Senior George Andrus won the Varsity G race at the Manhattan Invitational Saturday and led Haddonfield to the team title.
Andrus finished 100 meters ahead of the field, covering the legendary 2 ½-mile course at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx in 12:48 and beating 2nd-place Alex Schimmel of St. Peter’s Prep by 20 seconds.
Haddonfield, ranked No. 4 in the state, won a close team battle with No. 17 St. Peter’s Prep, outscoring the Jersey City school 50-54.
The Bulldogs averaged 13:37 and had a 75-second spread between their 1st and 5th runners. St. Peter’s averaged 13:42 and had a 67-second gap.
Seniors Rob Dimedio and Ian Romea both also placed in the top 10, Dimedio 6th in 13:30 and Romea 9th in 13:47. Senior Donald Jellig ran 13:57 for 16th and junior Matthew Sullivan was 22nd in 14:04.
They were backed up by freshmen Ryan Gibson [24th in 14:08] and Luke Andresen [34th in 14:25].
St. Peter’s led Haddonfield 28-30 after four runners crossed, but Sullivan and Gibson both finished ahead of St. Peter’s fifth runner.
In a merge of the 1,260 runners and 15 teams who competed in seven boys races, Andrus posted the 16th-fastest time and Haddonfield finished with the 15th-lowest team score. Andrus’s time was 4th-fastest among New Jersey runners and fastest among South Jersey competitors.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 