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.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 