Glassboro senior Ty Blackman ran a Holmdel PR and placed 2nd in the Varsity F race Saturday at the 56th annual Shore Coaches Invitational.
Blackman ran 16:31 and finished 2nd to Madison senior Jacob Nolan, who won the race in 16:22.
His previous Holmdel best was 16:33 at last year’s Meet of Champions. He’s 2nd-fastest in Glassboro history at Holmdel, behind only former teammate Elijah Whitaker, who ran 16:14 last year at Shore Coaches when he placed 2nd in the F race to Woodbury’s Peyton Shute.
Blackman’s time was No. 15 overall among runners in all seven varsity races and 2nd-fastest among South Jersey runners, behind only Cherokee’s Jack Tindall, who set the course freshman record of 15:54.
The only faster Group 1 runner was Hasbrouck Heights’ senior Aidan Morrow, who won the Varsity G race in 16:23. Whitaker, Blackman and Morrow all placed among the top 5 in last year’s state Group 1 XC race on the same Holmdel course. Shute, Morrow and Blackman placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the state Group 1 3,200 last spring in Somerset.
Also under 17:30 in the F race: Haddon Heights senior Reggie Hernandez [7th in 16:54], Cinnaminson junior Jacob Wickersham [11th in 16:59] and Cinnaminson senior Brandon Smith [22nd in 17:28].
The top South Jersey finisher in the G race was Moorestown Friends freshman Aaron Linden, who was 11th in 17:57 in his first high school 5,000. He was one of only six freshmen who ran sub-18 Saturday.
Also in the top 20 was Audubon junior Logan Camm, 17th in 18:30.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 