From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Senior Liam Dougherty, junior Bennett Wright and sophomore Ryan Gibson finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th and Haddonfield cruised to its 20th consecutive sectional cross country title Saturday.

After Collingswood senior Elijah Forrest crossed the line first to win the South Jersey Group 2 individual title, Dougherty placed 2nd in 16:11 over 5,000 meters at DREAM Park in Logan Township, Wright was 3rd in 16:22 and Gibson took 4th in 16:22.

The Bulldogs then placed sophomores Luke Andressen and Benjamin Andrus 6th and 7th to lock up their 42nd sectional title overall, Andressen taking 6th in 16:33 and Andrus 7th in 16:52.

That’s a 41-second gap from 1 to 5.

Sophomore Brian Stoner [12th in 17:21] and junior Linus Kucer [18th in 17:56] made it all seven Haddonfield runners in the top 20.

Haddonfield scored 22 points, their fewest since they scored 20 in 2018. Manchester Township [82] was 2nd, and Haddon Heights [96], Cedar Creek [140] and Cinnaminson [144] also earned spots in the state Group 2 meet Saturday at Holmdel County Park.

Scoring vs. the field, Haddonfield wins, 22-33.

Haddonfield’s 22 points are 6th-fewest in the meet’s 59-year history. Here’s a look at every score under 30:

16 … Haddonfield, 2008
17 … Haddon Township, 1971
20 … Haddonfield, 2010
20 … Haddonfield, 2018
21 … Haddonfield, 2009
22 … Haddonfield, 2023
23 … Haddonfield, 2013
23 … Haddonfield, 2019
26 … Clearview, 1965
26 … Haddonfield, 2014
27 … Overbrook, 1968
27 … Haddonfield, 2001
27 … Haddonfield, 2015
28 … Haddonfield, 2021
29 … Cinnaminson, 2003

Haddonfield won its first sectional title in 1967 in Group 3, then moved down to Group 2 and won four straight from 1977 through 1980. Then it was down to Group 1 and eight titles in the next nine years – 1982 through 1987 and 1989 and 1990 after Haddon Township won in 1988.

After a four-year dry spell, Haddonfield won Group 2 in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. Since finishing 2nd to Cinnaminson in 2003, the Bulldogs have won 20 in a row.

So overall, the Bulldogs have won 41 sectional titles in the last 47 years going back to 1977. Ridgewood [27], Bernards [27], Westfield [23] and Haddon Township [22] have also won more than 20.

Forrest ran 16:02.09 to become Collingswood’s first sectional individual winner in 37 years. Pat Fogarty ran 16:38 to win the 1985 race and 16:00 to win the 1986 Group 2 race, both at Clearview.

Forrest has now won titles this fall at Shore Coaches, the South Jersey Open and Group 2 sectionals.

Other South Jersey runners in the top 10 were Haddon Heights junior Reggie Hernandez [8th in 16:55], Cinnaminson sophomore Jacob Wickersham [9th in 17:15] and Cedar Creek senior Matthew Winterbottom [10th in 17:17].

For those of you who like to keep track of this stuff … here are the lowest scores in South Jersey sectional history across all groups:

16 … Haddonfield, 2008 [Group 2]
17 … Haddon Township, 1971 [Group 2]
20 … Pennsville, 2006 [Group 1]
20 … Haddonfield, 2010 [Group 2]
20 … Haddonfield, 2018 [Group 2]
21 … Haddonfield, 2009 [Group 2]
21 … Haddon Township, 2011 [Group 1]
22 … Haddonfield, 2023 [Group 2]
23 … Highland, 1989 [Group 3]
23 … Haddonfield, 2013 [Group 2]
23 … Ocean City, 2018 [Group 3]
23 … Haddonfield, 2019 [Group 2]
25 … Mainland Regional, 2003 [Group 4]
25 … Ocean City, 2019 [Group 3]
26 … Clearview, 1965 [Group 2]
26 … Burlington Twp., 1966 [Group 1]
26 … Haddonfield, 2014 [Group 2]
26 … Kingsway, 2017 [Group 4]
27 … Burlington Twp., 1967 [Group 1]
27 … Overbrook, 1968 [Group 2]
27 … Haddon Township, 1988 [Group 1]
27 … Highland, 1988 [Group 3]
27 … Haddonfield, 2001 [Group 2]
27 … Haddonfield, 2015 [Group 2]
28 … Haddonfield, 2021 [Group 2]
28 … Haddon Township, 2010 [Group 1]
28 … Haddon Township, 2012 [Group 1]
28 … Haddon Township, 2014 [Group 1]
29 … Burlington Twp., 1967 [Group 1]
29 … Williamstown, 1971 [Group 1]
29 … Cinnaminson, 2003 [Group 2]