Junior Macy Huber and sophomore Grace Gutowski finished 1-2, both well under 18:30, and Paul VI had seven of the top 12 placers Saturday morning in the Bob Kiessling South Jersey parochial championships in Logan Township.
Huber won the race in 18:10.38, 9th-fastest in course history and fastest on the DREAM Park 5K layout in the Bob Kiessling event. Anna McDonald of Germantown Friends won the 2021 race in 18:11.40.
Gutowski ran 18:21.46 and Paul VI placed five runners between 6th and 12th – freshman Peyton Blake [6th in 19:06], freshman Morgan Kuzma [8th in 19:29], sophomore Kara Salamone [10th in 20:13], freshman Johanna Trampe [11th in 20:15] and senior Verina Belmonte [12th in 20:44].
The results don’t show any team scoring but unofficially it looks like Paul VI scored 24 points since Holy Cross didn’t field a full team.
Paul VI, ranked 5th in the state, won its 2nd straight Kiessling title and 18th overall. The meet started in 1982 as the Knights of Columbus Invitational but there was no team scoring from 1987 through 1995 (and no meet some of those years).
Paul VI also won in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.
Laura Sallade of the Wilberforce School in Princeton placed 3rd. Sallade’s father Chris was the 1990 state Group 4 champion at 1,600 meters for Shawnee.
Holy Cross junior Julia Flanagan placed 4th in 18:39 and Camden Catholic senior Nilaa Ponnappan 5th in 18:42.
Other South Jersey runners under 22 minutes were Bishop Eustace freshman Grace Marsden [13th in 21:02], Paul VI freshman MaKayla McHutchison [14th in 21:08], Holy Cross senior Anna Fonseca [15th in 21:13], Bishop Eustace freshman Haylee Marakovits [16th in 21:42], Paul VI sophomore Lucy Crothers [17th in 21:44] and Camden Catholic junior Brynn Deiwert [18th in 21:51].
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 