Led by senior Matt Hoffman and junior Ethan Buck, Ocean City placed all five scorers in the top 25 out of more than 150 runners and raced to the team title in the Varsity A race Saturday at the Manhattan Invitational.

Hoffman covered the 2 ½-mile course at legendary Van Cortlandt Park in 13:27.1 and Buck ran 13:27.9 to finish 6th and 7th.

Junior Zach Hutchinson, sophomore Erik Preisner and junior Kal Heyman finished within a few seconds of each other, Hutchinson 20th in 13:57.6, Preisner 21st in 13:58.5 and Heyman 23rd in 14:03.4.

For team scoring purposes, Ocean City went 5-6-16-17-19 for 63 points, less than half of 2nd-place St. Francis Prep of Queens, which scored 142.

Ocean City packed its five scorers in a 36-second pack.

I can tell you the exact date I first met Nick Baker. It was Oct. 30, 1982, so just about 41 years ago. I had just started working a few weeks earlier for the old Gloucester County Times newspaperx, and I was assigned to cover the Colonial Conference XC meet at Gloucester County College.

A Haddonfield runner named Blair Murphy won the boys race, and I talked to Blair and Nick about the race and ran back to our office excited to write one of my first newspaper articles ever. I wrote what I thought was a compelling story, filed it and left the office feeling pretty good about myself.

Later that day, I got a call from the sports editor explaining to me that Haddonfield isn’t in Gloucester County and our paper doesn’t cover schools in Camden County and I never should have written that story.

Oh well. It was too late to write anything else so the story ran. In the ensuing years, as I got to know Nick, we would always laugh about that, how I had written a story about one of his runners that never should have been written.

Nick died Saturday morning after battling lung cancer. He was 70. He’ll be missed terribly by everyone who knew him.

When I think about Nick, the first thing I think of isn’t the decades of coaching success, the 20 state XC titles, 21 state track titles, 35 sectional XC titles, the South Jersey-record XC dual meet winning streak, the individual state champions and record-setting runners he worked with, the countless Coach of the Year honors he received or Hall of Fames he was inducted into.

The first thing I’ll think about is that laugh and that smile. Because Nick was never defined by the unparalleled success he had as a coach, and he had the most genuine smile you’ll ever see.

Track and cross country were a big part of who he was, but more than anything he was just a great guy. A terrific dad to Colin and Courtney, a loving husband to Maureen, a devoted teacher and mentor to literally thousands of young people and a tireless advocate for the sport he loved.

I can tell you the exact date the last time I saw Nick. It was Aug. 16, so just about two months ago. I ran into Nick and Maureen sitting with Steve Shaklee and Cricket Batz at Norcross Dell in Haddon Township, where Calexico was performing on a spectacular summer evening. We sat together in the back row, and every time I looked at Nick, he was smiling.

Paul VI placed its five scorers among the top eight finishers to win the Freshman B race in commanding fashion Saturday morning at the Manhattan Invitational.

https://results.leonetiming.com/xc.html?mid=5785

Chris Monaghan, Caden Briggs, Max Long, Chase Cooley and Holden Cranston placed 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th and 8th and PVI won the team title 23-58 over Christian Brothers Academy of Lincroft.

The race was run over 1 ½ miles at historic Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and it was the 3rd of 41 races scheduled for Saturday.

Monaghan ran 8:02.8, Briggs 8:20.4, Long 8:29.1, Cooley 8:30.7 and Cranston 8:44.0 for the Eagles. Scoring against the entire field, PVI wins 23-32.

Northern Burlington junior Liliah Gordon won her second straight individual title with the 2nd-fastest time in course history and the Cherokee girls won their 7th team title at the Burlington County Open.

Gordon won the race in 18:25.04 at Mill Creek Park in Willingboro, fastest since Cherokee’s Megan Lacy set the course record of 17:53 at the 2010 meet.

Gordon won the 2022 race in 18:31.54 after placing 2nd to Cherokee’s Nicole Clifford as a freshman in 2021 in 18:46.

She’s Northern Burlington’s first repeat winner in the 47-year history of the girls race at the County Open. Northern’s only other winner was Laura Mason, who won the 1978 race at Burlington County College in Pemberton in 18:49. Mason went on to become an All-America at East Stroudsburg and raced the 5,000 at the 1996 Olympic Trials in Atlanta.

For Cherokee, Kerry O’Day, Megan Niglio and Grace Wojciechowski ran 2-3-6, O’Day 2nd in 19:03, Niglio 3rd in 19:26 and Wojciechowski 6th in 20:22. Alaina Bromley placed 12th in 21:06 and Olivia Parkinson 15th in 21:22.

Cherokee outscored 2nd-place Moorestown 35-56, with Shawnee 3rd with 84 points. Cherokee also won team titles in 2004, 2009, 2010, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Others in the top 10 were Shawnee Paige Cline [4th in 20:04], Cinnaminson Anna Marino [5th in 20:18], Holy Cross Julia Flanagan [7th in 20:27] and then the Moorestown trio of Noella Reyes [20:34], Gabrielle DeJoseph [20:43] and Paige McCabe [20:56] in 8th through 10th.

Here’s a look at all the girls who’ve run sub-19 at Mill Creek. The course has undergone minor changes over the years, but nobody has ever kept track of them and they’re not major enough to create separate lists, so here ya go:

All-Time Mill Creek Park Performance List
17:53 … *Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2010
18:25:04 … *Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2023
18:31 … ***Suyong Jenerette [Pemberton], 1983
18:37.9 … Gina McMenamin [Burlington City], 1981
18:45.97 … Kate Rathman [Cherokee], 2019
18:53 …….. Lacy, 2011
18:54.87 … *Kate Rathman [Cherokee], 2018
18:54 … Deanna Germano [Shawnee], 1985
18:55.18 … **Isabella Turner [Shawnee], 2017
18:57 … **Deanna Germano [Shawnee], 1983
18:57.55 … **Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2019
18:58.92 … ***Kate Ruona [Shawnee], 2019
18:56 … Caitlin Orr [Lenape], 2009
18:58 … Natalie Ocasio [Lenape], 2012
* – Several runners ran sub-19 in 2002, but the course was short that year.

Here’s a look at all the repeat winners in meet history:
Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2022, 2023
Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2020, 2021
Kate Rathman [Cherokee], 2018, 2019
Isabella Turner [Shawnee], 2016, 2017
Megan Lacey [Cherokee], 2010, 2011
Caitlin Orr [Lenape], 2008, 2009
Brittnee Bynoe [Willingboro], 2002, 2003
Jenna Darcy [Shawnee], 1998, 1999
Liz Moore [Shawnee], 1992, 1993, 1994
Monica Olkowski [Cherokee], 1988, 1989

Resting its top runners for Saturday’s Manhattan Invitational, Haddonfield on Friday still won the Camden County title Friday with a different group.

Highland went 1-2, with senior Aziz Muhammad-Kane winning his 2nd consecutive Camden County title in 16:37 at Timber Creek Park in Gloucester Township and junior Mason Wassell placing 2nd in 16:57.

But Haddonfield went 5-9-11-13-21 and edged Highland 55-67 with sophomore Brandon Stoner leading the way in 5th place in 17:42. Haddon Heights placed 3rd with 78 points.

The only regular who ran for Haddonfield – ranked No. 4 in the state – was sophomore John Leibrandt, who was Haddonfield’s 6th runner when the Bulldogs won Shore Coaches and their 2nd finisher Friday in 9th place in 17:55.

Junior Linus Kucer [11th in 18:01], junior Case Hurly [13th in 18:03] and sophomore Michael Sinnes [21st in 18:34] also scored for Haddonfield, and senior Grey Sullivan finished just behind Sinnes [23rd in 18:43].

Muhammad-Kane and Wassell are the first teammates to go 1-2 in the Camden County meet since Camden Catholic’s Richard Castaneda ran 16:52 and Matt Coffey 17:10 at the 2018 meet.

Muhammad-Kane is the first repeat winner since Sean Macpherson of Sterling won the 2014 race at Pennypacker Park in Haddonfield in 15:22 and the 2015 race at Timber Creek Park in 17:25.

Muhammad-Kane is Highland’s first repeat winner in the 64-year history of the meet, and Muhammad-Kane and Wassell are the first Highland runners to finish 1-2.

Also in the top 10 were Haddon Heights junior Reggie Hernandez [3rd in 17:15], Haddon Township senior Jackson Sennhenn [4th in 17:32], Triton senior Ethan Wence [6th in 17:46], Timber Creek senior Robert Wakefield [7th in 17:50], Cherry Hill sophomore West Rex Takakjy [8th in 17:52] and Haddon Heights senior Jayden Gonzalez [10th in 17:58].

Cherry Hill East, which is also competing at the Manhattan Invite, did not compete.

Sophomore Lyana Gutierrez and junior Audrey Musmeci placed 3rd and 4th to lead the Highland girls to the Camden County Championship.

Gutierrez ran 22:10 for 3rd place and Musmeci 22:40 for 4th place, and Highland outscored 2nd-place Camden Catholic, 37-52, to win the team title, with Winslow Township a close 3rd with 61 points.

Highland also won the 2021 team title with a completely different group of seven girls in the lineup.

Camden Catholic junior Nilaa Ponnappan ran 20:51 over 5,000 meters at Timber Creek Park in Gloucester Township to win the individual title. She became the first Camden Catholic girl in 28 years to win a Camden County title. Kacy Corbett ran 19:47 at Gloucester County College in Deptford to win the 1995 race.

For Highland, sophomore Addison Costello placed 9th in 24:03, sophomore Priscilla Guerrero Sanchez 11th in 24:47 and senior Elexis Swen 13th in 25:09.

Also in the top 10 were Winslow junior Ava Millner [2nd in 21:25], Gloucester junior Dejia Robert [5th in 23:25], Cherry Hill West senior Mia Gerace [6th in 23:30], Camden Catholic senior Briana Deiwert [7th in 23:33], Camden Catholic sophomore Brynn Deiwert [8th in 23:41] and Winslow freshman Tristan Hughes [10th in 24:11].

Senior Nick Kuenkel won his second straight title and Cherokee pitched the first County Open shutout in history Friday over 5,000 meters at Mill Creek Park in Willingboro.

Kuenkel joined Alex Yersak and Nick Falk as Cherokee’s 3rd repeat winner and led a 1-2-3-4-5 Cherokee finish for a perfect 15-point total. The Chiefs finished with a 15-56 advantage over 2nd-place Shawnee, with Rancocas Valley 3rd with 95 points.

The team championship is Cherokee’s 11th in a row and 25th overall. Last time Cherokee did not win was 2013, when Northern Burlington – led by a 1-2 finish from Chris Martin and Scott Harrison – scored 52 points and topped Lenape, who had 78. Cherokee was 3rd with 84.

The previous low score in the County Open’s 54-year history was Cherokee’s 20 in 1999 and again in 2019.

Kuenkel won the race in 16:03, followed by senior Robert Poplau in 16:19, sophomore Logan Bromley in 16:21, junior Liam Tindall in 16:25 and freshman Benjamin Realley – in his first major varsity race – in 16:42. Junior Benjamin Weiner also finished in the top-10, taking 8th overall in 16:54 and finishing ahead of every other team’s 1st finisher other than Shawnee and Moorestown.

That’s a 39-second gap between Cherokee’s 1st and 5th runners.Cherokee’s 16:21 average looks like a course record, although I don’t have complete results for some early years. But considering that the course is running much faster than it used to, it’s hard to imagine a faster average. The fastest I found was Cherokee’s 16:31 in 2017.

Reilly’s time is the fastest at Mill Creek by a freshman as far back as the MileSplit database goes, which is 2000 (and probably ever). The previous fastest freshman time on record is a 16:50 by Shawnee’s Connor Herr in 2008 when he placed 8th.

Others in the top 10: Moorestown sophomore Peter Simpson [6th in 16:46], Shawnee Yanni Ekatomatis [7th in 16:52], Shawnee Noah Stapleton [9th in 16:58] and Rancocas Valley Christian Rouzard [10th in 17:12].

Here’s a look at all the repeat winners in meet history:

Eric Lorenz [Holy Cross], 1986, 1987
Jason Capelli [Rancocas Valley], 1992, 1993
Brad Bisinger [Lenape], 1996, 1997
Adam Ambrus [Shawnee], 1999, 2000
Alex Yersak [Cherokee], 2006, 2007
David Forward [Shawnee], 2008, 2009
Nick Falk [Cherokee], 2014, 2015
Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], 2018, 2019
Nick Kuenkel [Cherokee], 2022, 2023

Delsea’s Noah Deckert ran a big 8,000 PR Friday morning and placed 34th out of more than 300 runners in the IC4A Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

Deckert, a St. Joe’s senior, ran 24:40.7 and was the Hawks’ first finisher. His previous all-course 8K personal best was a 25:06.9 at Paul Short last year at Lehigh.

St. Joe’s placed 6th among 34 teams in the race with 246 points. Stony Brook won with 81, edging Boston University with 97.

Colton Johnson, a junior from Paul VI, was St. Joe’s 2nd finisher in 42nd place in 24:48.7, and Matt Coffey from Camden Catholic was the Hawks’ 5th finisher in 71st place in 25:06.2. Johnson’s time was also an 8K PR and also broke his previous PR of 24:50.1 from last year’s Paul Short.

Kingsway graduate Sydney Watts, a junior at Chestnut Hill College in Philly, placed 2nd Wednesday in the Cairn Cup on the Highlanders’ campus in Langhorne Manor borough and Middletown Township, Bucks County.

Watts ran 26:16.5 over 6,000 meters, finishing behind only Clarisse Hayden of Cairn, who ran 26:04.4.

Cairn won the team title with 39 points and Chestnut Hill College was 2nd with 60. Cairn’s 6th runner was Lumberton’s Kate O’Brien, who attended Trinity Prep in Medford.

Senior Alyssa Boucher and sophomore Sophia Aldridge finished 1-2 Thursday to lead the Williamstown girls to their first Gloucester County Championships title in 15 years.

Boucher won the race in 19:36 and Aldridge was 2nd in 19:46, and Williamstown placed all five scorers in the top 15 on the way to a 38-52 win over Clearview.

Boucher became Williamstown’s first individual champion since Vicky Ajimoko won the 2012 race at Gloucester County College in in Deptford in 18:49.3. The 1-2 Williamstown finish was the first in the meet’s 44-year history.

It’s Williamstown’s first team title since 2008, when the Braves outscored Kingsway 61-77 with Maria Ruiz 2nd and Kristin Mathis 6th, also at Gloucester County College.

Junior Delaney Harbison, freshman Julia Burgio and senior Paige Franklin rounded out Williamstown’s top-5, Harbison in 12th in 21:44, Burgio 14th in 21:56 and Franklin in 15th in 22:03.

Also in the top 10 were Weat Deptford freshman Taylor Sierzega [3rd in 20:09], Clearview senior Margaret Wisniewski [4th in 20:22], West Deptford senior Isabella Mackey [5th in 20:26], Kingsway senior Kay Wiscount [6th in 20:33], Washington Township junior Kaylee Russen [7th in 20:36], Clearview senior Allison Roes [8th in 20:52], Washington Township junior Rachael Wilson [9th in 21:19] and Kingsway senior Kendall Cramer [10th in 21:19].

Clearview placed 2nd in team scoring based on a 6th-runner tiebreaker with Kingsway. Clearview junior Lilla Porter finished one spot ahead of Kingsway’s 6th runner.