The Haddonfield Bulldog XC machine keeps rolling!

Haddonfield won its 3rd straight state title, 9th in the last 14 years and No. 18 overall Saturday.

Of course official results aren’t available, so we don’t have any details, but at least we know from legendary Jim Lambert at the finish line reporting for N.J. MileSplit that Haddonfield did win the Group 2 team title.

Only CBA [30] and Bernards [23] have won more state titles than Haddonfield in meet history. Only Haddon Township [12] has even won half as many in South Jersey history.

Here’s a look at Haddonfield’s incredible record at states:

Group 1: 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990
Group 2: 1978, 1980, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019

Haddonfield has now had two separate recent winning streaks in Group 2 — five straight from 2006 through 2010 and three straight from 2017 through this year.

No other school has won three straight in Group 2 since Voorhees from 1981 through 1983.

In all, that’s 18 titles in the last 42 years for the Bulldogs!

Austin Gabay became Cinnaminson’s fifth state XC champion Saturday, winning the state Group 2 title at Holmdel County Park in a blazing 15:48 — fastest ever by a Cinnaminson runner at Holmdel!

Gabay’s previous-best at Holmdel was 15:58 last month at Shore Coaches. The 15:48 makes him the No. 19 South Jersey performer ever at Holmdel County Park and 5th-fastest in Burlington County history behind four Cherokee runners (and tied with a 5th).

The fastest previous time at Holmdel by a Cinnaminson runner belonged to Jon Anderson, who ran 15:51 in 2003.

Here’s the all-time Burlington County Holmdel sub-16 list:

15:40 … Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 2012
15:43 … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2001
15:45 … Keith Krieger [Cherokee], 2002
15:46 … Jack Shea [Cherokee], 2015
15:48 … Keith Krieger [Cherokee], 2002
15:48 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], 2019
15:51 … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], 2003
15:56 … David Forward [Shawnee], 2008
15:56 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2018
15:57 … Connor Herr [Shawnee], 2010
15:57 … Michael Ungvarsky [Cinnaminson], 2016
15:58 … Jack Shea [Cherokee], 2016

Gabay, third last year joins Dave Zamichieli in 1987 [16:45], Bill Mason in 1988 [16:37], Jon Anderson in 2003 [16:19] and Mike Ungvarsky in 2016 [15:58] at the top of the podium for the Pirates. All five won their state titles at Holmdel.

Gabay was second to Allentown’s Liam Murphy, the indoor Meet of Champions 3,200 winner, at the Thompson Park Class Meet in Jamesburg in September but is unbeaten since, with wins at Shore Coaches, Burlington County Open, BCSL, sectionals and now states.

This is Gabay’s second state title. He won Group 2 states in the 1,600 last spring with a 4:16.02

We’ve finally got some official Group 1 boys results!

What a day for Haddon Township!

The Hawks won the state Group 1 title with the largest margin of victory in 38 years!

Senior Jake Aylmer placed 4th in 16:38, and the Hawks got all five scorers across the line among the first 22 finishers — the first 15 in team scoring — to swarm the field on the way to their 13th state title.

Sophomore Luke Overbeck was 12th in 17:14, senior Ian McCauley 16th in 17:28, sophomore Ethan Bergmann 21st in 17:40 and junior Matt Conway 22nd in 17:42. Senior Justin Merkh [28th in 17:51] gave Township a solid 6th man, just a few seconds behind their 5th runner.

Haddon Township had six across the line before second-place Shore Regional’s second runner.

Haddon Township finished with a 53-142 win over Shore, a massive 89-point advantage.

The 53 points are the lowest winning score since Haddon Township topped Pennsville 31-76 in 2014. The 89-point margin of victory is the largest since Bernards won by 95 points in 1981, 15-110 over Henry Hudson.

Township won its first state title in 1968 in Group 3, then won Group 2 in 1971, 1972 and 1976. The Hawks won Group 2 in 1986 and Group 1 in 1988, then didn’t win another title until the current run began in 2008. Since then, Township has won Group 1 in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and the last two years.

Only CBA (29), Bernards (23), neighboring Haddonfield (17) and Westfield (15) have won more state boys cross country championships in state history.

It’s more than five hours since the last race finished at the state XC championships in Holmdel and complete officials results are finally available.

Great job getting these results out before the Meet of Champions starts!

Boys Group 1
Boys Group 2
Boys Group 3
Boys Group 4
Boys Non-Public A
Boys Non-Public B
Girls Group 1
Girls Group 2
Girls Group 3
Girls Group 4
Girls Non-Public A
Girls Non-Public B

Robert Abrams earned a berth in the NCAA Division 3 cross country nationals Saturday with a 9th-place finish in the Atlantic Regional Championships.

Abrams, a College of New Jersey junior from Cherry Hill West, placed ninth in the 8,000-meter race at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., running 25:30 in very cold windy conditions.

The top seven finishers not on one of the two automatically qualifying teams automatically qualify for nationals. SUNY Geneseo and RPI placed first and second, and Abrams was the second individual finisher not from one of those schools.

Abrams finished just 17 seconds behind overall winner Noah Falasco of RPI and only three seconds out of sixth place. He was first among NJAC runners and actually the only NJAC runner who finished in the top 24.

The NCAA Division 3 National Championships are scheduled for Nov. 23 at E.O. Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.

Abrams placed 94th at Regionals as a freshman and 82nd last year. This will be his first trip to the NCAA Championships in track or cross country.

Four hours after the race ended, we still don’t have any girls Group 1 results, but we do know that Schalick ran extremely well and according to Jim Lambert of N.J. Milesplit, who’s at the finish line, placed second in the team race.

New Providence won Group 1 by two points, 76-74, over the Cougars.

Junior Julia Smith placed fourth overall in 20:16 and was the top South Jersey finisher, and senior teammate Marleigh Puglia was eighth in 20:38.

The second-place finish matches Schalick’s best ever. The 2002 team, led by Sara Copare, placed second to Shore Regional.

If the timing company ever figures out how to get results posted we’ll add some details!

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OK … we finally have official results from Group 1, and it really was a terrific day for Schalick.

In addition to Smith and Puglia, junior Chloe Gerstenbacher was 18th in 21:27, sophomore Mia LaMarra 36th in 22:12 and sophomore Autumn Heaton 53rd in 22:43.

But as far as team points, it was 3-5-10-24-36, which is impressive.

Smith and Puglia were the only South Jersey girls in the top 10.

It’s 2019 and it’s apparently impossible to get results posted within a few hours of a race ending, which is hard to believe, but we do know that the Haddon Township boys won the state Group 1 XC title at Holmdel today.

Without knowing any details, we do know that the championship is the Hawks’ second in a row and seventh in the last 12 years, which is incredible.

Township won its first state title in 1968 in Group 3, then won Group 2 in 1971, 1972 and 1976. The Hawks won Group 2 in 1986 and Group 1 in 1988, then didn’t win another title until the current run began in 2008. Since then, Township has won Group 1 in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and the last two years.

Only CBA (29), Bernards (23), neighboring Haddonfield (17) and Westfield (15) have won more state boys cross country championships in state history.

We’ll get you more details whenever the official timer decides to get some results posted.

Sebastien Reed of Pitman won his second straight state XC title Saturday, becoming the first South Jersey boy to win back-to-back state Group 1 championships in 33 years.

On a cold and blustery morning, Reed ran 16:10 over the historic Holmdel County Park course. He’s the first S.J. runner to repeat in Group 1 since Haddonfield’s Dan Gough in 1985 and 1986. He’s the first runner from Gloucester County in any group to win consecutive state titles.

Reed’s time is fastest at Holmdel by a Gloucester County runner since Paul Szulewski of Williamstown ran 15:54 in 2010. Reed already owned the previous-fastest Holmdel time by a Pitman runner at 16:18 from last year’s state meet.

Haddon Township won the team title. More on their incredible performance soon.

The last to repeat in Group 1 was Craig Corti of Walkill Valley, who won in 2013 and 2014. The last South Jersey runner to repeat in any group was Haddonfield’s Jon Vitez in Group 2 in 2008 and 2009.

Here’s a look at all the state XC champs from Gloucester County, going back to legendary Olympic steeplechaser Browning Ross 77 years ago!

1942
Browning Ross, Woodbury [Group 1], 13:29
1965
Don Morgan, Clearview [Groups 1-2], 12:26
1971
Willie Marino, Williamstown [Group 1], 12:50
1972
Joe Siedlecki, Williamstown [Group 1], 12:28
1973
Greg Stremmel, Gateway [Group 2], 15:06
1978
Mike Mantini, Gateway [Group 2], 15:54
1991
Kevin Schilling, Pitman [Group 1], 16:34
1993
Tom Horne, Glassboro [Group 1], 16:28
1995
Pat Ryan, Glassboro [Group 1], 17:04
2018
Sebastien Reed, Pitman [Group 1], 16:18
2019
Sebastien Reed, Pitman [Group 1], 16:10

Alyssa Aldridge placed 18th overall in the Mid-Atlantic Region Cross Country Championships, helping Georgetown place third.

Aldridge, a Georgetown sophomore from Mainland Regional, covered the 6,000-meter course at Lehigh University’s lower campus in 20:41, finishing just 39 seconds behind winner Lydia Olivere of Villanova.

That 20:41 is a big 6,000 PR for all course for Aldridge, Her previous 6,000 best on any course was 2:11 in the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational in September at Penn State

Aldridge was Georgetown’s third finisher. The Hoyas placed third in a close four-team finish, behind Penn State (73) and Villanova (77) and just ahead of Princeton (93). Those three schools are ranked No. 1, 2 and 3 in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

At Mainland, Aldridge was the 2016 Meet of Champions XC winner, Foot Locker Northeast Regional champion and national finalist, placing 13th in the country in the fall of 2016. On the track she ran 4:51.43 and 10:27.44.

Georgetown will race at the NCAA Division 1 Championships a week from Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course on the campus of Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind.

 

One of the biggest days of the year is upon us! The state cross country championships run throughout the morning and afternoon Saturday at Holmdel County Park, the legendary home of New Jersey cross country for more than four decades!

Whether you’re going to Holmdel or not, we’ve got all the important links you need to enjoy the meet in one place: All-time performance lists, South Jersey and state rankings, order of events, all-time winners and much more!

Enjoy the meet and check back at https://sjtrackblog.com throughout the day and the following few days for stories, results, updated lists and lots more!

2019 State XC Championships Official Program
Pole positions and order of events
All-time boys team and individual state XC winners
All-time girls team and individual state XC winners
NJSIAA Official Cross Country Rules and Regulations
New Jersey MileSplit State XC Rankings
SJTCA South Jersey XC Rankings
Complete 2019 South Jersey XC results
All about Holmdel County Park
Map of Holmdel County Park 5,000-meter course
All-time top boys teams at Holmdel
All-Time top girls teams at Holmdel
All-Time Holmdel County Park boys list
ALl-Time Holmdel County Park girls list
All-Time Holmdel South Jersey boys performance list
All-Time Holmdel South Jersey boys performance list
N.J. Milesplit Predictions