Maddie Dischert, a freshman from Atlantic City, was Rider’s first finisher Saturday in the MAAC Championships.

Dischert ran 21:56.9 over 6,000 meters at Twin Ponds on the Farm in Montgomery, N.Y., and placed 15th out of over 120 runners in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship race.

Rider placed 4th of 11 teams with 117 points, behind Quinnipiac [31], Iona [40] and Siena [87].

Dischert was the top freshman in the race, finishing nine seconds ahead of Iona freshman Claragh Keane, who was 16th in 22:05.5.

Her previous 6,000-meter PR on any course was a 21:59.3 at the Jasper Fall Invitational last month on the same course.

Dischert has been Rider’s No. 3 runner much of the year. This was the first time she was was Rider’s first overall finisher.

Paul VI senior Will Mrozinski won his second second title at the Bob Kiessling Invitational, the unofficial South Jersey parochial school championships.

Mrozinski ran an unpressed 15:55.57 at DREAM Park in Logan Township and won the race Saturday by 150 meters over Caleb Brox of the Wilberforce School in Princeton.

PVI went 1-3-5-10-17 and won the team title 36-57 over Camden Catholic, with Bishop Eustace a close 3rd with 66 points.

Mrozinski is the first repeat winner at the Kiessling Invite – formerly the Knights of Columbus Invitational – since Nick Hutchison of Bishop Eustace won the 2014, 2015 and 2016 races at Delsea.

He’s Paul VI’s first repeat winner since legendary Jason DiJoseph won the 1986 and 1987 races at Newton Lake Park in Haddon Township. DiJoseph was the 1988 Kinney (Foot Locker) Nationals runner-up.

Junior Sean Alemi, junior Christian Napoli and freshman Caden Briggs also finished in the top 10 for the Eagles. Alemi was 3rd in 16:33, Napoli 5th in 16:48 and Briggs 10th in 17:37. PVI’s 5th finisher was another freshman, Chase Cooley, who was 17th in 17:52.

PVI’s 6th and 7th runners were also freshmen – Chris Monaghan [19th in 18:13] and Holden Cranston [20th in 18:18].

Others in the top 10 were Bishop Eustace senior Ryan Gaulrapp [4th in 16:45], Eustace senior Matt Colden [6th in 17:06], Eustace junior Ethan Caprarola [7th in 17:14], Camden Catholic senior Patrick McInerney [8th in 17:25] and Camden Catholic junior Sean Leahy [9th in 17:31].

Mrozinski, who ran 9:24.82 last spring, races Saturday in the state Parochial A meet at Holmdel.

Senior Katherine Rice from Haddonfield placed 11th and sophomore Savannah Hodgens of Mainland Regional 20th to help The College of New Jersey win the NJAC Championships Saturday.

Rice ran 24:14.1 over 6,000 meters at Stockton University in Galloway Township and was the Lions’ 3rd finisher overall, and Hodgens ran 25:05.8 and was TCNJ’s 6th runner.

TCNJ edged Stockton 50-51 to win the team title, with Rowan not far back with 60 points. It was TCNJ’s 2nd straight team title and 31st in the last 39 years. Including four years in the early 1980s when the NJAC was the New Jersey State Athletic Conference, the TCNJ women have won 35 of the last 43 women’s XC titles.

The College of New Jersey is ranked No. 1 in the USTCCCA NCAA Division 3 Metro Region, with Rowan No. 2 and Stockton 4th, after Widener. TCNJ has been ranked No. 1 for three weeks now.

For Stockton, sophomore Madelyn Valasek from Shawnee placed 13th overall in 24:30.1 and was the Ospreys’ 3rd finisher.

The top South Jersey finisher in the race was Rowan junior Anna Sasse from Williamstown, who placed 6th in 23:48.7 and was the Profs’ No. 2 runner. Rowan junior Cameron Wright from Cherry Hill West placed 14th in 24:33.3 and was Rowan’s 3rd finisher.

Senior Amanda McNally from Seneca and freshman Mackenzie Saber from Williamstown were Rowan’s 6th and 7th runners, McNally in 23rd with a 25:13.4 and Saber in 24th with a 25:20.7 that made her the 3rd freshman finisher in the race. Allyson Wernick, a freshman from Washington Township, placed 27th in 25:32.4 and was the 5th freshman across the line.

TCNJ, Stockton and Rowan will all race in the NCAA Metro Region Championships on Nov. 11 at DREAM Park in Logan Township. I would love to tell you who from that race advances to the NCA Division 3 Championships Nov. 18 in Newville, Pa., but it’s apparently some huge secret that nobody is allowed to know.

Senior Jackson Sennhenn, sophomore Shaun Maloney, senior Owen Dybus and sophomore James Clauson all placed in the top 10, and Haddon Township rolled to the South Jersey Group 1 title Saturday.

Sennhenn led the way for the Hawks in 4th place in 17:19 over 5,000 meters at DREAM Park in Logan Township, Maloney was 6th in 17:39, Dybus placed 9th in 17:58 and Clauson ran 18:00 and finished 10th. Township’s 5th scorer was sophomore Luke Wolfram, who placed 19th in 18:53.

Haddon Township outscored 2nd-place Gloucester 48-92, with Schalick [105], Glassboro [106] and Audubon [144] also earning team invites to states Saturday at Holmdel.

Glassboro senior Elijah Whitaker blazed a 15:33.27 to win his 2nd consecutive individual title, this one by 170 meters over Audubon senior Aidan Williams, who placed 2nd in 16:08. More on Whitaker in a minute.

For Haddon Township, this is the 2nd sectional title in a row, 12th in the last 16 years and 22nd overall. That’s 2nd-most among South Jersey schools, behind only neighboring Haddonfield’s 42.

The Hawks won their first sectional title in 1968 in Group 3, led by individual winner Ken Medlin, then moved down to Group 2 and won titles in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1985 and 1986, then placed 1st in Group 1 in 1988, 1996, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022 and this year.

Whitaker is the first Glassboro runner to win back-to-back sectional races since Tom Horne in 1993 and 1994, and his 15:33.27 makes him the 11th-fastest performer in course history and fastest – by far – by a Group 1 runner. The previous Group 1 record was a 16:07.47 by Audubon’s Scott Hubbard [who placed 2nd Saturday in the NJAC meet]. Both Whitaker and Williams went under that Saturday.

Whitaker’s time was 3rd-fastest among all races, behind Peyton Shute of Woodbury, who ran 15:09.97 to win Group 1, and Nick Kuenkel of Cherokee, who ran 15:23.05, to win Group 4.

Senior Liam Dougherty, junior Bennett Wright and sophomore Ryan Gibson finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th and Haddonfield cruised to its 20th consecutive sectional cross country title Saturday.

After Collingswood senior Elijah Forrest crossed the line first to win the South Jersey Group 2 individual title, Dougherty placed 2nd in 16:11 over 5,000 meters at DREAM Park in Logan Township, Wright was 3rd in 16:22 and Gibson took 4th in 16:22.

The Bulldogs then placed sophomores Luke Andressen and Benjamin Andrus 6th and 7th to lock up their 42nd sectional title overall, Andressen taking 6th in 16:33 and Andrus 7th in 16:52.

That’s a 41-second gap from 1 to 5.

Sophomore Brian Stoner [12th in 17:21] and junior Linus Kucer [18th in 17:56] made it all seven Haddonfield runners in the top 20.

Haddonfield scored 22 points, their fewest since they scored 20 in 2018. Manchester Township [82] was 2nd, and Haddon Heights [96], Cedar Creek [140] and Cinnaminson [144] also earned spots in the state Group 2 meet Saturday at Holmdel County Park.

Scoring vs. the field, Haddonfield wins, 22-33.

Haddonfield’s 22 points are 6th-fewest in the meet’s 59-year history. Here’s a look at every score under 30:

16 … Haddonfield, 2008
17 … Haddon Township, 1971
20 … Haddonfield, 2010
20 … Haddonfield, 2018
21 … Haddonfield, 2009
22 … Haddonfield, 2023
23 … Haddonfield, 2013
23 … Haddonfield, 2019
26 … Clearview, 1965
26 … Haddonfield, 2014
27 … Overbrook, 1968
27 … Haddonfield, 2001
27 … Haddonfield, 2015
28 … Haddonfield, 2021
29 … Cinnaminson, 2003

Haddonfield won its first sectional title in 1967 in Group 3, then moved down to Group 2 and won four straight from 1977 through 1980. Then it was down to Group 1 and eight titles in the next nine years – 1982 through 1987 and 1989 and 1990 after Haddon Township won in 1988.

After a four-year dry spell, Haddonfield won Group 2 in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. Since finishing 2nd to Cinnaminson in 2003, the Bulldogs have won 20 in a row.

So overall, the Bulldogs have won 41 sectional titles in the last 47 years going back to 1977. Ridgewood [27], Bernards [27], Westfield [23] and Haddon Township [22] have also won more than 20.

Forrest ran 16:02.09 to become Collingswood’s first sectional individual winner in 37 years. Pat Fogarty ran 16:38 to win the 1985 race and 16:00 to win the 1986 Group 2 race, both at Clearview.

Forrest has now won titles this fall at Shore Coaches, the South Jersey Open and Group 2 sectionals.

Other South Jersey runners in the top 10 were Haddon Heights junior Reggie Hernandez [8th in 16:55], Cinnaminson sophomore Jacob Wickersham [9th in 17:15] and Cedar Creek senior Matthew Winterbottom [10th in 17:17].

For those of you who like to keep track of this stuff … here are the lowest scores in South Jersey sectional history across all groups:

16 … Haddonfield, 2008 [Group 2]
17 … Haddon Township, 1971 [Group 2]
20 … Pennsville, 2006 [Group 1]
20 … Haddonfield, 2010 [Group 2]
20 … Haddonfield, 2018 [Group 2]
21 … Haddonfield, 2009 [Group 2]
21 … Haddon Township, 2011 [Group 1]
22 … Haddonfield, 2023 [Group 2]
23 … Highland, 1989 [Group 3]
23 … Haddonfield, 2013 [Group 2]
23 … Ocean City, 2018 [Group 3]
23 … Haddonfield, 2019 [Group 2]
25 … Mainland Regional, 2003 [Group 4]
25 … Ocean City, 2019 [Group 3]
26 … Clearview, 1965 [Group 2]
26 … Burlington Twp., 1966 [Group 1]
26 … Haddonfield, 2014 [Group 2]
26 … Kingsway, 2017 [Group 4]
27 … Burlington Twp., 1967 [Group 1]
27 … Overbrook, 1968 [Group 2]
27 … Haddon Township, 1988 [Group 1]
27 … Highland, 1988 [Group 3]
27 … Haddonfield, 2001 [Group 2]
27 … Haddonfield, 2015 [Group 2]
28 … Haddonfield, 2021 [Group 2]
28 … Haddon Township, 2010 [Group 1]
28 … Haddon Township, 2012 [Group 1]
28 … Haddon Township, 2014 [Group 1]
29 … Burlington Twp., 1967 [Group 1]
29 … Williamstown, 1971 [Group 1]
29 … Cinnaminson, 2003 [Group 2]

Three South Jersey alums placed in the top 10 to help Rowan win the NJAC title by one point over The College of New Jersey.

Sophomore Scott Hubbard from Audubon placed 2nd overall, sophomore Joshua Cason from Camden County Vo-Tech via Camden County College was 7th, Pennsauken’s Bishop Eustace’s Shane Vostenak, a sophomore, was 9th and Rowan outscored TCNJ 33-34. [Rowan’s roster says Vostenak went to Pennsauken, but he actually attended Eustace.]

The 2-3 finish by Hubbard and Jacob Riley of North Warren was the difference.

Hubbard ran 26:06.6 over 8,000 meters at Stockton University in Galloway Township and Riley ran 26:11.5. Cason – who ran track for Eastern and XC for Camden County Vo-Tech – ran 26:16.3 and Vostenak 26:26.4.

Also in the top 10 was Ramapo senior Ian McCauley from Haddon Township, who ran 26:30.8.

The team title is the 25th all-time for Rowan in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, with the first 20 coming as Glassboro State between 1961 and 1990.

The College of New Jersey won 21 consecutive conference titles from 1996 through 2016, but Rowan ended that streak with a win in 2017. Rowan won again last year, so this is the first time the Profs have won consecutive NJAC XC titles since 1992 and 1993.

Rowan and TCNJ are ranked No. 2 and 3 in the USTCCCA NCAA Division 3 Metro Region.

Sophomore Matthew Conway placed 13th and Ocean City’s Tyler Greene was 14th and were the 6th and 7th finishers for the Profs, and both earned all-conference honors.

Freshman Colin Patterson of Haddon Heights placed 17th for Rowan and freshman Joshua Jackson of Williamstown placed 20th, giving the Profs seven South Jersey runners in the top 20.

Cole Mylan of Timber Creek [24th], Cameron DiTroia of Ocean City [25th] and Sean Hice of Washington Township [26th] were also among Rowan’s top finishers.

Delran grad Anthony Guarino, a TCNJ sophomore, placed 19th overall and was TCNJ’s 6th finisher.

Atlantic City’s Angelo Moynihan, a senior, was Stockton’s 3rd finisher in 27th place, sophomore Dalton Culleny from Cedar Creek was 29th and the Ospreys’ 4th finisher and junior Dan Rodriguez placed 31st and was Stockton’s 6th runner.

I can’t find anywhere where it says who advances to the NCAA Division 3 Metro Region Championship, but based on the limited information on the Rowan and TCNJ web sites both programs will be racing Nov. 11 at Rowan and presumably somebody will advance from there to the NCAA Championships Nov. 18 in Newville, Pa. You’d think college SIDs might consider putting that information in their stories?

Northern Burlington junior Liliah Gordon cruised to her 2nd straight sectional cross country championship Saturday with a 1st-place finish in the Central Jersey Group 3 race in Jamesburg.

Gordon covered the 5,000-meter course at Thompson Park in 18:24.36, the fastest time in any sectional race at Thompson Park since Amanda Stone of Monmouth Regional ran 18:19 to win the 2019 Central Jersey Group 2 race.

Gordon ran 18:26.80 to win last year’s race by 150 meters over Allentown senior Meghan Rentner, who’s now at Bucknell.

She won this year’s race by 90 meters over Middletown South senior Rosemary Shay, the Meet of Champions 3,200 runner-up to Haddonfield’s Ava Thomas last spring.

Gordon has not lost to a New Jersey runner this year . She’ll aim for her 2nd straight state Group 3 title Saturday at Holmdel County Park. She won last year in 18:57.

The only other sectional champ in Northern Burlington history is Colleen Sunderland, who won South Jersey Group 2 in 1993 with a 19:01 at Kingsway.

Woodbury senior Peyton Shute ran the 3rd-fastest time in course history and won his 2nd straight individual title and Ocean City won its 8th team championship in the last 20 years Saturday at the South Jersey Group 3 sectionals.

Shute won the race over 5,000 meters at DREAM Park in Logan Township in 15:09.98. He won last year’s race in 15:16.31. Shute won by about 115 meters over Ocean City senior Matt Hoffman, who got the Red Raiders started with his 2nd-place finish in 16:03.

Junior Ethan Buck and sophomore Erik Preisner also placed in the top 10 for Ocean City, Buck in 5th place in 16:11 and Preisner in 9th in 16:31. Junior Kal Heyman was 12th in 16:52 and freshman Keenan Neuman 18th in 17:13.

Ocean City also won Group 3 titles in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2018 and 2019.

Ocean City topped 2nd-place Shawnee 42-71, with Highland [100], Clearview [117] and Delsea [192] also advancing to the state Group 3 meet at Holmdel County Park Saturday.

Delsea sophomore Matthew Littlehales placed 4th in 16:08, Moorestown sophomore Peter Simpson took 6th in 16:12, Highland junior Mason Wassell 7th in 16:21, Highland senior Aziz Muhammad-Kane 8th in 16:25 and Shawnee sophomore Yanni Ekatomatis 10th in 16:36.

Here’s a look at the top 10 times in course history [through the Group 3 race]:

14:58.79 … George Andrus [Haddonfield], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
15:09.35 … Dennis Fortuna [Triton], 2021 Group 3 Sectionals
15:09.98 … Peyton Shute [Woodbury], 2023 Group 3 Sectionals
15:12.65 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2019 Olympic Conference
15:15.64 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
15:16.31 …… P. Shute, 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
15:19.24 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2021 Group 2 Sectionals
15:22.72 … *Nick Kuenkel [Cherokee], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:22.80 … Patrick Ditmars [Cherokee], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:23.05 …… Kuenkel, 2023 Group 4 Sectionals
15:28.95 …… **Shute, 2021 Group 2 Sectionals
15:28.83 … Colin Hermack [Lenape], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:30.14 … Fabian Ramales [Southern Regional], 2022 Gorup 4 Sectionals

Sophomore Riley Austin and senior Ava Thomas finished 1-2, and Haddonfield placed all five scorers in the top 10 to hold off Sterling in a terrific battle of state-ranked teams at the South Jersey Group 2 meet Saturday.

Haddonfield finished with a 25-38 margin of victory over Sterling, which placed three in the top seven and all five scorers in the top 17. Haddonfield is ranked No. 2 in New Jersey, Sterling No. 14.

Sterling’s 38-point total matched the lowest non-winning score in South Jersey Group 2 in 47 years, since Haddon Township defeated Gateway 26-29 in 1976, when they were the only two schools to field full programs.

The 13-point margin of victory is Haddonfield’s smallest since a 56-52 win over Pleasantville in 2012.

The team title is Haddonfield’s 31st and 14th in a row.

Austin ran 18:47.80 over 5,000 meters at DREAM Park in Logan Township to record the first major individual title of her racing career, and Thomas was 2nd in 19:10.

Junior Dylan Melcher was Haddonfield’s 3rd finisher in 5th place in 19:51, and freshman Harper Benjamin and senior Anna Stolarick ran 8th and 9th in 20:01 and 20:05. Junior Katherine Asher, Haddonfield’s 6th runner, was 13th in 21:09. Haddonfield was at less than full strength.

For Sterling, senior Cara Coppolino placed 3rd in 19:43, junior Kaysie Luna 4th in 19:48 and junior Jonalee Adames 7th in 20:00. Junior Isabella Mackey took 11th in 20:50 and senior Jennifer Tisera ran 22:36 for 17th.

Cedar Creek placed 3rd with 95 points, with Cinnaminson [103] and Seneca [142] also qualifying for next week’s state Group 2 meet at Holmdel County Park.

In addition to the current 14 sectional titles in a row, the Bulldogs won SJ-2 in 1979, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and SJ-1 in 1982, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997 and 1998.

Haddonfield has won a sectional title 18 of the last 19 years and going back to 1990, 26 of the last 34 years.

Cinnaminson senior Anna Marino was the first runner across the line not from Haddonfield or Sterling, placing 6th in 19:57. West Deptford freshman Taylor Sierzega placed 10th in 20:07.

Two of the top programs in the state clashed in the South Jersey Group 3 sectional race Saturday, and Ocean City emerged with a dramatic three-point win over Mainland Regional

Ocean City won its 12th sectional title with a 48-51 nail-biter over Mainland at DREAM Park in Logan Township.

Mainland had beaten Ocean City by 44 points at Shore Coaches and 18 points at the Cape-Atlantic Meet last week at Stockton. Both teams are ranked in the top 15 in New Jersey.

But on Saturday, junior Maeve Smith was the overall winner, junior Chloe Care placed 5th and senior Frankie Ritzel 5th to lead the Ocean City pack. The Red Raiders then placed three runners from 15th through 18th to clinch the team title. Sophomore Gabrielle Henry was Ocean City’s 4th finisher in 15th, freshman Lillian Flora 17th and 6th runner junior Zoe Zammit 18th, giving Ocean City six runners in the top 20.

Smith ran 18:08.09 – 6th-fastest in course history – to become Ocean City’s first individual sectional winner since Alexa Palmieri in 2018. Care ran 19:38, Ritzel 20:37, Henry 21:14, Flora 21:18 and Zammit 21:19.

Junior Sofia Day and senior Gillian Lovett ran 2-3 for Mainland, Day in 18:26 and Lovett 18:46. Senior Sophie Goldstein placed 11th in 20:48, junior Ava McDole 12th in 20:59 and senior Claudia Booth 24th in 21:35.

Ocean City also won sectional team titles in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Smith is the latest in a very long list of Ocean City girls who’ve won sectional titles: Melody Sye in 1982, Mary Jo Dougherty in 1986 and 1987, Kelly Dougherty in 1988, Megan Hartman in 1992 and 1993, Abbey Hartman in 1985, Brittany Sedberry in 2002, 2003 and 2004, Bridget Flynn in 2013, Devin Grisbaum in 2014 and Palmieri in 2018.

Moorestown had a very good race and finished 3rd with 84 points, and Clearview [104] and Shawnee [117] also qualified for the state Group 3 meet Saturday at Holmel County Park.

Senior Paige McCabe led Moorestown with a 6th-place finish in 20:06 and the Quakers placed their next four scorers – junior Noelia Reyes, senior Julia Brock, freshman Sophia DiFiore and junior Gabrielle DeJoseph – between 16th and 23rd. This will be Moorestown’s first trip to states since 2014.

Clearview senior Allison Roes placed 4th in 19:34, senior teammate Margaret Wisniewski was 7th in 20:12, Winslow’s Ava Millner ran 20:19 for 8th, and Shawnee junior Paige Cline ran 20:21 and placed 9th.