Holy Cross senior Julia Flanagan became the 7th girl to break 18 minutes on the Six Flags 5,000-meter course in Jackson when she won the Wild Safari Varsity D race Saturday.

Flanagan ran 17:58, the 6th-fastest time in course history and fastest ever by a South Jersey girl. The previous course best by a South Jersey was 18:09 by Washington Township’s Dina Iacone in 2011.

Flanagan won by 50 meters over Nieve Keitel of Germantown Academy in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, who was 2nd in 18:08.

This was Flanagan’s second straight race under 18 minutes. She ran an all-course best of 17:53 at Ocean County Park in Lakewood earlier this month when she won the Battle at Ocean County Park.

So Flanagan’s two-fastest 5,000 times have come in Ocean County.

Flanagan’s 17:58 was 2nd-fastest of all girls in all four varsity races at the Wild Safari 5K. Sophomore Dominique Cameron of Leonia ran 17:57 to win the Varsity C race.

Flanagan ran 10:52.74 last spring to win the state Parochial B 3,200 at Stockton University in Galloway Township, and she’s the top returning two-miler in South Jersey.

Next for Flanagan is the Shore Coaches Invitational Saturday at Holmdel County Park. Flanagan will compete in the Varsity E race at 10:15 a.m.

The fastest Holy Cross girl at Holmdel is Kari Vigerstol, who ran 19:17 when she won the state Parochial A meet in 1994. Vigerstol was the 1993 Meet of Champions 1,600 winner outdoors.

Also under 20 at Holmdel for Holy Cross: Michy Redmbold [19:41 at 1980 Group 3 meet], Karen Fileshifter [19:44 at 1980 Meet of Champions], Andrea Dippolito [19:46 at 1995 Meet of Champions] and Kathleen Porter [19:53 at 1998 Meet of Champions].

Senior Erik Preisner, junior Nathan Aschmann and junior Keenan Neuman all placed in the top 10 and the Ocean City boys won the Varsity B team title Saturday at the Six Flags Wild Safary Invitational in Jackson.

Preisner ran 15:40 and placed 2^nd to junior Timothy Claessens of Newark (Del.) Charter, who ran 15:27.

Aschmann was 8^th in 16:04 and Neuman 10^th in 16:26 for the Red Raiders, who outscored 2^nd-place Phillipsburg, 63-111, with Allentown 3^rd with 111 after the 6^th-runner tiebreaker.

Junior Michael Romano [21^st in 16:52] and sophomore Benjamin McCarthy [24^th in 16:53] were Ocean City’s 4^th and 5^th finishers. Sophomore Hayden Tarves [35^th, all-course PR 17:26] was the Raiders’ sixth runner.

Cherry Hill West senior Rex Takakjy placed 4^th in 15:58, and Highland senior Andrew Dopkin was 11^th in 16:26.

Ocean City sophomore Riley Tolson ran a big all-course 5,000-meter PR and recorded her first career invitational win Saturday at the Six Flags Wild Safari Invitational in Jackson, leading Ocean City to 2^nd place in the Varsity B race.

Tolson ran 18:16, breaking her 5,000 PR of 18:38 set at South Jersey Group 3 sectionals last October on the DREAM Park speedway in Logan Township.

Tolson finished 150 meters ahead of 2^nd-place Lucy Myers of Notre Dame Prep of Towson, Md., who ran 18:49. Notre Dame went 2-3-5-15-18 and topped Ocean City 43-61 to win the team title.

The Red Raiders placed five runners between 12^th and 26^th, with junior Lillian Flora 12^th in 20:03, senior Gabrielle Henry 16^th in 20:14, freshman Bella Cera 18^th in 20:16, junior Peighton Clemens 23^rd in 20:21 and 6^th runner freshman Isabelle Edwards 2th in 20:28.

Delran senior Ashley Doyle ran 19:47 and placed 6^th, followed by Highland senior Lyana Gutierrez in 7^th in 19:51.

In the girls C race, Maple Shade junior Juliana Catalani placed 7^th and ran an all-course PR of19:27.

In the D race, Holy Cross senior Julia Flanagan was 1^st in 17:58, her 2^ndstraight race under 18 minutes. More on her tomorrow.

Audubon senior Riley Fayer was 4^th in 18:29, her fastest 5,000 ever.

Ocean City sophomore Riley Tolson ran a big all-course 5,000-meter PR and recorded her first career invitational win Saturday at the Six Flags Wild Safari Invitational in Jackson, leading Ocean City to 2^nd place in the Varsity B race.

Tolson ran 18:16, breaking her 5,000 PR of 18:38 set at South Jersey Group 3 sectionals last October on the DREAM Park speedway in Logan Township.

Tolson finished 150 meters ahead of 2^nd-place Lucy Myers of Notre Dame Prep of Towson, Md., who ran 18:49. Notre Dame went 2-3-5-15-18 and topped Ocean City 43-61 to win the team title.

The Red Raiders placed five runners between 12^th and 26^th, with junior Lillian Flora 12^th in 20:03, senior Gabrielle Henry 16^th in 20:14, freshman Bella Cera 18^th in 20:16, junior Peighton Clemens 23^rd in 20:21 and 6^th runner freshman Isabelle Edwards 2th in 20:28.

Delran senior Ashley Doyle ran 19:47 and placed 6^th, followed by Highland senior Lyana Gutierrez in 7^th in 19:51.

In the girls C race, Maple Shade junior Juliana Catalani placed 7^th and ran an all-course PR of19:27.

In the D race, Holy Cross senior Julia Flanagan was 1^st in 17:58, her 2^ndstraight race under 18 minutes. More on her tomorrow.

Audubon senior Riley Fayer was 4^th in 18:29, her fastest 5,000 ever.

Butler senior Austin Gabay ran an all-course lifetime-best 8,000 Saturday at the Gans Creek Classic at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Gabay, a 2020 Cinnaminson graduate, ran 23:21, 15 seconds better than his previous 8,000 best of 23:36 that he ran last October at Sydney Marovitz Golf Course in Chicago.

Gabay was Butler’s 3^rd finisher in a meet that included eight of the top 20 teams in the USTFCCCA NCA Division 1 poll. Butler, ranked 15^th, finished 7^th. and beat three schools it’s ranked below – No. 7 Stanford, 9 Wake Forest and No. 14 Northern Arizona,

Next for the Bulldogs is the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Oct. 17 and then Big East on Oct. 31 in Ashland, Neb.

Freshman Dylan Hasty, junior Molly Mills and junior Madison Kelsey finished in the top 10 and the Haddonfield girls romped to the team title in the Varsity I race Saturday morning at the Bowdoin Park Classic in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.

Hasty placed 5^th in 20:04 over 5,000 meters at Bowdoin Park, Mills ran 20:11 for 7^th and Kelsey ran 20:17 for 1.0^th.

Haddonfield, ranked 9^th in New Jersey, went 1-3-6-8-9-(11) in team scoring and defeated Washingtonville High of Blooming Grove, Orange County, N.Y., 27-112.

Junior Dylan Gervasi, freshman Tatum Russo and junior Harper Benjamin ran 13^th, 14^th and 16^th in 21:00, 21:05 and 21:16, giving Haddonfield six in the top 14 in a 72-second span.

In the boys Varsity II race, Haddonfield senior Ryan Gibson ran 16:13 and placed 5^th and Haddonfield was 4^th as as team.

Haddon Township seniors Jimmy Clauson and Shaun Maloney broke up a Haddonfield pack by placing 1^st and 4^th in a Colonial Conference batch meet Wednesday at Pennypacker Park in Haddonfield and Cherry Hill.

Haddonfield went 2-3-5-6-7-8-9-11-14-15-16-17, but Clauson was 1^st across the line of 84 finishers in 16:44 and Maloney was 4^th in 16:51.

It was Clauson’s first 5,000 on any course under 17 minutes. His previous all-course PR was a 17:19 in October 2023 on the same course. Maloney has run 16:47 – that was from DREAM Park in Logan Township last November, when he was 2^nd in the South Jersey Group 1 race.

Seniors Peter Simpson and Ryan Gibson from No. 2-ranked Haddonfield placed 2^nd and 3^rd in 16:50.

In 5^th through 9^th for the Bulldogs were senior Michael Sinnes [16:53], junior Luke Patterson [17:16], senior Luke Andresen [17:17], senior Brandon Stoner [17:18] and junior Owen Snyder [17:19].

Also in the top 10 was Gloucester senior Vincent Kelly, 10^th in 17:20.

Audubon senior Riley Fayer won the girls race in 19:50, followed by four Haddonfield runners: senior Sofia Conroy [20:24], junior Saya Sood [20:42], senior Elizabeth Pappas [20:45] and senior Chloe Rusc [21:22].

The rest of the top 10 looked like this: Haddon Township junior Tanner Lajoie [21:32], Haddonfield junior Grace McCool [21:42] and Audubon’s junior Lydia Gravante [21:52], junior Isabella Legatie [21:52] and freshman Emma Camm [21:52].

Hammonton junior Ava Salita edged Cedar Creek junior Lisette Echevarria by three seconds to win a tri-meet with Millville.

Salita ran 22:26 and finished 10 meters ahead of Echevarria, who was 2^nd in 22:29.

The versatile Salita has run 62.66 for 400 meters, long jumped 16-2 ½ and high jumped 5-0 in addition to running XC.

Junior Lacie Denmead and freshman Maya Kelley placed 3^rd and 4^th for Cedar Creek, and sophomore Jenny Rae, senior Sabrine Ghazaz and seniorKailey Wagner ran 6^th, 7^th and 8^th.

Also in the top 10 were Hammonton’s sophomore Riley Raffensperger in 5^th, senior Lillian Reigel in 9^th and sophomoreAdriella Santos in 10^th.

Millville’s top finishers were sophomore Jamya Rhett and junior Yamilet Carrasco-Soriano in 13^th and 14^th.

Senior Jacob Cobb from West Deptford was MIT’s 5^th man at the Wesleyan Cardinal Invitational Saturday in Middleton, Ct.

MIT, ranked 16^th nationally in NCAA Division 3, packed its five scorers in 22 seconds and won the team title 44-44 on a 6^th-man tiebreaker with host Wesleyan. MIT’s 6^th runner beat No. 20 Wesleyan’s by 24 seconds and finished 11 places ahead.

Cobb ran 25:05 over 8,000 meters at Long Lane Farm and placed 13^th of 100 finishers but only 28 seconds behind overall winner Dylan Cote, a Wesleyan sophomore.

Click to access wesfuhrman8kxccoursemap_men.pdf

Cobb, an 8:53.62 steeplechaser last spring, ran just three seconds off his 8,000 all-course PR of 25:02, set last November at the Division 3 Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., where he was MIT’s second finisher.

MIT’s top five Saturday ran between 24:43 and 25:05. MIT is ranked No. 2 in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division 3 East Region, behind Tufts.

Rutgers-Camden’s Jacob Dinerman from Haddon Township outraced TCNJ’s Brandon Chen to win the Osprey Open Saturday in Galloway Township.

Dinerman ran 25:07 on Stockton University’s 8,000-meter course, only 10 seconds off his all-course PR of 24:57 set last October at a meet at DREAM Park in Logan Township. There were over 160 starters in the race.

Dinerman, also the Haddon Township coach, edged Chen, the NJAC 5,000 runner-up last spring, by five meters. Chen finished 2^nd in 25:08.

Dinerman last year was the NJAC mile champion indoors and 1,500 champ outdoors.

TCNJ edged Moravian 35-44 to win the team title, with Rowan 3^rd with 75 points.

Moravian and Rowan were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in this week’s United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division 3 Metro Region poll, with TCNJ 5^th.

Rowan’s No. 1 runner was Haddon Heights graduate Colin Patterson, who placed 6^thin 25:16, and their No. 2 runner was Haddon Township’s Matthew Conway, who ran 25:27 for 9^th.

Rowan seniors Sean Hice from Washington Township, Scott Hubbard from Audubon and Anthony Faust from Bishop Eustace ran 19^th, 20^th and 21^st in 26:33, 26:34 and 26:47 and were the Profs’ 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th runners.

In the women’s race, Rowan junior Ally Wernik from Washington Township placed 7^th in 23:10 over 6,000 meters, helping the Profs win the team title, 43-65, over TCNJ. Rowan and TCNJ are ranked 2^nd and 3^rd in the Metro Region behind Swarthmore.

Stockton junior Maddy Valesek from Shawnee took 11^th in 23:38 and TCNJ senior Savannah Hodgens of Mainland Regional was 15^th in 23:47.

Also, Stockton sophomore Paige McCabe from Moorestown finished 31^st, TCNJ sophomore Taylor Rooney from Egg Harbor Township was 32^nd, Jefferson’s 6^thrunner was freshman Kylee Black of Vineland, who placed 33^rd, Stockton freshman Madison Pratt from Absegami took 34^th and Stockton junior Sarah Rutledge from Egg Harbor placed 37^th.

Overall winner was Rowan’s Gabriella Pagano from Pope John XXIII in Sparta, who ran 22:26.

There were over 150 runners in the women’s race.

Clearview’s Abby Waddington ran a huge 6,000-meter all-course PR Saturday morning when she placed 2^nd out of nearly 300 runners at the UMass Dartmouth Corsair Invitational.

Waddington, a junior at Boston University, ran 21:15 on Dartmouth’s course in Hanover, N.H.

Her previous 6,000 PR was a 21:47 in November2023 at NCAA Northeast Regionals at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

Waddington took 2^nd to Brown senior Nimrit Ahuja, who ran 21:03.

East Stroudsburg’s 1^st finisher was junior Payton Falkenstein from Burlington Township High School, who placed 14^th overall in 21:53.