Mainland freshman Sofia Day ran the fastest time of the day at the South Jersey Open, covering the 5,000-meter DREAM Park course in Logan Township in 18:32.

Day recorded her first invitational victory when she placed first in the Division 3 race, leading Mainland to the team title.

Day’s timer is No. 4 in course history. Here are the top 5 times, from the MileSplit venue leader board:

17:52 … Isabella Turner [Shawnee], 2018 South Jersey Shootout
18:22 … Kate Rathman [Cherokee], 2018 Olympic Conference
18:29 … Kate Ruona [Shawnee], 2020 Olympic Conference batch meet
18:32 … Sofia Day [Mainland Reg.], 2021 S.J. Open
18:37 … Sarah Naticchia [Haddonfield], 2020 S.J. Group 2 Sectionals

Her time matches the course record for freshmen./ Ruona ran 18:32 as a freshman in 2019 at the Olympic Conference Championships. They are the only freshmen to run under 19 minutes in the course’s short four-year history.

Day placed second in the freshman race at the Cherokee Challenge, second in the Osprey Invitational at Stockton and fifth in the Varsity B race at Shore Coaches.

Mainland went 1-2-5-9-13 overall and 1-2-4-6-7 in team scoring. Sophomore Gillian Lovett placed second in 19:20, sophomore Claudia Booth was 5th in 20:39, Sophomore Chloe Malone 9th in 21:19 and junior Sydney Luff 22:46 for 13th. They were backed up by senior 6th runner Madison O’Brien, who placed 16th in 24:11.

Kingsway senior Kyle Rakitis ran 12:53 on the legendary Van Cortlandt Park 2 1/2-mile course and placed 3rd in the Varsity B race at the Manhattan Invitational Saturday.

Rakitis finished only 14 seconds behind overall winner Devan Kipyego of St. Raphael Academy of Pawtucket, R.I.

Kingsway placed 5th out of 22 schools in Varsity B with 134 points. Walt Whitman of Bethesda, Md., won the team title with 82 points.

Also for the Dragons, senior Ryan Allen placed 12th. Allen, a two-time national scholastic racewalk champion, ran 13:31.

Although Foot Locker East Regionals have always been run on the 5K course at Vanny, the 2 1/2-mile course has been used for every other meet since the mid-1960s.

Here are the five fastest South Jersey times on the Vanny 2 1/2-mile course:

12:20 … Jason DiJoseph [Paul VI], 1987
12:28 … Kevin Pumphrey [Highland], 1985
12:30 … Bill Stewart [Cherry Hill East], 1983
12:31 … Jim Smith [Haddonfield], 1979
12:32 … Ed Blakeley [Haddon Township], 1974

Junior Jack Bolling, senior Leonardus Kittles and junior Colin Patterson all placed among the top seven and led Haddon Heights to the team title in Division 2 at the South Jersey Open Saturday.

Bolling ran 16:19 at DREAM Park in Logan Township for 4th place, Kittles ran 16:26 for 6th and Kittles 16:26 for 6th.

They were backed up by junior Ryan Wells in 11th [17:10] and senior Zachary Rehn in 13th [17:20], with junior 6th man Jonathon Hastings 16th in 17:36.

Heights’ packed its five scorers in 61 seconds with a terrific 16:48 team average and outscored 2nd-place Manchester Township 36-51.

That 16:48 average is 10th-fastest ever run in the short four-year history of DREAM Park’s 5,000-meter course. Here’s a look at the top five:

16:00 … Cherokee, 2019 [Olympic Conference Championships]
16:14 … Cherokee, 2018 [Olympic Conference Championships]
16:23 … Cherry Hill East, 2019 [Olympic Conference Championships]
16:32 … Cherry Hill East, 2020 [Olympic Conference Championships]
16:35 … Cherokee, 2020 [Olympic Conference Championships]
16:38 … Cherry Hill East, 2020 [Olympic Conference Batch Meet]
16:42 … Washington Twp., 2020 [Olympic Conference Championships
16:43 … Cherokee, 2020 [Olympic Conference Batch Meet]
16:47 … Washington Twp., 2020 [Olympic Conference Batch Meet]
16:48 … Haddon Heights, 2021 [South Jersey Open]

Manchester’s Nick Loffredo was the overall winner in 15:40, with Woodbury soph Peyton Shute 2nd in 15:53, Timber Creek senior Cole Mylan 3rd in 16:18 and Mainland senior Linden Wineland 5th in 16:23.

Also in the top 10 for Mainland were senior Vaughn Blanchet [9th in 16:59] and junior Elliot Post [10th in 17:09].

Seniors Madison McNiff and Chloe Diamond and junior Anna Kramer finished in the top 10 to lead Cherry Hill East to a three-point win over Southern Regional in Division 3 of the South Jersey Open Saturday.

McNiff placed 2nd overall in 19:14, Diamond was 5th in 20:19 and Kramer 9th in 20:32 for East, which edged Southern 33-36 in team scoring.

Senior Emily Volin and senior Michelle Barry finished 12th and 13th in 20:48 and 20:50 for Cherry Hill East.

Clearview junior Abby Waddington was the overall winner in 18:53, and sophomore teammate Margaret Wisniewski ran 20:23 for 6th, one spot ahead of Williamstown junior Alexa Fisher in 20:30.

Haddonfield senior Seth Clevenger outraced Haddon Heights junior Jack Bolling, with both going under 16 minutes Tuesday over 5,000 meters at Pennypacker Park in Haddonfield.

Clevenger ran 15:39, an all-course 5K personal best, and Bolling was second in 15:55, his first time under 16 minutes on any course.

Haddonfield went 1-3-4-5-8, with George Andrus 3rd in 16:18, Robert DiMedio 4th in 16:27, Donald Jellig 5th in 16:29 and Andrew Sullivan and Liam Dougherty both running 16:50, Sullivan getting the nod for 8th.

Also in the top 10 were Leonardus Kittles, Colin Patterson and Ryan Wells of Haddon Heights, who placed 6th, 7th and 10th overall out of 71 runners from six schools. They ran 16:32, 16:33 and 16:53.

Haddonfield outscored Haddon Heights, 21-37. In other meets run concurrently, Gateway-Woodbury topped Lindenwold, 24-35, and Haddon Township topped Sterling 15-48.

Audubon’s Scott Hubbard edged West Deptford’s Jacob Cobb in a battle of two of South Jersey’s top seniors Tuesday in a batch meet.

Hubbard ran 17:08 and Cobb 17:10 over 5,000 meters at West Deptford.

Hubbard was coming off a 16:58 for second place in the Shore Coaches G race and Cobb a 16:48 for second in the D race.

Hubbard and Cobb finished nearly a minute ahead of the rest of the field, but Audubon packed three runners between 18:03 and 18:06, with seniors Clifford Gilmore and Tyler Wells and junior Joseph Gaspari taking third, fourth and fifth.

Team scoring wasn’t kept, but Audubon went 1-3-4-5-8 for 21 points in hypothetical team scoring.

Also in the top 10 were West Deptford senior Daniel Abdmessih [6th in 18:21], Collingswood sophomore Elijah Forrest [7th in 18:32], Paulsboro junior Derrik Horton [9th in 18:41] and West Deptford sophomore Raymond Senatore [10th in 18:54].

Sterling’s Jessica Klenk, Eastern’s Kierstin Clem and Moorestown’s Jamie Wun led Stockton to second place out of 28 teams in the Highlander Challenge Saturday over 5,000 meters at Branch Brook Park in Newark.

Klenk ran 18:46 to place ninth overall out of more than 200 runners, Clem placed 13th in 19:07 and Wun 19:15 for 14th.

Division 1 Seton Hall won the team title with 40 points and Division 3 Stockton was second with 77.

The Stockton women are ranked 5th in the Metro Region according to the latest U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association poll.

It’s been quite a whirlwind for Northern Burlington freshman Liliah Gordon, who ran 19:00 at Holmdel Saturday and won the Group B race at the Shore Coaches Invitational. You can read about her race here.

Gordon broke a 27-year-old NBC course record at Holmdel – Colleen Sunderland ran 19:20 back at states back in 1994 – and ran the fastest time at Holmdel by a Burlington County freshman in 14 years.

How did she approach her first high school 5,000? When did she start running? What did she think of the Bowl? Is she surprised by her success? Is she planning on running indoor and outdoor track?

In a terrific interview with MileSplit’s legendary Jim Lambert following her race Saturday at Holmdel County Park, Gordon answered all of these questions and much more!

Watch Lambo’s interview with Liliah here!

https://nj.milesplit.com/videos/505665/interview-with-liliah-gordon

Sophomore Olivia Parkinson, senior Nicole Clifford and junior Kelsey Niglio all placed in the top 10 to lead Cherokee to the Group A team title at the 45th annual Shore Coaches Invitational Saturday.

It’s the first Shore Coaches team title in the Cherokee girls XC program’s history.

Parkinson ran 19:27 over the historic 5,000-meter Holmdel County Park course and placed 4th, Clifford ran 19:57 for 6th and Niglio ran 20:24 for 9th.

Soph Kerry O’Day was 17th in 20:52 and freshman Megan Niglio was 38th in 21:28 in her first lifetime race over the challenging Holmdel course.

Cherokee’s five scorers averaged 20:25, and the Chiefs outscored second-place North Hunterdon 73-140.

Cherokee’s average time was 3rd-fastest of all the schools in all six varsity races 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]

Eastern senior Sophia Staiger and Cherry Hill East senior Madison McNiff also finished in the top 20. Staiger ran 20:34 for 13th and McNiff ran 20:50 for 16th.

In her first lifetime high school race over 5,000 meters, Northern Burlington freshman Liliah Gordon ran 19:00 at historic Holmdel County Park Saturday, winning the individual title in the Shore Coaches Invitational Group B race.

Her time is fastest by a South Jersey freshman at Holmdel County Park since Grace Yoon of Cherry Hill East ran 18:28 at the 2016 state Group 4 meet and fastest by a Burlington County freshman at Holmdel since Casey Doyle of Shawnee ran 18:39 at the 2007 Meet of Champions.

Gordon, now 4-for-4 this fall in invitationals, shattered the Northern Burlington school record for Holmdel by 20 seconds. Colleen Sunderland ran 19:20 at the 1994 state Group 2 meet, when she placed second to Jaime Weisgerber of Woodstown.

Gordon finished about 35 meters ahead of Clifton junior Remy Dubac, who placed second in 19:08. Her first three invitationals this fall were run at either 3,200 meters or 2 1/2 miles.

Her time was 4th-fastest among the six girls varsity race. Angelina Perez of Lakeland ran 17:37 and Cate DeSousa of Red Bank Catholic ran 18:49, both in the Group E race and Charlotte Bednar of Lawrenceville School ran 18:42 in the F race.

Three other South Jersey runners dipped under 20 minutes on the challenging, hilly Holmdel course, which has hosted the Shore Coaches meet since 1979.

Kingsway junior Aubrey Pierontoni ran 19:41 for third, Clearview junior Abby Waddington ran 19:49 for fourth and Mainland freshman Sofia Day ran 19:54 for fifth.

Also in the top 20 were Shawnee junior Kate Ruona [9th in 20:15] and Mainland sophomore Gillian Lovett [18th in 20:44].