Sophomore Kate Ruona ran the No. 3 time at DREAM Park Saturday morning in a six-team Olympic Conference batch meet.

Ruota torched the 5,000-meter course in Logan Township, Gloucester County, in 18:29, a personal-best on that course. The only faster girls at DREAM Park are recorded by Ruona’s former teammate, Isabella Turner, who ran 17:52 at the 2018 South Jersey Shootout, and Cherokee’ Kate Rathman, who ran 18:22 at the 2018 Olympic Conference Championships.

No team scoring was kept, but Shawnee had five in the top 13 and unofficially would have finished with a close 45-53 decision over Eastern, with Paul VI a close third with 66 points.

Ruona won by over a minute and a half over Paul VI freshman Shaelan McNally, who was second in 20:00. Also under 21 minutes were sophomores Arianna Cane [20:50] and Elena Cicchini [20:53] of Eustace and Eastern junior Lauren Kenselaar [20:54]

The rest of Shawnee’s pack consisted of junior Kyra Birdsall [9th in 21:37], junior Madison Koveloski [10th in 21:43], senior Ashley Olson [12th in 21:49] and junior Madelyn Valasek [13th in 21:15].

Also in the top 10 were Eastern senior Morgan Bromley [6th in 21:04], Paul VI senior Katie Sparks [7th in 21:24] and Eustace freshman Carly Troy [8th in 21:30].

Congrats to Jess Goode, who clinched the Cougar Invite Team Challenge team title Saturday morning for the Haddonfield girls!

When the first five runner had crossed the line, No. 8 Haddonfield and No. 3 Middletown South were tied with 54 points.

But Goode, a junior, finished in 24^th, nearly a minute ahead Middletown South’s 6^th runner, and Haddonfield had a huge team championship thanks to the 6^th-runner tiebreaker.

For Haddonfield, senior Sarah Naticchia placed second in 18:18, No. 3 in course history.

Senior Allison Colflesh ran 4th in 18:29, senior Payton Weiner 7th in 18:57, sophomore Sabrina Miller 20th in 19:46 and senior Lindsay Colflesh 21st in 19:47.

Middletown South went 8-9-10-11-16.

Goode ran 19:51 on the Buck Mill Park 5,000-meter course in Colts Neck.

Colts Neck’s Lilly Shapiro was first across the line with a course-record 18:07.

The previous course record was 18:17 by Jillian Prentice of Montgomery at the 2009 New Balance Shore Cougar Invitational. The fastest previous time by a South Jersey runner on the 5,000-meter course was 18:42 by Lenape’s Caitlin Orr in the same meet.

Haddonfield entered the meet ranked No. 8 in the state but beat No. 3 Middletown South, No. 6 Colts Neck and No. 7 Westfield.

Westfield was third with 77 points and Colts Neck fourth with 83, so that’s four of the top teams in the state finishing within 30 points of one another.

Cherry Hill East sophomore Alexis Tepper finished 13^th in 19:32 and senior MaryKathleen McCurdy 25^th,, and East placed 6^th in team scoring.

(Thanks to track legend Jim Lambert of N.J. Milesplit for texting me screen shots of the results!)

The Haddonfield girls toppled the state’s No. 3-ranked team Saturday morning on their way to the team title in the Cougar Invite Team Challenge at Bucks Mill Park in Colts Neck.

No. 8 Haddonfield and No. 3 Middletown South both finished with 54 points, but Haddonfield won the team title on the 6th-runner tiebreaker. 

Full results aren’t available yet because the timing company’s web site is down, but we’ll post them as soon as we get them.

We do know Colts Neck’s Lilly Shapiro was first across the line with a course-record 18:07, and Haddonfield senior Sarah Naticchia took second in 18:18, No. 3 in course history.

The previous course record was 18:17 by Jillian Prentice of Montgomery at the 2009 New Balance Shore Cougar Invitational. The fastest previous time by a South Jersey runner on the 5,000-meter course was 18:42 by Lenape’s Caitlin Orr in the same meet.

Haddonfield entered the meet ranked No. 8 in the state but beat No. 3 Middletown South, No. 6 Colts Neck and No. 7 Westfield.

Cherokee senior Nico Grilli ran a personal best 16:01 on the DREAM Park course and was he first finisher in the seven-team Olympic Conference batch meet by over 100 meters Saturday morning.

Grilli’s previous PR on the Logan Township 5,000-meter course was 16:09 last October at the Olympic Conference Championships.

His 16:01 ties him for No. 5 performer in the three years the course has been used for major competitions.

Junior Billy Clewell of Camden Catholic, a first-year XC runner, placed second in 16:24.

Although team scoring wasn’t kept, Cherokee would have edged Washington Township 35-37 if it was.

Cherokee went 1-3-7-10-14, and Township went 4-5-8-9-11-13.

Cherokee also had senior Brett Shea [3rd in 16:28], sophomore Conor Jacob [7th in 16:52] and senior Dylan Odud [10th in 17:01] in the top 10.

Washington Township was led by seniors Cole Kolodziej [4th in 16:28] and Julian Lawson [6th in 16:29], with senior Mason Brewster [8th in 16:55] and junior Chris Colavita [9th in 16:59] also in the top 10.

Lenape sophomore Jake Buniva finished 6th in 16:50.

Led by junior Jacob Cobb and senior Zack Rhoda, the West Deptford boys went 1-2-4-5 to top Haddon Heights, 23-33, in a Colonial Conference dual meet Wednesday.

Cobb ran 16:52 and Rhoda 17:03 over 5,000 meters at West Deptford Park.

Haddon Heights senior Ritwik Tati took third in 17:27, but senior Tommy Thomasson and sophomore Zackery Assero ran 17:41 and 18:22 for 4th and 5th for the Eagles.

Heights then packed five runners from 6th through 10th – junior Leonardus Kittle, sophomore Jack Bolling, senior Ryan Wartenberg and sophomores Ryan Wartenberg and Ryan Wells – before West Deptford senior Matt Suarez clinched the team win by placing 11th.

On the same course, Gloucester topped Paulsboro, 25-34. Senior Alex Darpino edged Paulsboro soph Derrik Horton for the win.

Collingswood senior Sophie Steidle solo’d 19:29 at DREAM Park in Logan Township Tuesday in a dual meet with West Deptford.

West Deptford won the meet 27-28, but Steidle – the state Group 1 indoor 1,600 and 3,200 champion – opened her XC season in fine form with the No. 11 time in the brief three-year history of the DREAM Park 5,000-meter course.

In as close a dual meet as you could have, West Deptford went 2-3-5-8-9 and Collingswood 1-4-6-7-10.

West Deptford was led by senior Corinne Dorsett and junior Hope Siner in 21:41 and 21:50. West Deptford’s fifth runner, senior Guadalupe Santos, clinched the team win by beating Collingswood’s fifth runner.

West Deptford also scored against Audubuon, and although Dorsett and Siner went 1-2, Audubon won 25-34, with seniors Greta Davis, Rebekah Barnhardt and Natalie Slavin, junior Kathryn Brook and senior Kyla Hoinkis sweeping the 3rd through 7th spots.

Lindenwold raced Gateway/Woodbury Co-op, with Lindenwold junior Julia Arevalo taking first and Gateway/Woodbury senior Autumn Chambers taking second.

Shawnee sophomore Kate Ruona opened her season with a fast 5,000 in an Olympic Conference batch meet Saturday at DREAM Park in Logan Township.

Ruona, 8th in the state Group 4 meet last year, ran 19:23 and won by about 550 meters over the field.

No team scoring was kept five-team meet, but Shawnee went 1-8-9-11-12 and also 15-16 for seven of the top 15 finishers.

Seneca’s Emma Klouchek ran 20:58 for second, Eustace Arianna Cane 3rd in 21:25, Washington Township Maura Kane 4th and Eustace Carly Troy 5th in 21:53.

The rest of Shawnee’s scoring pack included freshman Nicole Tellechea [8th in 22:04], junior Madelyn Valasek [9th in 22:14], sophomore Sydney Kiernan [11th in 22:23] and senior Ashley Olson [12th in 22:49].

Also in the top 10 were Washington Township sophomore Allyson Wernik [6th in 21:58] and junior Amariah Beasley [7th in 22:03] and Lenape junior Grace Boltz [10th in 22:21].

Washington Township seniors Cole Kolodziej and Julian Lawson and Shawnee senior John Ruona all ran 16:38 to lead the field in a five-team season-opening Olympic Conference batch meet Saturday.

Kolodziej was first across the line – Tomahawk’s FAT camera had him in 16:38.19 – with Lawson running 16:38.75 and Ruona 16:39.92. That’s three finishers in less than 3/4 of a second!

Washington Township went 1-2-5-6-9, with junior Chris Colavita [17:03], senior Mason Brewster [17:13] and junior Nate Kidwell [17:40] also in the scoring pack.

Shawnee senior Robert Birdsall also broke 17 minutes, finishing 4th in 16:59.

Also in the top 10 over 5,000 meters at DREAM Park in Logan Township were Lenape junior Jake Buniva [7th in 17:18], Lenape sophomore Colin Hermack [8th in 17:24] and Shawnee junior Alex Campagna [10th in 17:42].

Lenape senior Brett Boyle [17:53] and junior Washington Township’s Sean Hice [17:58] also broke 18 minutes.

Cherry Hill East, ranked No. 4 in the state, opened its 2020 XC season by placing six runners at in the top 10 in a seven-team Olympic Conference batch meet Saturday.

Seniors Aidan Groff, Gabe Rodriguez and Aidan Eyre placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th of 46 finishers, Groff in 16:17, Rodriguez 16:20 and Eyre 16:39 for East.

Cherokee senior Nico Grilli was the overall winner, covering the 5,000-meter layout at DREAM Park in Logan Township in 16:11.

Rounding out the 10 top were Camden Catholic senior Aeden Rosolia [5th in 16:43], Cherokee senior Brett Shea [6th in 16:48], Cherry Hill East sophomore Michael McCurdy [7th in 16:51], Cherokee sophomore Conor Jacob [8th in 16:54], then junior Dylan Hagan [9th in 17:04] and senior Justin Whitney [10th in 17:14],  both of Cherry Hill East.

Cherokee packed the next four finishers, all under 18 minutes – senior Dylan Odud [17:22], sophomore Patrick Ditmars [17:47], junior Bradley Poplar [17:48] and sophomore Thomas Bromley [17:51].

Team scoring wasn’t kept, but unofficially Cherry Hill East would have finished with a 25-38 margin over Cherokee.