2 p.m., Group 2 boys at 2:30 p.m. and Parochial A boys at 3 p.m.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 