Haddon Township junior Meghan Lex PR’d for the second meet in a row, became the first Haddon Township girl to win a sectional XC title in six years and leading the Hawks to their 11th sectional championship.

Lex ran 19:43 over 5,000 meters at DREAM Park in Logan Township, lowering her all-course 5,000 PR of 19:58, which she ran two weeks ago at the Colonial Conference meet at Pennypacker Park. 

She’s Haddon Township’s first sectional winner since 2016, when Annika Merkh ran 19:32 at Delsea to win the South Jersey Group 1 title. 

The Hawks placed all five scorers in the top 16 and outscored second-place Wildwood, 31-55, with Schalick (76), Audubon (81) and Cape May County Tech (113) also advancing to states.

Lex out-raced Wildwood freshman Macie McCracken for the individual title. McCracken finished 85 meters back in 20:05, and Schalick senior Mia LaMarra also ran sub-21, taking third in 20:51.

For Haddon Township, sophomore Genevieve Gentlesk [4th in 21:04], seniors Ellie Sennhenn and Kaelin Marshall [10th and 11th, 22:06 and 22:10] and senior Georgia Knorr [16th 23:31] also scored, and sophomore sixth runner Simona Thoder wasn’t far back in 21st place.

Haddon Township also won Group 1 in 2000, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2020 and Group 2 in 1976, 1983, 1984 and 2004, so this is the first time the Hawks have won consecutive South Jersey titles since 1983 and 1984, when they were led by Missy Roller, Suzanne Haug and Barb Countey.

Wildwood’s 2nd-place finish is remarkable considering the Warriors haven’t fielded a full five-girl team at sectionals since 2006. Their best previous finish was third place in 1981 and 1982.

Freshman Leah Pawlus and senior Ava Troiano joined McCracken in the top 15, Pawlus placing 9th in 22:02 and Troiano 13th in 22:46.

Also South Jersey runners in the top 10 were Pennsville senior Taylor Burchfield [5th in 21:11], Schalick freshman Taylor Behrens [6th in 21:30] and Palmyra sophomore Cadence Anderson [7th in 21:50].

Sectional championship day has arrived, with races starting at 10 a.m. Saturday and continuing through 1:30 p.m.

Most South Jersey schools will race at DREAM Park in Logan Township, near Glassboro in Gloucester County, with  a handful racing in Central Jersey at Thompson Park in Monroe Township.

Bordentown, Burlington Township, Delran, Florence, Northern Burlington and Rancocas Valley race at Thompson Park, and every other S.J. school will be at DREAM Park.

To download the meet program, with the schedule of races, group classifications, school rosters, all-time winners and more, click here: 2021 NJSIAA Cross Country Sectional Championship Program

Senior Kishan Patel and junior Jose Bravo took the top two spots and Millville went on to win the Cumberland County XC team title, 31-48, over Cumberland Regional.

Patel ran 18:54 and Bravo 19:29 over 5,000 meters at Cumberland Regional. It was Millville’s first team title since the 2017 team topped Cumberland Regional 27-43 at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville.

The 1-2 finish is the first for Millville at the Cumberland County Championships in 40 years. In 1981, Millville took  the first three spots behind Tony Harden (15:55),  John Morrow (16:18) and Lewis Hagen (16:28) at Vineland High School.

Millville’s other scorers were freshman Arjun Patel [9th in 20:11], senior Anthony Kukal [10th in 20:13] and senior Andrew Zerra [12th in 20:25].

Others in the top 10 included Cumberland Regional senior Anthony Bullocks [3rd 19:34], Vineland junior Sebastian Mercado [4th 19:39], Vineland senior Zain Chaudry [5th 19:45], Cumberland junior Sean Henry [6th 19:55], Bridgeton sophomore Bryan Hernandez [7th 20:01] and Cumberland sophomore Eric Miguel [8th 20:06].

With the top runners resting for sectionals, Cherokee had a chance to run its second group Tuesday at the Haddonfield Invitational, and seven Chiefs ran under 17:30 over 5,000 meters at Pennypacker Park in Haddonfield.

Sophomore Matteo Evola and senior Aiden Dickinson ran 1-2 for Cherokee, Evola winning in 16:53 and Dickinson second in 16:57. Junior Ian Romea of Haddonfield also broke 17 minutes, taking third in 16:59.

Cherokee also had sophomore Andrew Free [4th in 17:05], junior Joseph Hough [5th 17:08], sophomore Luke Reistle [9th 17:19], senior Lucas Hatch [10th 17:21] and senior Jameson Crozier [11th 17:25] under 17:30. Three others broke 18 minutes – junior Daniel Hassall [17:39] and freshmen Zachary Ciabattoni [17:39] and Liam Tindall [17:46].

Cherokee has had five runners break 16:30, nine break 17, and 15 break 17:30 in various races on various courses this fall. Nine of their 12-fastest return next year.

There was no team scoring kept, but Cherokee went 1-2-5-6-9-(10-11-15-16-18-23-24).

Cherry Hill East juniors Grant Yoon and Christopher Korneyev placed 4th and 7th in 17:02 and 17:11 and Haddonfield freshman Bennett Wright 8th in 17:12.

Also under 17:30 were Cherry Hill East junior Daniel Farling [17:25] and Haddon Heights freshman Reggie Hernandez [17:26].

Haddonfield’s Isabella Miller, a Haverford senior, placed second in the Centennial Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday in a battle of Izzy’s.

Dickinson senior Isabel Cardi won the individual title, running 21:48 over 6,000 meters at the Center for Maryland Agriculture and Farm Park in Cockeysville, Md. She finished about 40 meters ahead of Miller, who ran 21:57 and edged Ashley Heidenrich of Johns Hopkins by 15 meters for second. Heidenrich ran 22:00.

Johns Hopkins, ranked No. 1 in the country in NCAA Division 1, won the team title with 26 points, Dickinson – ranked 10th – was second at 64 and Haverford placed third with 97.

Miller returns to South Jersey a week from Saturday when Haverford races in the NCAA Division 3 Metro Regionals at DREAM Park in Logan Township on Nov. 13. Miller ran 21:33 over 6,000 meters at DREAM Park last month to win the Rowan Border Battle. 

Haverford is ranked No. 1 in the Metro Region by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Johns Hopkins and Dickinson are ranked No. 1 and 2 in the Mid-Atlantic Region.