Led by freshman Peyton Barger, the Paul VI girls placed 2nd for the 2nd consecutive year in the state Parochial A meet Saturday at Holmdel County Park.
Barger ran a Holmdel-best 19:25 and placed 7th to lead PVI, junior Morgan Kuzma and sophomore Isabella Suarez placed 11th and 12th in 19:57 and 20:07, senior Grace Gutowski was 24th in 20:56 and sophomore Emilia Grelli was 31st in 21:19. In team scoring, they were 7th, 10th, 11th, 18th and 21st with sophomore Molly Smith 38th (27th) in 21:44.
Paul VI placed 1st among schools whose runners all live in New Jersey. This was Paul VI’s 21st top-3 finish, mostly in Parochial A but five in Group 3 or 4 when the state did not contest parochial meets.
This is Paul VI’s 4th straight top-3 finish in the Parochial A meet. PVI was 3rd in 2023 and 2024. Previously, Paul VI recorded top-3 finishes in 1982 (1st), 1983 (2nd), 1984 (1st), 1985 (1st), 1986 (1st in Group 4), 1989 (3rd in Group 4), 1990 (2nd in Group 3), 1991 (3rd in Group 3), 1992 (3rd in Group 3), 1993 (3rd), 1994 (1st), 1995 (1st), 1996 (2nd), 1997 (2nd), 2001 (3rd), 2002 (2nd) and 2003 (3rd).
