From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Haddonfield became one of the fastest schools ever at Holmdel County Park Saturday at the Meet of Champions, averaging 16:08.54 per scorer at the Meet of Champions.

Only three schools – CBA, Westfield and Union Catholic – have ever had a faster average on the hilly, windy 5,000-meter tour of Holmdel County Park, from the hill just beyond the start to the roller-coasters to the Bowl to the tennis courts to the woods and then the straight open-field finish.

Seniors Luke Andresen and Benjamin Andrus led the way for the Bulldogs in 5th and 6th place in 15:41.22 and 15:42.81, which put them squarely on the all-time Haddonfield top-5 at Holmdel. Several meets fractions of a second weren’t kept, so we have some runners on these lists with fractions and some without, which isn’t really fair, but it’s the best way to do it.

15:36 … Seth Clevenger [2021 Meet of Champions]
15:40 … George Andrus [2022 Meet of Champions]
15:41 … Jon Vitez [2009 Meet of Champions]
15:41.22 … Luke Andresen [2025 Meet of Champions]
15:42 … Ben Potts [2010 Meet of Champions]
15:42.81 … Benjamin Andrus [2025 Meet of Champions[
15:48 … Chris Platt [2001 Meet of Champions]

this is the 7th time two runners from the same South Jersey school have placed in the top 10 at the Meet of Champions and the first time Haddonfield has pulled that off in 24 years. Haddonfield is also the first school to do it twice:

1988: Bridgeton: 3. Urie Ridgeway 15:47, 6. Lance Hess 16:11
1989: Paul VI: 3. Joe Cranston 16:13, 9. *Pete Dougherty 16:32
2000: Eastern: 1. Mike Myers 15:50, 7. **Dan Deichert 16:15
2001: Haddonfield: 2. Chris Platt 15:48, 5. Skip Stiles 15:54, 6. Breton Bonnette 15:55
2003: Mainland Regional: 2. Greg Hughes 15:39, 10. James Wyner 16:06
2022: Cherokee: 2. Patrick Ditmars 15:39 4. Nick Kuenkel 15:41
2025: Haddonfield: 5. Luke Andresen 15:41.22, 6. Benjamin Andrus 15:42.81

Also in Haddonfield’s top 5 Saturday were seniors Ryan Gibson [16th in 16:01.21], Peter Simpson [43rd in 16:34.41] and Michael Sinnes [61st in 16:43.07]. Brandon Stoner [91st in 17:04.32] and sophomore Augustan Coley [132nd in 17:51.44] also raced for Haddonfield.

Simpson ran most of the race with only one shoe after getting spiked soon after the start and losing one of his shoes.  He ran 16:18 a week earlier at states, and with perfect conditions this past Saturday and virtually everybody running faster at M-o-C than states, you can only imagine how fast he would have run with two shoes and how much faster Haddonfield’s record-setting average would have been.

For team scoring purposes, Haddonfield went 4-5-12-30-39-(57) (82) for 90 points and 2nd place, well clear of 3rd-place Union Catholic, which scored 125.

Haddonfield, which was also 2nd in 2024, is only the 3rd South Jersey school and the first in 22 years to place in the top two in conseutive years:

Paul VI: 2nd in 1987, 1st in 1988, 1st in 1989, 2nd in 1990
Mainland Regional: 1st in 2002, 1st in 2003
Haddonfield: 2nd in 2024, 2nd in 2025

Incredibly, Haddonfield has now placed in the top-5 at the Meet of Champions 14 times, including 13 times in the last 25 years and six times in the last eight years (including the 2020 exhibition race):

2025: 2. Haddonfield
2024: 2. Haddonfield
2021: 3. Haddonfield
2020*: 4. Haddonfield
2019: 3. Haddonfield
2018: 2. Haddonfield
2015: 4. Haddonfield
2014: 5. Haddonfield
2010: 2. Haddonfield
2009: 4. Haddonfield
2008: 4. Haddonfield
2007: 3. Haddonfield
2006: 3. Haddonfield
2001: 1. Haddonfield
1989: 5. Haddonfield

Here’s my best attempt at an all-time New Jersey single-race team list:

15:40.13 … CBA, 2025 Meet of Champions
15:42.11 … CBA, 2024 Meet of Champions
15:50 … CBA, 2024 Parochial A
15:51 … CBA, 2023 Parochial A
15:52.2 … CBA, 2013 Meet of Champions
15:55.81 … CBA, 2023 Meet of Champions
15:59h … CBA, 2023 Shore Coaches
16:00.76 … CBA, 2025 Parochial A
16:01 … Westfield, 2023 Group 4
16:01 … Union Catholic, 2021 Meet of Champions
16:01.6 … Union Catholic, 2021 Meet of Champions
16:03.2 … CBA, 2012 Parochial A
16:04.4 … CBA, 2011 Meet of Champions
16:05.0 … CBA, 2013 Parochial A
16:05.8 … CBA, 2010 Meet of Champions
16:06 … CBA, 2022 Parochial A
16:07 … CBA, 2022 Meet of Champions
16:08.4 … CBA, 2011 Shore Coaches
16:08.54 … Haddonfield, 2025 Meet of Champions
16:09 … Westfield, 2023 Shore Coaches