From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

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