The Haddonfield girls mixed it up with some of the top XC programs in the country Saturday and emerged with 3rd place in the Eastern States Championships race at the Manhattan Invitational.
Junior Riley Slootsky, senior Helene Usher, freshman Riley Austin, junior Ava Thomas and junior Audrey Naticchia averaged 15:42 over the challenging and historic 2 ½-mile course at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and wound up 3rd among 148 schools in a merge of the six girls races.
Haddonfield scored 161 points, finishing behind only Assumption High of Louisville [116] and Bethlehem Central [130].
Haddonfield, ranked No. 2 in New Jersey behind Union Catholic, packed its five scorers in a remarkable 35-second spread.
Slootsky placed 27th in 15:27, Usher 32nd in 15:37, Austin 34th in 15:43, Thomas 35th in 15:44 and Naticchia 48th in 16:02.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 