Even without a runner in the top 10, Egg Harbor won the team title Friday at the Osprey High School Invite in Galloway Township.
The Eagles – with four underclassmen in its lead group – packed its five scorers in a 30-second span and edged Eastern 106-117 to win the team title.
Junior Matthew Reed led EHT in 13th place in 17:03 over 5,000 meters at Stockton University, with sophomore Ben Gettings 19th in 17:11, sophomore Daniel Svec 25th in 17:22, senior Aaron Wagner 29th in 17:27 and junior Matthew McDevitt 31st in 17:33.
Eastern was led by senior Ryan Haefele [14th in 17:03], junior Justin Fox [20th in 17:12], sophomore Timothy Shack [22nd in 17:15] and senior Nicholas Sirdashney [27th in 17:22].
South Jersey’s top finisher was Pleasantville senior Melvin Lewis, who ran a huge all-course PR of 16:12. His fastest-previous 5,000 was a 16:54 at last year’s Cape Atlantic Conference Championships on the same course.
Also in the top 10 were Washington Township senior Hunter Bostwick [3rd in 16:35], Camden County Vo-Tech senior Julian Rich [6th in 16:48], Cherry Hill West junior Rex Takakjy [7th in 16:51] and Woodstown junior Jacob Marino [10th in 16:56].
Also under 17:30: Woodstown senior Cole Lucas [16th in 17:05], Audubon junior Logan Camm [17th in 17:08], Winslow senior Dominic Bassey [18th in 17:09] and Bridgeton senior Kevin Gonzalez [21st in 17:21].
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 