Senior Megan Niglio and junior Madeline Meder placed in the top 30 and led the Cherokee girls to a strong 9th-place finish at the Nike Northeast Regionals.
Niglio ran 19:27 and Meder 19:34 – 20th and 21st in team scoring – and Cherokee scored 284 points for its 2nd straight top-10 finish.
The meet draws schools from New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Freshman Erin Healy was Cherokee’s 3rd runner, taking 53rd (38th in team scoring). She was the 9th freshman across the line and nearly broke 20 minutes with a 20:01.6. She was the No. 2 freshman in the race from New Jersey.
Also in Cherokee’s top 5 were junior Maya Kumar [90th in 20:59] and senior Grace Wojciechowski [115th in 21:23] on the challenging 5K course at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
Sophomore Genisa John was just behind Wojciechowski with a 21:33 and senior Emily Butler ran 22:55.
Cherokee placed 6th at the Meet of Champions as a wild-card qualifier.
Ocean City, Paul VI, Cherry Hill East and Haddonfield also raced at Nike Cross Saturday, placing 16th, 20th, 23rd and 24th in team scoring, with Ocean City, PVI and Haddonfield all at less than full strength.
Paul VI sophomore Grace Gutowski ran 19:48 and placed 38th / 29th, Ocean City senior Chloe Care was 47th / 34th in 19:58 and Cherry Hill East sophomore Ryleigh Budsock ran 20:00 for 51st / 36th.
Three of South Jersey’s top runners finished together, all between 20:15.3 and 20:15.7 – Paul VI freshman Payton Blake, Holy Cross junior Julia Flanagan and Williamstown junior Sophia Aldridge.
Also under 21 minutes: Ocean City sophomore Carly Godfrey [20:31], Ocean City freshman Riley Tolson [20:33], Haddonfield sophomore Molly Mills [20:40], Cherry Hill East senior Kate Feudtner [20:50], Paul VI freshman Morgan Kuzma [20:51] and Haddonfield sophomore Devon Gervasi [20:55].
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 