From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

When Haddonfield won last year’s South Jersey Group 2 title, 81 of their 130 points were scored by seniors.

Usually, when a team loses that many seniors it’s a sign that the next year is going to be challenging.

Not for Haddonfield.

The Lady Bulldogs scored exactly 130 points again this past weekend at Delsea, only 14 from seniors to wrap up another sectional championship.

Haddonfield topped a very good Sterling team 130-86 to win its fourth straight sectional title and state-record 20th overall.

Haddonfield has won 14 of a possible 23 South Jersey sectional titles since 1998 and 21 overall – Group 1 in 1983, 1984, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1998 and 1999 and Group 2 in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.

The only other South Jersey girls programs to reach double-digits in sectional titles are Winslow [13] and Paulsboro [10].

State-wide, schools with the next-most sectional titles are Columbia [17], Metuchen [17], Ridgewood [14], New Providence [14] and Hopewell Valley [11].

Last year, Haddonfield scored 64 of a possible 72 points in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, with seniors scoring 58 of those points.

With that entire group having graduated, Haddonfield came back this year and scored 68 of a possible 72 points in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 – with 36 of those 68 scored by sophomores and 32 by juniors.

Haddonfield swept the 800 behind sophomore Riley Slootsky [2:21.18], junior Thea Spellmeyer [2:21.68] and sophomore Sarah Fetter [2:22.89]. All three PR’d.

Sophomore Audrey Naticchia won the 1,600 in 5:13.86 and the 3,200 in a PR 11:06.91.

Junior Libby DeMichele was second in the 1,600 in 5:18.89, and senior Jess Goode 4th in 5:22.37. In the 3,200, junior Helene Usher ran 2nd in 11:13.53, with sophomore Ava Thomas 4th in 11:22.28. both PRs, of course.

Cinnaminson junior Stephanie Renouf broke up both bids for Haddonfield sweep, taking 3rd in 5:22.24 and a PR 11:17.39.

That’s 64 points with only Naticchia doubling.

But there was much more to Haddonfield’s performance than the three distance runs.

Senior Livsey Kegler won the 100-meter hurdles in 15.84 for 10 big points and versatile freshman Audrey Adams scored 14 points with a 3rd-place finish in the intermediates at 1:09.24 and 4th-places in the high hurdles [16.45] and high jump [4-8].

Sophomores Mia Bompensa [8-0 pole vault] and Layla Petrovich [100-3 discus] recorded 4th-place finishes, junior Grace Malcarney took 5th in the intermediates [1:12.34], junior Franchesca Richards was 5th in the high jump at 4-8 and junior Chloe Kamp placed 5th in the long jump at 16-6.

Haddonfield also piled up 24 points in the three relays.

Slootsky, Thomas, Fetter and junior Maya Carey ran 9:38.44 to win the 4-by-8.

This is the 7th straight time Haddonfield has won the South Jersey Group 2 4-by-8 (there was no meet in 2000). Since the 4-by-8 was added to the state program in 2013, Haddonfield has won it every year except 2014, when Sterling won it.

Sophomore Miranda Keith joined Malcarney, Spellmeyer and Carey to place 3rd in the 1,600-meter relay in 4:15.12, and Kegler, Kamp and freshmen Molly Minor and Nicolette Pinkerton took 2nd in the 400-meter relay in 50.28.