Senior Katherine Rice from Haddonfield placed 11th and sophomore Savannah Hodgens of Mainland Regional 20th to help The College of New Jersey win the NJAC Championships Saturday.
Rice ran 24:14.1 over 6,000 meters at Stockton University in Galloway Township and was the Lions’ 3rd finisher overall, and Hodgens ran 25:05.8 and was TCNJ’s 6th runner.
TCNJ edged Stockton 50-51 to win the team title, with Rowan not far back with 60 points. It was TCNJ’s 2nd straight team title and 31st in the last 39 years. Including four years in the early 1980s when the NJAC was the New Jersey State Athletic Conference, the TCNJ women have won 35 of the last 43 women’s XC titles.
The College of New Jersey is ranked No. 1 in the USTCCCA NCAA Division 3 Metro Region, with Rowan No. 2 and Stockton 4th, after Widener. TCNJ has been ranked No. 1 for three weeks now.
For Stockton, sophomore Madelyn Valasek from Shawnee placed 13th overall in 24:30.1 and was the Ospreys’ 3rd finisher.
The top South Jersey finisher in the race was Rowan junior Anna Sasse from Williamstown, who placed 6th in 23:48.7 and was the Profs’ No. 2 runner. Rowan junior Cameron Wright from Cherry Hill West placed 14th in 24:33.3 and was Rowan’s 3rd finisher.
Senior Amanda McNally from Seneca and freshman Mackenzie Saber from Williamstown were Rowan’s 6th and 7th runners, McNally in 23rd with a 25:13.4 and Saber in 24th with a 25:20.7 that made her the 3rd freshman finisher in the race. Allyson Wernick, a freshman from Washington Township, placed 27th in 25:32.4 and was the 5th freshman across the line.
TCNJ, Stockton and Rowan will all race in the NCAA Metro Region Championships on Nov. 11 at DREAM Park in Logan Township. I would love to tell you who from that race advances to the NCA Division 3 Championships Nov. 18 in Newville, Pa., but it’s apparently some huge secret that nobody is allowed to know.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 