This will be the 4th year South Jersey XC sectionals are held at DREAM Park in Logan Township, and overall this is the 6th year since the course was carved out of the Gloucester County countryside.

When the conditions are good, it’s a very fast course, as was its sectional predecessor at Delsea.

Bishop Eustace’s Connor Melko set the initial course record at DREAM Park with a 15:52.54 at the 2018 Olympic Conference Championships. Ethan Wechsler of Cherokee lowered it to 15:12.65 at the 2019 Olympic Conference meet, and then Dennis Fortuna of Triton took three seconds off with a 15:09.35 at the 2021 Group 3 sectionals. Last year, Haddonfield’s George Andrus became the first runner under 15 minutes on the flat 5,000-meter layout with a 14:58.79.

The meet begins at 10 a.m. and continues with a race every 30 minutes in this order: Girls Group 4, Girls Group 1, Boys Group 4, Boys Group 1, Girls Group 3, Girls Group 2, Boys Group 3, Boys Group 2.

We’ll have much more in the next few days, including all-time sectional winners, fastest DREAM Park team averages and later today the all-time DREAM Park girls performance list.

For now, here’s the all-time boys performance list, with all times of 16:30 or faster. Please reply in the comment section with corrections and omissions.

14:58.79 … George Andrus [Haddonfield], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
15:09 … Dennis Fortuna [Triton], 2021 Group 3 Sectionals
15:12 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2019 Olympic Conference
15:15 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
15:16 … *Peyton Shute [Woodbury], 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
15:19 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2021 Group 2 Sectionals
15:22 … *Nick Kuenkel [Cherokee], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:22 … Patrick Ditmars [Cherokee], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:28 …… **Shute [Woodbury], 2021 Group 2 Sectionals
15:28 … Colin Hermack [Lenape], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:30 … Fabian Ramales [Southern], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:36 … Andrew Bowker [Southern], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:31 …… * Andrus [Haddonfield], 2021 Group 2 Sectionals
15:34 … Tobias Janssen [Haddonfield], 2021 Group 2 Sectionals
15:36 … Billy Clewell [Camden Catholic], 2021 Bob Kiessling Invite
15:38 … Andrew Littlehales [Delsea], 2021 Group 3 Sectionals
15:40 …… Ditmars [Cherokee], 2022 Olympic Conference
15:41 … Conor Jacob [Cherokee], 2022 Olympic Conference
15:43 …….. *Ditmars [Cherokee], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
15:43 … Alex Boyko [Cinnaminson], 2022 S.J. Open
15:45 … Jack Bolling [Haddon Heights ], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
15:46 … Jacob Cobb [West Deptford], 2021 Group 2 Sectionals
15:46 … *Aziz Muhammad-Kane [Highland], 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
15:46 …… Boyko [Cinnaminson], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
15:47 … Nicholas Krol [Williamstown], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:47 … Connor Jacob [Cherokee], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:48 … Nick Scarangelli [Ocean City], 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
15:48 … Robert DiMedeo [Haddonfield], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
15:48 … Matt McCarron [Cinnaminson], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
15:49 … Ryan Taylor [Egg Harbor Twp. ], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:50 …… Kuenkel [Cherokee], 2023 Olympic Conference
15:52 … Connor Melko [Bishop Eustace], 2018 Olympic Conference
15:52 …….. * Jacob, 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
15:52 … Robert Poplau [Cherokee], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:52 …… Poplau [Cherokee], 2023 Olympic Conference
15:53 … *Brady Shute [Woodbury], 2019 S.J. Shootout
15:53 … Colin Hermack [Lenape], 2022 Olympic Conference
15:53 … Colin Patterson [Haddon Heights], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
15:54 … Oliver Adler [Cherry Hill East], 2019 Olympic Conference
15:54 … Chris Colavita [Washington Twp.], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
15:55 … Cole Wassell [Highland], 2020 S.J. Open
15:55 … Andre Faigal [Rancocas Valley], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
15:55 …… *Patterson [Haddon Heights], 2021 Group 2 Sectionals
15:56 …… *Ramales [Southern Reg. ], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
15:56 … **Levi Miller [Southern Reg.], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
15:57 … Santino Anthony D’Amelio [Southern], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:57 … Raine Guidarelli [Cherry Hill East], 2023 Olympic Conference
15:58 … Zeb Hinker [Lower Cape May Reg.], 2021 S.J. Open
15:59 … Colin Keane [Washington Twp.], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
15:59 … *Elijah Forrest [Collingswood], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
15:59 … *Will Mrozinski [Paul VI], 2022 Bob Kiessling Invitational
16:00 …….. *Fortuna [Triton], 2020 S.J. Open
16:00 … **Noah Manwaring Lenape], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
16:00 … **Dylan Saber [Williamstown], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
16:00 … *Matt Hoffman [Ocean City], 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
16:01 … Nico Grilli [Cherokee], 2020 Olympic Conference Batch
16:01 … Chris Spisak [Cherokee], 2018 Olympic Conference
16:01 … Jake Buniva [Lenape], 2021 Olympic Conference
16:01 … * Guidarelli [Cherry Hill East], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
16:01 … Cavan Agatone [Clearview], 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
16:01 … Jeremy Sallade [The Wilberforce School], 2022 Bob Kiessling Invitational
16:02 … *Ryan Smith [Rancocas Valley], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:02 …… Mrozinski [Paul VI], 2023 Olympic Conference
16:03 …….. B. Shute [Woodbury], 2020 Group 2 Sectionals
16:03 … Jackson Braddock [Southern Regional], 2020 Group 4 Sectionals
16:04 … Chase Miller [Cherokee], 2019 Olympic Conference
16:04 … Gavin Gallo [Highland], 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
16:05 … Aidan Groff [Cherry Hill East], 2020 Olympic Conference
16:05 …….. Buniva, 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:05 …… *Krol [Williamstown], 2021 S.J. Open
16:05 … Cole Knoedler [Highland], 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
16:06 …….. Wassell [Highland], 2020 Group 3 Sectionals
16:06 … Matt Sabo [Toms River North], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:06 …….. R. Smith, 2022 Olympic Conference
16:06 …… *Mrozinski [Paul VI], 2022 Olympic Conference
16:06 … Cesar Pedro [Kingsway], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
16:07 … Tyler Jackson [Cherokee], 2019 Olympic Conference
16:07 … *Scott Hubbard [Audubon], 2021 S.J. Open
16:07 … Jack Gaffin [Cherry Hill East], 2021 S.J. Open
16:07 … *Matthew Sullivan [Haddonfield], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
16:08 … Owen Ritti [Ocean City], 2021 Group 3 Sectionals
16:08 … Ian Romea [Haddonfield], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
16:09 …….. Krol, 2022 S.J. Shootout
16:09 … Matt McCarron [Cinnaminson], 2022 S.J. Shootout
16:09 …… *Poplau [Cherokee], 2022 Olympic Conference
16:09 … Colin Shand [Moorestown], 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
16:09 … *Elijah Whitaker [Glassboro], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
16:10 … Jake Aylmer [Haddon Township], 2019 S.J. Shootout
16:10 … ***Peter Simpson [Moorestown], 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
16:10 … *Liam Tindall [Cherokee], 2023 Olympic Conference
16:10 … **Logan Bromley [Cherokee], 2023 Olympic Conference
16:11 … Julian Lawson [Washington Twp.], 2020 Olympic Conference
16:11 … Josh Forrest [Collingswood], 2020 Group 2 Sectionals
16:12 …….. Gaffin, 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:12 … **Hunter Bostwick [Washington Twp.], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
16:12 … ***Matthew Littlehales [Delsea], 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
16:13 …… *Bowker [Southern Reg.], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:13 …….. *Boyko, 2021 Group2 Sectionals
16:13 … *Simon Donovan [Germantown Friends], 2021 Bob Kiessling Invite
16:13 … *Aiden Williams [Audubon], 2022 Group 1 Sectionals
16:13 …… **Simpson, 2023 Olympic Conference
16:14 … John Ruona [Shawnee], 2020 Olympic Conference
16:15 …..… **Andrus [Haddonfield], 2020 Group 2 Sectionals
16:15 …….. R. Smith, 2022 S.J. Open
16:15 …… **Manwaring [Lenape], 2022 Olympic Conference
16:16 …….. *McCarron, 2021 Group2 Sectionals
16:16 …… *Bolling [Haddon Heights], 2021 Group 2 Sectionals
16:16 …… *DiMedio [Haddonfield], 2021 Group 2 Sectionals
16:17 … Ryan Allen [Kingsway], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:18 … Dan Wyshinski [Pennsville], 2019 S.J. Shootout
16:18 …… *Guidarelli [Cherry Hill East], 2022 Olympic Conference
16:18 … Linden Wineland [Mainland Reg. ], 2021 Group 3 Sectionals
16:18 … Cole Mylan [Timber Creek], 2021 Group3 Sectionals
16:18 … Christian Schiattarella [Southern], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
16:19 … *Brady Bogos [Cherry Hill East], 2023 Olympic Conference
16:19 … *Christian Rouzard [Rancocas Valley], 2023 Olympic Conference
16:20 … Gabe Rodriguez [Cherry Hill East], 2020 Olympic Conference Batch
16:20 … Aidan Eyre [Cherry Hill East], 2019 Olympic Conference
16:20 … ***Peter Simpson [Moorestown], 2022 Olympic Conference
16:20 … Donald Jellig [Haddonfield], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
16:20 … ***Benjamin Realley [Cherokee], 2023 Olympic Conference
16:20 … **Colin Moore [Cherry Hill East], 2023 Olympic Conference
16:21 … Richard Castaneda [Camden Catholic], 2018 S.J. Shootout
16:21 … Mike Liberty [Oakcrest], 2019 S.J. Shootout
16:21 …….. * Hinker, 2020 Group 2 Sectionals
16:21 … Bradley Popler [Cherokee], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:22 …… **Tindall [Cherokee], 2022 Olympic Conference
16:22 … **P.J. Kresloff [Germantown Friends], 2021 Bob Kiessling Invite
16:22 … Jake Smith [Highland], 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
16:23 … Austin Milou [Washington Twp.], 2018 Olympic Conference
16:23 …..… *Hermack, 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:23 ….…. Hubbard [Audubon], 2021 Group 2 Sectionals
16:23 … Derek Coceano [Cinnaminson], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
16:24 …….. Clewell, 2020 Olympic Conference Batch
16:24 … Brett Shea [Cherokee], 2020 Olympic Conference
16:24 …… **D’Amelio [Southern Regional], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:24 …..…*Krol, 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:24 …… Gallo [Highland], 2022 S.J. Shootout
16:24 … Forrest Miller [Triton], 2021 Group 3 Sectionals
16:24 … Joseph Natoli [Cherokee], 2021 Olympic Conference
16:24 … Sean Haggerty [Barnegat], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
16:25 … Anas Bensaoud [Clearview], 2020 Group 4 Sectionals
16:25 … Ethan Anderer [Cherry Hill East], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:25 …… Shand [Moorestown], 2022 Olympic Conference
16:25 … Joel Oquendo [Pennsauken], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
16:25 … **Yanni Ekatomatis [Shawnee], 2023 Olympic Conference
16:26 …….. Bensaoud, 2018 S.J. Shootout
16:26 … ***Taysaun Wilson [Toms River North], 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:26 …..… *Janssen, 2020 Group 2 Sectionals
16:26 …… *E. Forrest [Collingswood], 2022 S.J. Open
16:26 … Ethan Bergmann [Haddon Twp. ], 2021 Group 2 Sectionals
16:26 … Leonardus Kittles [Haddon Heights], 2021 S.J. Open
16:26 … **Will Ashton [Manchester Twp.], 2022 Group 2 Sectionals
16:26 … *Ryan Haefele [Eastern], 2023 Olympic Conference
16:27 … *Noah Stapleton [Shawnee], 2023 Olympic Conference
16:28 …….. Grilli, 2020 Group 4 Sectionals
16:27 … Michael Gavio [Cherokee], 2019 [Olympic Conference
16:27 …..… **Poplau, 2021 Group 4 Sectionals
16:27 …… *Knoedler [Highland], 2021 Group 3 Sectionals
16:27 … Justin Newman [Toms River South], 2022 Group 3 Sectionals
16:27 … **Alvin Lin [Cherry Hill East], 2023 Olympic Conference
16:27 … *Benjamin Weiner [Cherokee], 2023 Olympic Conference
16:28 …….. Anderer, 2019 Olympic Conference
16:28 … Cole Kolodziej [Washington Twp.], 2020 Olympic Conference Batch
16:28 … Grant Yoon [Cherry Hill East], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
16:28 … Teddy Wilson [Toms River North], 2022 Group 4 Sectionals
16:29 … Dan White [Robbinsville], 2018 S.J. Shootout
16:29 … Timothy Sincavage [Southern Regional], 2020 Group 4 Sectionals
16:29 … *Elliot Post [Mainland Reg.], 2021 Group 3 Sectionals
16:29 … Justin Penny [Lenape], 2021 Olympic Conference
16:29 … *Tyler Schill [Cinnaminson], 2021 Group 2 Sectionals

Senior Ava Thomas and sophomore Riley Austin finished 1-2 for the second straight year and Haddonfield placed seven runners in the top 10 over the weekend at the Colonial Conference Championships.

Haddonfield unofficially won its 21st consecutive Colonial Conference meet 18-52 over Sterling, with Haddon Township in 3rd with 72 points.

Thomas, the Meet of Champions 3,200 winner last spring, won the race in 18:23, with Austin a step behind in 18:24 over 5,000 meters at Pennypacker Park in Haddonfield.

Sterling junior Jonalee Adames broke 19 minutes for the first time on any course, taking 3rd place in 18:56. She’s now placed 4th or better in the South Jersey Shootout, Shore Coaches, South Jersey Open and Colonial Conference meet.

Three more Haddonfield girls were next across the line – senior Anna Stolarick [4th in 19:21], freshman Madison Kelsey [5th in 19:24 in her first varsity weekend race] and junior Katherine Asher [6th in 19:33].

Haddon Township senior Genevieve Gentlesk placed 7th in 19:43 and Sterling junior Kaysie Luna 8th in 19:44, her first race under 20 minutes.

Then it was two more Haddonfield runners rounding out the top 10: freshman Harper Benjamin ran an all-course PR 19:45 for 9th place and junior Dylan Melcher 19:49 for 10th place.

According to the results I found, this meet has included official team scoring some years and hasn’t other years. Some years it’s impossible to tell.

But Haddonfield has had the lowest score – officially or unofficially – every year since 1988. The meet wasn’t held from 1992 through 2004 or in 2020.

Since the meet was revived in 2005, Haddonfield has never scored more than 26 points and has been at 15 through 19 eight times. Results before 1990 are incomplete, but we have enough information to tell Haddonfield did – or would have – won the team title.

It appears very likely from the limited results that are available that Haddonfield would not have won the 1987 race, although there’s no way to tell who would have. Newspaper stories do not mention a team champion and the results are only 15 deep.

So at worst, Haddonfield hasn’t lost a Colonial Conference meet in at least 36 years.

Woodstown’s Xavier Seals, a senior at Georgian Court in Lakewood, and Pennsauken’s Joel Oquendo, a freshman at Wilmington (Del.), both finished in the top 10 Sunday at the CAAC Championships at Belmont Plateau.

Seals ran 27:25.1 over 8,000 meters and took 3rd and Oquendo ran 28:26.2 and was 10th. Dan Wyshinski of Wilmington, a junior from Pennsville, placed 15th in 28:41.2.

The Central Atlantic Athletic Conference web site has not posted any team scores.

Chestnut Hill College junior Sydney Watts from Kingsway placed 3rd out of 62 runners Sunday morning at the Central Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.

Watts ran 20:56.31 over 5,000 meters at the historic course in Fairmount Park and was the first finisher for Chestnut Hill, which is located on the Philadelphia-Whitemarsh Township border.

Pitman graduate Sarah Brennan, a senior at Jefferson in Philly, placed 5th in 20:58.63, and senior teammate Olivia Monahan of Woodstown was 13th in 21:38.18.

Washington Township grad Amirah Beasley, a junior at Georgian Court in Lakewood, placed 10th in 21:24.79.

For Holy Family, sophomore Maya Harper from Pleasantville was 18th in 22:13.80, and junior Zane’ McNeil from Pleasantville and Charter Tech ran 23rd in 22:41.50

There are no team results posted yet.

Ocean City’s Nick Scarangelli of Embry-Riddle placed 17th out of over 100 runners Saturday in the Sunshine State Conference XC Championships.

Scarangelli ran 25:50.8 over the 8,000-meter course at Holloway Park in Lakeland, Fla., and was the first freshman finisher. He was Embry-Riddle’s 5th finisher, helping the Eagles place 2nd with 45 points, behind only Florida Southern of Lakeland, which had 5 of the first 8 finishers and scored 28 points.

http://results.tfmeetpro.com/Elite_Timing_and_Event_Management/Sunshine_State_Conference__XC_Championshp_2023/#event1

Embry-Riddle is an aviation- and aerospace-oriented university in Daytona Beach. They’ll compete in the NCAA Division 2 South Region Championships on Nov. 4 at Montevallo Cross Country Course in Montevallo, Ala.

The Eagles are ranked 3rd in the most recent USTFCCCA South Region rankings, behind Lee University of Cleveland, Tenn., and Alabama-Huntsville. They were ranked 28th nationally this week, their first time in the NCAA Division 2 national rankings this year.

Led by senior Matt Hoffman, junior Ethan Buck and sophomore Erik Preisner, the Ocean City boys packed their five scorers in under 18 seconds and became the first school in meet history to pitch a shutout at the Cape Atlantic Championships.

Ocean City averaged 16:23 over the 5,000-meter course at Stockton University in Galloway Township, outscoring 2nd-place Egg Harbor Township by 15-83, with Mainland 3rd at 122. The team title was the 5th in a row for Ocean City.

Hoffman, Buck and Preisner essentially finished together, separated by less than half a second. Hoffman won in 16:18.38, Buck ran 16:18.82 and Preisner 16:18.84. Junior Kal Heyman was 4th in 16:24.47 and junior Zach Hutchinson 5th in 16:35.96.

That’s a gap of 17.58 seconds from 1 to 5.

Nathan Aschmann was Ocean City’s 6th runner and the first freshman across the line, in 11th place in 17:08.12, and sophomore Robert Cesari took 19th in 17:31.80.

Last time Ocean City didn’t win the team title was 2017, when the Red Raiders were second to Mainland Regional.

The 15-point total is the first in meet history. The closest anybody else has come to a 1-2-3-4-5 finish was Hammonton in 1977, with Mark Deloison, Elizer Echevarria, Tom Salvo and Mike Porter finishing 1-2-3-4 (there was no team scoring in 1977).

Also in the top 10 were St. Augustine senior Peter Tampellini, who placed 6th in 16:38.93 [102 seconds faster than he ran last year!], Cedar Creek senior Matthew Winterbottom [7th in 16:40.98], Pleasantville junior Melvin Lewis [8th in 16:54.22], Millville junior Arjun Patel [9th in 16:57.25] and Atlantic City junior Muhammad Khan [10th in 17:03.42].

Kingsway’s remarkable Kylie Anicic made it 16-for-16 in PSAC races Saturday morning with a dominating win at the conference cross country championships.

Anicic, an Edinboro senior and one of the top runners in NCAA Division 2, won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title course by XX meters, covering the 6,000-meter course on Bloomsburg’s Upper Campus in 21:37.2.

https://lexicontiming.com/meets/28486/xc-events/1029509/live

Just 1,000 meters into the race, Anicic had already built a 50-meter lead at 3:27 and she extended it to 100 meters when she came through 3,000 meters at 10:44. Anicic, cruising unpressed through the second half of the race, was at 18:02 through 5,000 meters and won by 125 meters over Elaina Klinger of Slippery Rock, who was 2nd in 22:07.8.

Anicic won the mile, 3,000 and 5,000 and anchored the winning DMR at the 2022 and 2023 PSAC indoor meets and the 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 at the 2022 and 2023 outdoor meets and has now won both her PSAC cross country races.

Next for Anicic is the NCAA Division 2 Atlantic Region Championships Nov. 4 at the West Branch Course in Lock Haven. Anicic won regionals last year in Mansfield, Pa., earning an auto bid to nationals at Chambers Bay Golf Club in University Place, Wash., outside Tacoma, where she earned 2nd-team All-America honors with a 31st-place finish. This year’s NCAA Division 2 championship is back at Chambers Bay on Dec. 3.

Anicic began her collegiate career playing soccer at Temple before embarking on a track and XC career at Towson. She’s been at Edinboro since the spring of 2021 and has competed for the Fighting Scots since the 2022 indoor season.

Woodbury’s Brady Shute, a Cornell junior, ran a 5,000 all-course PR Friday and placed 5th in the John Reif Memorial Run at Cornell’s Moakley Course in Ithaca, N.Y.

Shute ran 15:15.7 and finished 2nd among current collegians, behind only Syracuse sophomore Gabriel Planty, who ran 15:06.7. Noah Carey, a former Penn runner, was the overall winner in 14:44.8.

Shute’s previous all-course 5K PR was 15:41.1 over the same course in the same meet in 2021. There aren’t a lot of 5Ks in college XC.

Shute last spring ran on Cornell’s 4-by-8 team that won the Ivy League Championships in 7:24.80. He ran 1:49.87 in the open 800.

This was Shute’s last race before Cornell races at the Ivy League Championships – the Heps – at noon Oct. 28 at Franklin Park in Boston.

Audubon senior Aiden Williams led four runners under 16 minutes at the Colonial Conference All-Star Meet Thursday.

Williams ran a lifetime all-course best 15:24.48 for 5,000 meters at Pennypacker Park in Haddonfield and now has wins this year at the Six Flags Wild Safari, South Jersey Open and Colonial Conference meet to go with a 2nd-place at Shore Coaches.

Williams’ time is 6th-fastest in course history and only 16 seconds off the course-record 15:08 set by Sterling’s Sean McPherson at the 2014 Colonial Conference All-Star Meet.

He’s Audubon’s first Colonial Conference winner since at least 1987. Earlier results are not available.

Collingswood senior Elijah Forrest ran 15:40 for 2nd place, followed by five Haddonfield runners – junior Bennett Wright [3rd in 15:49], sophomore Ryan Gibson [4th in 16:00 (15:59.26)], sophomore Benjamin Andrus [5th in 16:04], sophomore Luke Andressen [6th in 16:18] and senior Reid Gervasi [7th in 16:32].

There is no team scoring at this meet, but if there were Haddonfield would have scored 25, Haddon Heights 74 and Haddon Township 85.

Also in the top 10 were Haddon Heights junior Reggie Hernandez [8th in 16:41], Haddonfield junior Linus Kucer [9th in 16:48] and Haddon Heights senior Jayden Gonzalez [10th in 16:52].

Also under 17 minutes were Haddonfield senior Matthew Sullivan [11th in 16:54] and sophomore Brandon Stoner [12th in 16:55].

Junior Sofia Day became the first South Jersey girl in 10 years to run sub-17 on any course and Mainland packed its five scorers in the top 10 to win the Cape-Atlantic Conference Championship Thursday.

Day ran 16:59.37 over Stockton University’s 5,000-meter course in Galloway Township, fastest by a South Jersey girl since Briana Gess of Haddonfield ran 16:57 in 2013 at the Colonial Conference meet at Pennypacker Park in Haddonfield.

She broke the course record of 17:29.56, set at the 2021 Osprey Invitational by Red Bank Catholic’s Cate DeSousa, who was a Nike Cross Nationals qualifier and Meet of Champions 3,200 winner at 10:16.20 – 4th-fastest in New Jersey history – and is now at Virginia.

Day’s previous PR on any 5K course was a 17:38.96 on the same course at the same meet in 2021. Day didn’t race last year at the CAL Championships.

Day finished about 125 meters ahead of 2nd-place Ocean City junior Maeve Smith, who ran an all-course PR of her own with 17:27.80. Smith pushed the pace for most of the race, pushing Day to a historic time and finishing with a blazing time of her own.

Smith’s previous-fastest time over 5,000 meters was 17:58.87 last week when she won the Cape May County Championships at Cap May Park in Middle Township.

According to MileSplit’s database, Day and Smith now own the two-fastest times by New Jersey girls on any course. Emma Zawatski of Freehold Township, the Meet of Champions indoor 1,600 champ last winter, ran 17:29.48 Thursday at the Shore Conference meet at Ocean County Park in Lakewood.

Mainland, ranked 7th in the state, averaged 18:58.42 at Stockton, with senior Gillian Lovett 3rd in 18:12.46, junior Ava McDole 6th in 19:35.71, freshman Cecilia Foreman 7th in 19:52.46 and senior Sophie Goldstein 10th in 20:12.10.

Mainland outscored Ocean City 27-45, with Egg Harbor 3rd with 65 points. Mainland, Ocean City and Egg Harbor accounted for 17 of the first 20 finishers.

Ocean City had all seven runners finish in the top 20, with junior Chloe Care 5th in 18:58, senior Frankie Ritzel [11th in 20:29], junior Zoe Zammit [13th in 20:35]

Also in the top 10 were Egg Harbor Townsip senior Michaela Schlemo [4th in 18:53], EHT sophomore Paige Pacquing [8th in 20:08] and Vineland senior Nicolette Guiliana placed 9th in 20:11.84