Haddonfield’s vaunted distance team scored 50 points and Haddonfield rolled to its 6th state championship but first in 11 years this weekend in Mansfield Township.
Haddonfield scored six points in the 800, 14 in the 1,600, 22 in the 3,200 and eight in the 4-by-8, enough points to easily win the state Group 2 title without any help. But with some additional points from junior Ryder Bozine in the 400-meter hurdles and the 4th-place 4-by-4 team, Haddonfield finished with a 62-38 win over Demarest at Northern Burlington.
Haddonfield previously won state titles in 1987 in Group 1 and 2009, 2019, 2011 and 2015 in Group 2.
The Bulldogs locked up a single-season triple crown after winning the state Group 2 cross country title 27-120 over Bernards and winning 50-26 over Voorhees indoors.
Haddonfield’s run to the title began Friday when senior Brandon Stoner ran a PR 1:53.71 to place 3rd in the 800. Bozine then ran more than a full-second PR of 54.40 in the intermediates, finishing just 3-100ths of a second behind Ramsey’s Giorgio Bruttini.
Before Friday was over, seniors Peter Simpson, Ben Andrus and Ryan Gibson went 1-2-4 in the 3,200, Simpson winning in 9:25.15, Andrus 2nd in 9:30.46 and Gibson 4th with 9:33.63. That was good for 22 points.
Up first on Saturday was the 4-by-8 and Haddonfield placed 2nd to Shabazz in 8:05.59 with only Stoner in the lineup from Haddonfield’s top group. Stoner led off, followed by senior John Leibrandt, junior Mark Derets and junior Owen Snyder, who is listed as the anchor in 1:55.37.
Haddonfield then picked up 14 points in the 1,600, where Simpson won with a 4:18.43, closing in 2:06.33, and Andrus took 4th in 4:21.65.
Haddonfield, with the team title already clinched, finished up with a 4th place in the 4-by-4, with junior Jack Brand, Bozine, Derets and Stoner running 3:29.83.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 