From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

In her first high school 5,000-meter race, Northern Burlington freshman Molly Cataline tore up the Holmdel County Park course in 19:16 to place 2^nd in the inaugural Holmdel Invitational and lead Northern to the team title.

Northern went 1-4-7-8-11 in team scoring places and topped Moorestown and Kingsway 31-51, with Moorestown getting 2^nd on a 6^th-runner tiebreaker. Washington Township placed 5^th.

Cataline’s time is 10th-fastest all-time at Holmdel by a South Jersey freshman and 4^th-fastest all-time by a Burlington County freshman, behind Northern’s Liliah Gordon [18:29 in 2021], Shawnee’s Casey Doyle [18:39 in 2007] and Shawnee’s Kate Ruona [19:05 in 2019]. Gordon is the only Northern girl to run faster than Cataline did on Saturday. Cataline’s time is fastest the year by a New Jersey 9^th-grader on any course, and it happened to come on the fastest course in the state.

Junior Kamiyah Vergo placed 7^th for Northern in 20:45, sophomore Adelina Floyd was 12^th in 21:26, freshman Mary-Kate Boyle 13^th in 21:26 and sophomore Abigail Leonhardt 17^th in 21:57.

Northern averaged 20:58, fastest in school history on the historic Holmdel County Park course.

Also in the top 20: Kingsway junior Kaitlyn Orazi [4^th in 20:26], Moorestown junior Makayla Zell [5^th in 20:42], Moorestown senior Caroline Hipple [10^th in 21:02], senior Katelyn Gallinaro [11^th in 21:20], Kingsway senior Ava Buchanan [16^th in 21:41], Moorestown senior Siyana Sheth [18^th in 22:07] and Moorestown sophomore Juliet Stack-Maya [19^th in 22:08].