Senior Noelle Falzone from Cherokee, sophomore Taylor Rooney from Egg Harbor Township and freshman Lilla Porter of Clearview from The College of New Jersey all placed in the top eight Friday at the Herb Lorenz Invitational in Ewing Township.
Falzone, Rooney and Porter finished 6th, 7th and 8th, each running between 21:21 and 21:27 over the Mike Walker-designed 5,000-meter course at the Green Lane Fields.
Montclair State swept the top three spots and won the team title with 29 points, but TCNJ went 4-5-6-7-8-(11-12) and was 2nd with 30.
Also for TCNJ, sophomore Ella Feehan from Atlantic County Tech placed 12th in 22:07 and sophomore Anna Marino from Cinnaminson was 18th in 22:55.
Overall winner Abigail Churchill from Montclair, who ran 19:09, has South Jersey ties. She competed for Rowan before transferring to Montclair.
Also for Montclair, Mackenzie Cochrane, a senior from Washington Township and also a transfer from Rowan, placed 15th in 22:18, and Alyssa Taylor, a sophomore from Atlantic County Tech, was 23rd in 23:40.
For Holy Family, Olivia Moyer, a freshman from Cinnaminson, placed 16th in 22:23.
The meet, started by TCNJ assistant coach Mike Walker from Rancocas Valley, honors legendary Masters runner Herb Lorenz, a member of the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame, the South Jersey Track and Field Hall of Fame, the South Jersey Coaches Hall of Fame, the Burlington County Track Hall of Fame and The College of New Jersey Hall of Fame.
Lorenz grew up in Pemberton and graduated from TCNJ – when it was still called Trenton State – before embarking on a remarkable post-collegiate career. Among his many accomplishments, in 1975, he set an American age-36 record of 2:17:43 at the Boston Marathon. He coached at Burlington Township for 30 years and also coached at Lenape.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 