Northern Burlington sophomore Liliah Gordon on Saturday became the 14th South Jersey girl in the 50-year history of the Meet of Champions to place in the top eight in consecutive years.
Gordon was the top South Jersey runner for a second straight year, placing 7th in 19:05 at Holmdel County Park a year after placing 8th as a freshman in 18:29 in much faster conditions.
She’s the first South Jersey girl to finish in the top eight in back-to-back years since Mainland Regional’s Alyssa Aldridge placed 2nd in 2014, 1st in 2015 and 2016 and 2nd in 2017.
Gordon became only the 4th Burlington County girl to place in the top eight in consecutive years. Rancocas Valley’s Cathy Young was 5th in 1972 – the first year the meet was held – and then 4th in 1973, Shawnee’s Liz Moore placed 6th, 5th and 2nd from 1991 through 1993 and Cherokee’s Megan Lacy’s was 4th in 2010 and 7th in 2011.
She’s also only the 7th girl to lead all South Jersey runners with a top-10 finish in back-to-back years.
The full list of South Jersey girls with back-to-back top-10 finishes is below.
Gordon was the 1st sophomore across the line, finishing 17 seconds ahead of Mainland’s Sofia Day, the 2nd sophomore finisher. Day placed 11th, four spots ahead of her 15th-place finish as a freshman.
Clearview senior Abigail Waddington ran 19:24 for 13th place, the best finish by a Clearview girl in 33 years – since Michele Owen took 9th in the 1989 race in 20:10. The only other Clearview girls with top-25 finishes are Carrie Thompson (14th in 1988) and Owen’s 22nd in 1986.
Egg Harbor junior Michaela “Kiki” Schlemo ran 19:26 for 15th, finishing just behind Waddington. She’s the third EHT girl to place in the top-25 in meet history, following Jennifer O’Donohue, who was 18th in 1985, and Olivia Schaefer, who placed 6th in 2019.
We wrote earlier about Haddonfield, which had junior Ava Thomas 16th, junior Riley Slootsky 21st and freshman Riley Austin 25th. You can read their race here.
Delsea senior Lillie Widmer placed 17th in 19:31, the best finish by a Delsea girl since Amanda Goetschius ran 18:51 for 11th place in 2006. Other Delsea top-25 finishers are Paige Senatore (25th in 2011) and Brittany McCann (25th in 2000, 16th in 2001),
Other South Jersey girls in the top 50: Cinnaminson senior Stephanie Renouf [30th in 19:49], Cherry Hill East senior Alexis Tepper [33rd in 19:56], Paul VI junior Shaelan McNally [38th in 20:04], Cherokee junior Kerry O’Day [40th in 20:05] and Clearview junior Margaret Wisniewski [47th in 20:14].
Here’s a look at the repeat top-25 finishers in South Jersey history:
Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington]
8th … 2021 [18:29]
7th … 2022 []
Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Regional]
2nd … 2014 [18;21]
1st … 2015 [18:07]
1st … 2016 [17:55]
2nd … 2017 [18:18]
Briana Gess [Haddonfield]
3rd … 2015 [18:25]
2nd … 2016 [18:35]
Holly Bischof [Bishop Eustace]
2nd … 2010 [18:08]
1st … 2011 [18:12]
Megan Lacy [Cherokee]
4th … 2010 [18:12]
7th … 2011 [18:29]
Megan Venables [Highland]
5th … 2008 [18:38]
2nd … 2009 [18:00]
1st … 2010 [17:45]
Chelsea Ley [Kingsway]
3rd … 2007 [18:07]
2nd … 2008 [18:01]
1st … 2009 [17:55]
Theresa Cattuna [Cherry Hill East]
9th … 2005 [18:46]
3rd … 2006 [18:18]
Vanessa Wright [Haddonfield]
2nd … 2004 [18:21]
4th … 2005 [18:23]
Brittany Sedberry [Ocean City]
5th … 2002 [18:43]
1st … 2003 [18:42]
1st … 2004 [18:11]
Lisa Burkholder [Cherokee]
8th … 2003 [19:23]
9th … 2004 [18:52]
Erin Donohue [Haddonfield]
10th … 1997 [19:44]
2nd … 1998 [18:27]
1st … 1999 [18:44]
1st … 2000 [18:27]
Liz Moore [Shawnee]
6th … 1991 [19:46]
5th … 1992 [19:34]
2nd … 1993 [19:29]
Michelle Rowen [Washington Township]
5th … 1981 [18:36]
1st … 1982 [17:40]
Monique Purcell [Holy Spirit]
3rd … 1977 [18:23(3m)]
8th … 1978 [19:51]
Cathy Young [Rancocas Valley]
4th … 1973 [12:59]
5th … 1972 [13:21 (2m)]
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 