Jack Shea, a Northern Arizona red-shirt freshman from Cherokee High, was sixth man Friday as the Lumberjacks won the NCAA Division 1 Mountain Region XC Championships in Provo, Utah.

Northern Arizona, ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division 1, outscored No. 2 Brigham Young 42-56 to win the regional title. No. 8 Colorado was third with 71 points in the most competitive region in the country, with five of the nation’s top 15 teams in the field.

Shea placed 41st overall and was the second-fastest sixth man, behind BYU junior Jacob Heslington. Shea covered the 10,000-meter course at East Bay Golf Course in 30:25, an average of 4:54 per mile.

Northern Arizona went 2-3-7-14-16 to win the team title.

Shea was the seventh freshman across the line. NAU’s lineup included four seniors, two sophomores and Shea.

At Cherokee, Shea was the 2016 South Jersey Group 4 champ in XC  and placed sixth in the Meet of Champions in 15:58.

On Friday, he ran faster per mile than he ever ran in any 5,000-meter run in high school.

As one of the top two teams in team scoring in one of the nine regional meets Friday, NAU earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships. Thirteen other teams will be added as at-large entries.

Nationals are scheduled for Nov. 17 at the Thomas Zimmer Champion Course in Madison, Wisc., on the campus of the University of Wiscosin.

A year ago, Richie Castañeda edged Connor Melko of Eustace to win the individual race at the Bob Kiessling meet, but Bishop Eustace won the team title by four points over Camden Catholic.

This year, Melko edged Castañeda for the individual win, but Camden Catholic won the team title.

So Melko and Castañeda, two of South Jersey’s top seniors, now each have an individual win and a team title.

Castañeda edged Melko by seven seconds to win the 2017 individual race, but Eustace won the team title by four points.

On Saturday, Melko finished 26 seconds ahead of Castañeda, but Camden Catholic outraced Paul VI and Eustace for its first title in meet history.

Camden Catholic’s 35-36 win over PVI was the first at the Kiessling meet in school history, after four second-place finishes. Eustace finished third with 64 points.

Castañeda led six Fighting Irish runners in the top 13, and that sixth runner — senior Max Baier — was huge, because he finished two spots ahead of Paul VI’s fifth runner, which made the difference in the final team score.

Through four runners, Paul VI led 21-23.

Castañeda ran 16:21 over Delsea’s flat 5,000-meter course, senior Matt Coffey was fifth in 16:41, senior Ray Derman placed seventh in 16:46, senior Denny Kelly was ninth in 17:04 and junior Matthew Denton and Baier ran 17:15 and 17:23 for 12th and 13th.

Camden Catholic was second to Holy Cross in 1979 [39-52], Paul in 1987 [15-52], Moorestown Friends in 2007 [46-86] and Eustace last year [37-41.

Senior Matthew Slattery [4th in 16:28], senior Ryan Tenerelli [5th in 16:38], junior Colton Johnson [6th in 16:42], senior Tyler Gargano [8th in 16:50] and senior Ben Jennings [16th in 17:28] scored for Paul VI.

Also in the top 10 was sophomore Mark Johnson of Moorestown Friends [10th in 17:06].

Shawnee graduate Mark Miller, a sophomore at Hillsdale, placed 16th in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference XC championships over the weekend.

Miller was Hillsdale’s third runner, covering the 8,000-meter course at Glenoak High School in Canton, Ohio, in 27:21, only 43 seconds behind overall winner George McCartney of Malone, the host school.

Hillsdale, located in southern Michigan, placed fourth overall out of 13 schools with 89 points, behind Malone (48), Walsh (51) and Cedarville (58).

Miller placed sixth at Group 4 sectionals in XC as a senior at Shawnee. He was runner-up in the 1,600 at Group 4 track sectionals and states in 4:18 and change and finished 10th at the Meet of Champions in 4:17.71.

Miller and Hillsdale will race at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional on the Chargers’ home course at Hayden Park on Nov. 17.

Connor Melko torched the Delsea XC course in 15:55 Saturday to win the Bob Kiessling non-public race held on conjunction with sectionals.

The Bishop Eustace senior ran faster than 527 of the 529 runners in the four sectional races. Only two juniors – Group 4 winner Ethan Wechsler of Cherokee [15:45] and Group 2 winner Martin Riddell of Haddonfield [15:54] – ran faster than Melko.

Melko’s time is second-fastest in the Knights of Columbus / Kiessling race since sectionals and the parochial meet moved to Franklinville in 2002.

The only  faster time is Kyle Kirk’s 15:51 for Camden Catholic in 2012.

Camden Catholic’s Richie Castañeda placed second in 16:21, with Paul VI’s Matt Slattery third in 16:28.

Melko is the sixth Eustace runner to win the Kiessling race over the years, following Mike McGowan in 1995, Ryan Perazzelli in 1999, Matt Hellwarth in 2000, Eric Franklin in 2011 and Nick Hutchison in 2015 and 2016.

Camden Catholic won the team title by one point over Paul VI. More on that incredible team battle soon!

Cinnaminson graduate Mike Ungvarsky, a Duke sophomore, placed eighth in the Hokie Invitational Saturday at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

Ungvarsky covered the extremely muddy 6,000-meter Buford Meredith XC course course in 19:20, finishing seven seconds behind teammate Carter Dillon. Duke sent its top runners who won’t be competing in the NCAA Southeast Regional on Friday to Virginia Tech.

Ungvarsky isn’t in Duke’s top seven yet but he’s been one of Duke’s top guys in the next group this fall. This was his second straight top-10 finish for the Blue Devils.

At Cinnaminson, Ungvarsky was the state Group 2 XC champ in 2016.

This was Ungvarsky’s final XC race of the fall.

Senior Briana Hagerty placed second overall, leading four Pitman runners in the top seven as the Panthers won their second straight South Jersey Group 1 title Saturday at Delsea.

Hagerty ran 20:01, finishing two steps behind Schalick sophomore Julia Smith, who won the race in 19:59.

Seniors Grace Stiles and Abby McCully and junior Sarah Brennan took fifth, sixth and seventh for Pitman in 20:59, 21:10 and 21:17.

Soph Nicole Murphy placed 17th to complete Pitman’s scoring and provide the difference in a two-point win over Haddon Township.

Pitman finished with a 36-38 win. Township’s 38 points are the lowest non-winning score in the S.J.-1 meet since 1976, when St. Joe’s of Toms River edged Gloucester Catholic, 25-33.

The team title is Pitman’s ninth, all since 2005. The Panthers also won South Jersey Group 1 in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and last year.

Haddon Township ran well enough to win most years with a lineup of three freshmen and two juniors. Township had all five runners in the top 12, led by freshman Reagan Shemeley (20:34) and junior Jane Gerber (20:48) in third and fourth.

Junior Darby Williamson placed eighth for Township (21:22) and freshmen Kaelin Marshall and Georgia Knorr were 11th and 12th, both also under 22 minutes.

Also in the top 10 were Buena junior Hailey Carano (9th in 21:30) and Schalick sophomore Chloe Gerstenbacher (10th in 21:38).

Bishop Eustace senior Katy Storti was South Jersey’s fastest girl at sectionals Saturday, even though her race wasn’t officially a sectional race and she didn’t win.

Storti ran a blazing 18:37 for second place in the Bob Kiessling non-public Championships, finishing just 60 meters behind Meet of Champions 3,200 winner Nicole Vanesse of Pingry School in Bernards Township, Somerset County.

Vanesse was the indoor Meet of Champions 3,200 winner last winter with a 10:34, which ranked No. 6 nationally.

Next for Storti is the state Parochial A race at Holmdel next weekend. Storti ran third last year, behind Vanesse and Jerika Lufrano of Union Catholic, who won the Shore Coaches E race earlier this year.

So it’s a loaded field, but Storti is running as well as anybody in South Jersey right now. Her time was fastest among S.J. runners in the five races at Delsea by two seconds over Isabella Turner of Shawnee, who won the Group 4 race in 18:39.

Storti, of Cinnaminson, has a Holmdel PR of 19:20 from this year’s Shore Coaches.

Paul VI won the Kiessling team title 49-59 over Eustace.

PVI packed all five of its scorers in the top 20, led by sophomore Katie Sparks and junior Bridget Lyons in sixth and seventh in 20:02 and 20:14, senior Annie Skiles [10th in 20:46], junior Madison Kelly [12th in 20:52] and senior Hannah Whitmire [17th in 21:16].

Other Eustace runners in the top 20 were senior Clare Morelli [4th in 19:45], junior Rachel Orr [11th in 20:51] and senior Suzanne Picciano [13th in 20:58].

Other South Jersey runners in the top 10 were Angela Bannan of Holy Spirit [3rd, 19:20], Paige Sofield of Holy Spirit [8th in 20:16] and Samantha Marks of Our Lady of Mercy [9th in 20:18].

This is Paul VI’s fifth title since 2012 and second in a row. Either Paul VI or Eustace has won the Kiessling meet every year since 2008, when Holy Spirit was first.

Rancocas Valley graduate Alicia Belko, a senior at California University of Pennsylvania, won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference XC title Saturday, becoming only the third woman in the program’s history to win a conference title.

Belko, a transfer from Stockton University in Galloway Township, ran 23:19.1 in muddy conditions on the 6,000-meter Doug Watts course at Edinboro (Pa.) University, finishing 125 meters ahead of teammate Alyson Pierce.

Belko and Pierce led California to a third-place team finish, matching the best in program history. Shippensburg won 71-75 over Edinboro, with the Vulcans third with 111 points. California also placed third in 1980.

The only other California runners to win the conference title are Melissa Brooks in 1980 and Julie Friend in 2017.

Belko earned NCAA Division 3 All-America honors last fall after placing 27th at nationals for Stockton. She was a four-time NJAC conference champion at Stockton in the 3,000, 5,000 and steeplechase.

Belko and California will race in the NCAA Division 2 Atlantic Regional Championships on Nov. 17 at the Bob O’Connor Golf Course at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh.

Sophomore twins Lindsay and Allison Colflesh placed second and third, and Haddonfield placed all seven of its runners in the top 20 Saturday to easily win its state-record 26th sectional XC title.

Lindsay Colfesh ran 20:17 for second and Allison Colflesh was four seconds back in third for Haddonfield in the South Jersey Group 2 race.

Sophomores Payton Weiner [6th in 20:46] and Olivia Stoner [11th in 21:34] and junior Evie Andrews [14th in 22:08] rounded out Haddonfield’s scoring group.

Junior Lilly Sirover [17th in 22:23] and sophomore Hailey Melcher [18th in 22:37], Haddonfield’s sixth and seventh runners, bumped the fourth and fifth runners from every other team.

Haddonfield finished with a 73-point margin of victory, outscoring second-place Pinelands Regional, 33-106.

That’s the largest winning margin in the S.J. Group 2 girls race in 21 years, since Point Plesasant Borough outscored Buena by 81 points [39-120] to win the 1997 title.

The title was Haddonfield’s ninth in a row 23rd in the last 29 years, including several in Group 1.

Delsea sophomore Carly Nicholson was the overall winner in 19:13, more than a minute ahead of the field. Nicholson’s time was third-fastest of the four public school races.

Nicholson is Delsea’s first individual champion in 13 years, since Amanda Goetschius won the 2005 Group 3 race. The only other Lady Crusader winner in sectional history is Brittany McCann in 1999, 2000.

Cinnaminson junior Austin Gabay placed third in the Central Jersey Group 2 race at Thompson Park, earning a ticket to the state meet Saturday at Holmdel.

Gabay covered the 5,000-meter course at Thompson Park in Jamesburg in 16:42, finishing behind only Foot Locker top-10 finisher Devin Hart of Point Pleasant Borough, who won in 16:17, and senior Colin Flood of Manasquan, who ran 16:28.

Gabay’s time was second-fastest among juniors in the four Central Jersey races, behind only Allentown’s Liam Murphy, who won the Group 3 race in 16:09 and remains unbeaten this fall.

This will be Gabay’s second trip to states for XC. He was seventh in the South Jersey Group 2 sectionals last year and went on to place 23rd at states with a 17:08 at Holmdel.

He’s already run 67 seconds faster than that this year at Holmdel, with a 16:01 at Shore Coaches.