The Ocean City girls made the 200-mile trip to Cumberland County, Pa. for the 31st annual Carlisle Invitational and placed 4th of 42 schools with 205 points.

Senior Maeve Smith ran 18:31 over 5,000 meters on Travis Trail along the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail in Carlisle and West Pennsboro Township and placed 13th out of nearly 300 runners who were apparently all in the same race.

Senior Chloe Care [26th in 19:13], sophomore Carly Godfrey [52nd in 20:31], freshman Riley Tolson [55th in 20:02] and senior Zoe Zammit [78th in 20:26] also ran for the Red Raiders, who averaged 19:39, the 3rd-fastest average time in the race.

Padua senior Brianna Heffernan of Woolwich Township, ran 20:09 and was Padua’s 5th finisher.

The Ocean City boys placed 7th out of 54 full teams, with their first three – sophomore Keenan Neuman, senior Ethan Buck and junior Erik Preisner – all running between 16:26 and 16:32. Senior Zach Hutchinson [17:07] and sophomore Michael Romano [17:13] helped Ocean City average 16:46 and pack its first five runners in 47 seconds.

Schalick senior Jordan Hadfield ran an all-course 5K PR and won the Varsity D small-school race Saturday at the Six Flags Wild Safari in Jackson.

Hadfield ran 18:21 and won by 45 meters over Dagny Shiffler of Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Montgomery County, Pa. Shiffler ran 18:31.

Hadfield’s previous 5,000 PR was an 18:26 when she won last year’s Salem County Championships at Schalick in Pittsgrove Township.

Hadfield is defending state Group 1 XC champ and won state Group 1 titles last spring in both the 1,600 and 3,200.

Her time is 3rd-fastest in meet history by a Group 1 runner, behind only South Hunterdon’s Kelly Shaffer [18:06 in 2012] and Point Pleasant Beach’s Brianna Feerst [18:17 in 2011]. Hadfield had the previous course best by a South Jersey Group 1 runner with her 19:18 when she won last year.

She tied the 2nd-fastest time ever by a South Jersey girl, behind only Washington Township’s Dina Iacone, who ran 18:09 in 2011. Haddonfield’s Shelby Cain also ran 18:21, also in 2011.

Her time is also fastest by any South Jersey girl on any 5,000-meter course this fall. Theresa Albertson of Eastern ran 18:24 last weekend at the Osprey Invitational at Stockton University in Galloway Township.

Also under 22 minutes Saturday in the D race were Maple Shade Crystal Benito [17th in 20:54], Maple Shade Juliana Catalani [20th in 21:06] and Haddon Township Blake Kemery [27th in 21:53]

Holy Cross junior Julia Flanagan broke 19 minutes for the 2nd straight race and placed 3rd Saturday morning in the Varsity B race at the Six Flags Wild Safari Invitational in Jackson.

Flanagan ran an all-course 5K lifetime-best 18:54 when she finished first last weekend at the Ray Hoagland Invitational at the Rancocas Valley Sports Complex in Eastampton.

On Saturday, she ran 18:59, the 8th-fastest time ever recorded by a South Jersey girl on the 5,000-meter layout at Great Adventure.

Flanagan finished behind only freshman Leah Starkey of Ocean Township High and senior Elizabeth Scarpa of Colts Neck.

Also under 21:30 were Clearview senior Lilla Porter [15th in 20:01], Highland senior Audrey Musmeci [21st in 20:36], Clearview sophomore Rhea Remaly [27th in 20:46], Highland senior Katie Punch [30th in 21:02 and Highland junior Lyana Gutierrez [31st in 21:04].

Junior Luke Andresen, senior Bennett Wright, junior Ryan Gibson, junior Benjamin Andrus and junior Peter Simpson finished with a 20-second gap, and Haddonfield placed 2nd Saturday among some of the top schools on the East Coast Saturday in the Varsity II race at the Bowdoin Park Classic.

Haddonfield also placed 2nd in a merge of the two varsity races.

Despite wet, rainy conditions, all five Haddonfield runners ran between 16:32 and 16:52 over 5,000 meters at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., and Haddonfield was the top public school in the race.

Andresen ran 16:32 and took 10th, Wright and Gibson placed 12th and 13th in 16:33 and 16:35, Andrus was 16th in 16:37 and Simpson 22nd in 16:52.

Haddonfield, ranked 4th in New Jersey, will be seeking its 21st consecutive sectional title next month. Wright, Gibson, Andresen and Andrus all finished in the top seven at last year’s sectional race.

Overall winner Mason Wassell led Highland to a commanding team title in the Varsity B race Saturday at the Six Flags Wild Safari Invitational in Jackson.

Wassell, a senior, ran 15:48 over 5,000 rainy, sloppy, wet meters at Great Adventure, finishing 35 meters ahead of 2nd-place Brandon Williams of Charter School of Wilmington, who ran 15:55.

That 15:48 is an all-course PR for Wassell, 11 seconds faster than his 15:59 at DREAM Park in Logan Township earlier this month. It’s also 4th-fastest by a South Jersey runner at Great Adventure and fastest since Sebastien Reed of Pitman ran 15:31 in 2019. Highland’s Steve Maine ran 15:38 in 2013.

Highland placed its first four finishers in the top 20 and all seven in the top 35 out of 171 runners, won by a whopping 88 points over East Meadow, 68-156, with Garden City a close 3rd with 157 and Clearview 4th at 168.

Junior Andrew Dopkin placed 6th for Highland in 16:34 and Colin Roznowski and sophomore Pierce Dopkin finished back-to-back in 16th and 17th, Roznowski in 17:11 and Dopkin in 17:12. Senior Andrew Kellern ran 17:27 for 28th and Highland’s top five were backed up by junior Daniel Gee [34th in 17:39] and sophomore Liam Murphy [35th in 17:42].

Clearview senior Ethan Worst, Cherry Hill East junior Rex Takakjy and Winslow junior Vincent Perri also finished in the top 10, Worst 4th in 16:28, Takakjy 5th in 16:29 and Perri 9th in 16:40. Also under 18:00 were Clearview’s senior Ryan Handley [21st in 17:16] and junior Quentin Gannone [38th in 17:47].

Senior Julian Rich of Camden County Tech in Sicklerville finished nearly a minute ahead of the field and won the South Jersey Vo-Tech Championships individual title Thursday.

Rich ran 16:45 over 5,000 meters at Westampton Tech and finished 250 meters ahead of 2nd-place Connor Auge, a senior at Gloucester County Tech in Gloucester Township. Auge ran 17:37 and led Gloucester to the team title.

Rich’s time is an all-course 5K PR. He had run 16:46 at the Battle of Ocean Park earlier this month in Lakewood.

Gloucester went 2-6-7-8-13, which became 2-5-6-7-12 when runners not representing full teams were removed for team scoring purposes. Gloucester outscored Burlington County Tech Medford 32-53, with Camden Sicklerville 3rd at 63.

Also in Gloucester’s top five were sophomore Duke Snyder-Shellito [6th in 18:20], senior Gavin Kravchuck [7th in 18:22], senior Owen DeLuca [8th in 18:25] and sophomore Liam Robles [13th in 18:51].

Others in the top 10 included senior Luke Damato of Burlington County Medford [3rd in 17:59], Medford soph Chris Davis [4th in 18:03], Atlantic County Tech senior Thomas Wodazak [5th in 18:18], Cape May Tech junior Evan Feliciano [9th in 18:33] and Medford Tech junior Marcus Paulino [10th in 18:37].

Ethan Wechsler finished as 5th man Friday for nationally ranked Syracuse at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wisc.

Wechsler, a senior from Cherokee, ran 24:45 on the hilly, challenging Zimmer Championship Course at the University of Wisconsin and Syracuse placed 12th in the country in the annual pre-NCAA shown of the nation’s top programs. Wechsler ran 15 seconds faster than he ran on the same course last year.

Wechsler was Syracuse’s 7th man two weeks ago in Syracuse’s season opener at the Harry Groves Invitational at Penn State.

The Orangemen are ranked No. 2 in the Northeast Region (behind Harvard, which didn’t race Friday) in this week’s U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll and 19th nationally.

Syracuse finished with 325 points Friday, just 13 behind No. 17 Villanova and 12 behind No. 15 Virginia.

Iowa State sophomore Seth Clevenger from Haddonfield finished 7th Friday afternoon in the B race at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wisc.

Clevenger ran 24:40 on the hilly, challenging Zimmer Championship Course at the University of Wisconsin and finished just 19 seconds behind winner Berkley Nance of Brigham Young.

Clevenger ran 38 seconds faster than he ran on the same course as a freshman, when he crossed the line in 25:18.

Last spring, Clevenger ran 4:07.14 for the mile and 8:12.00 for 3,000 meters.

Sarah Seiden, a senior at Salem County Vo-Tech in Mannington Township, picked up her first cross country individual victory Thursday when she ran away from the field at the South Jersey Vo-Tech Championships.

Seiden ran 22:24 over 5,000 meters at Westampton Tech, finishing 150 meters ahead of 2nd-place sophomore Natalie Pandolfo from Gloucester County Tech, who ran 23:08 for 2nd place.

Pandolfo led Gloucester County Tech of Deptford Township to the team title, 31-54, over Atlantic County Tech of Hamilton Township.

Also in Gloucester County Tech’s top five were freshman Jordan Moczydlowski [4th in 23:19], senior Keira Petro [8th in 24:04], senior Sydney Huang [10th in 24:10] and senior Brooklyn Greenwood [11th in 24:43].

Also in the top 10 were Westampton Tech senior Janelle Sanabria [3rd in 23:12], Cape May Tech junior Kirstyn McHale [5th in 23:23], Camden County Tech Sicklerville senior Sonai Castrillo [6th in 23:47], Atlantic County Tech senior Shannon Powers [7th in 23:58] and Atlantic County Tech senior Ashlyn Warker [9th in 24:04].

Haddonfield took pack running to crazy extremes Tuesday with 11 runners crossing the finish line in a 14-second span in a five-team Colonial Conference batch meet in Haddonfield and Cherry Hill.

Senior Leonardo DiCello and junior Aaron Keith took the first two spots for the Bulldogs, who going deeper in the race had 14 runners finishing in a 31-second span.

DiCello covered 5K at Pennypacker Park in 17:36, with Keith 2nd in 17:39. Junior Marcus Flagg of Gloucester took 3rd in 17:39, Haddonfield senior Linus Kucer was 4th in 17:40 and Haddon Township junior Luke Wolfram placed 5th with a 17:40.

The next eight finishers were from Haddonfield, all of them running between 17:42 and 17:50: Sophomore Andrew Blum [6th, 17:42], junior Peter Simpson [7th 17:42], junior Benjamin Andrus [8th, 17:42], junior Ryan Gibson [9th, 17:43], senior Bennett Wright [10th, 17:43], junior Brandon Stoner [11th, 17:45], junior John Leibrandt [12th, 17:50] and junior Michael Sinnes [13th, 17:50].

Also under 18 minutes were Gloucester junior Vincent Kelly [14th, 17:51], Gloucester senior Trey Fitzpatrick [15th, 17:56] and Haddonfield junior Luke Andresen [16th, 17:58].