Junior Erik Preisner led a 1-2-3 Ocean Sweep and the Red Raiders scored 19 points on their way to their 6th straight Cape-Atlantic Conference Championship and 13th in the last 15 years.
Preisner ran 15:45 over 5,000 meters at Egg Harbor High School, senior Ethan Buck 15:56 and sophomore Keenan Neuman made it three under 16 minutes in 3rd place in 15:58.
Sophomores Michael Romano and Nathan Aschmann made it five of the first eight finishers for the Red Raiders, Romano placing 7th in 16:23 and Aschmann 8th in 16:25. Sixth man senior Zach Hutchinson was 11th in 16:50 and freshman Nevin Millstein 19th in 17:27.
Ocean City, ranked 11th in New Jersey, finished with a 19-79 margin over Egg Harbor to win the team title. Cedar Creek was 3rd with 93.
Millville senior Arjun Patel ran 16:02 for 4th, Pleasantville senior Melvin Lewis 5th in 16:19, Cedar Creek junior Sean Martino 6th in 16:21, Middle Township sophomore Jamar Mack 9th in 16:41 and Egg Harbor’s junior Matthew McDevitt 10th in 16:45.
Also under 17 minutes were Cedar Creek juniors Vincenzo Vecchio and Ryan McCann in 16:50 and 16:52.
The last team other than Ocean City to win the Cape-Atlantic team title was Mainland Regional in 2017. The meet wasn’t held in 2020.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 