From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Haddonfield’s Anna Stolarick recorded a top-10 finish out of 84 runners Saturday in her collegiate debut for Holy Cross at the Wheaton & Babson Season Opener.

Stolarick ran 12:00.68 over the hilly 3,000-meter course at Coogan Cross Country Course at Highland Park in Attleboro, Mass., and placed 10th overall and 4th among runners from Holy Cross, in Worcester, Mass.

Holy Cross went 2-4-7-10-14 and outscored 2nd-place Suffolk University of Boston, 32-57, to win the eight-team invitational.

Stolarick helped Haddonfield win the state Group 2 XC title in 2022 and 2023.

Seton Hall’s Julia Smith, a senior from Schalick, ran a 6,000-meter PR and placed 9th out of 116 runners Saturday at the 28th annual Salisbury (Md.) University Fall Classic.

Smith ran 21:43.7 over 6,000 meters at WinterPlace Park & Equestrian Center and was Seton Hall’s second finisher.

Her previous 6K PR for any course was 21:46.30 in November at the NCAA Division 1 Mid-Atlantic Championships at Lehigh’s course in Bethlehem (and briefly in Lower Saucon Township).

This was Smith’s first race in more than four months. She ran a 5K PR of 17:50.42 at Rider last April but didn’t race again last spring.

Seton Hall placed 3rd with 85 points, behind Maryland [24] and John Hopkins [53].

Lexi Tepper, a UMBC sophomore from Cherry Hill East, recorded her first collegiate win Friday at the Mount St. Mary’s Duals in Emmitsburg, Md.

Tepper ran 5,000 meters in 18:13.14, winning by about 85 meters over 2nd-place Joslyn Crosby of Howard University of Washington, D.C.

University of Maryland Baltimore County won 25-33 over Howard, with Catholic University of Washington 3rd with 86 points.

Tepper ran 20:42.7 on the same course last year, so she was nearly 2 ½ minutes faster this year. The 18:13.14 is her fastest time on any 5,000-meter course. She ran 18:15.54 at DREAM Park in Logan Township two years ago at South Jersey Group 4 sectionals

Sophomore Katelyn Deal, a sophomore from Woodstown, placed 9th in 19:41.72 for UMBC. That’s an all-course best for Deal as well. Her previous collegiate 5,000 PR was 20:13.7 from last year’s America East Championships in Orono, Maine. Deal did not run XC in high school.

Catholic’s 3rd finisher was Georgia Nussey, a senior from Haddonfield. She was 18th overall in 20:24.47.

Bucknell freshmen Shaelan McNally and Kerry O’Day opened their college careers in style Saturday morning, finishing 1st and 4th at the Father Bede Invitational at B&D Acres in Warriors Mark Township, Huntingdon County, Pa.

McNally, from Paul VI, ran 14:11.7 over 4,000 meters and won by about 70 meters over Grace Neubert from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. O’Day, from Cherokee, ran 14:40.7 and placed 4th. They were Bucknell’s top two finishers.

McNally and O’Day placed 10th and 11th in the Meet of Champions last fall at Holmdel County Park.

Duquesne edged Bucknell 40-48 to win the team title.

Rowan sophomore Allyson Wernik from Washington Township and senior Anna Sasse from Williamstown placed 2nd and 3rd in the Stockton Season Opener Friday in Galloway Township.

Wernik ran 23:16.58 over 6,000 meters at Stockton and Sasse ran 23:28.74. Gabriella Pagano, a junior from Pope John XXIII, was the overall winner in 22:59.31. There was no team scoring, but Rowan swept the top four spots.

For Stockton, junior Madelyn Valasek from Shawnee was 6th in 24:05.57 and was the Ospreys’ No. 2 runner. Senior Amanda McNally from Seneca was 11th in 24:29.38 and was Stockton’s 4th finisher.

Rowan is 4th in in the initial NCAA Division 3 Metro Region rankings behind The College of New Jersey, Widener and Stockton.

 

Haddonfield’s Helene Usher and Kingsway’s Allie Pierontoni both finished among the top 5 Friday at the Temple Invitational in Upper Dublin Township, Pa.

Usher, a La Salle sophomore, placed 2nd in 14:25.1 over 4,000 meters, and Pierontoni, a Monmouth senior, was 5th in 14:38.6. Usher’s previous PR over the unusual 4,000 distance was 15:50.1 from a meet last year on the same course. Pierontoni’s previous 4,000 PR was 14:59.6 from last year’s Jersey Jam in West Windsor.

Usher was La Salle’s first finisher. Overall winner Emily Simko, a Monmouth sophomore from Hatboro Horsham, was the overall winner in 14:16.9.

Monmouth edged La Salle 23-35 for team honors.

The race was held on Temple’s course at the Temple Ambler campus, which isn’t in Ambler and really isn’t that close to Ambler.

Mainland Regional graduate Gillian Lovett was La Salle’s 7th runner in her first collegiate race. Lovett ran 15:24.8 and was 16th overall

Delsea’s Noah Deckert ran 6,000 meters in 18:34.4 to win the season-opening Lehigh Invitational on the Goodman Campus in Bethlehem, Pa. The course also briefly goes through Lower Saucon Township.

Deckert won by 5 ½ seconds over Lehigh graduate Tyler French, who was 2nd in 18:39.9.

St. Joe’s edged Lehigh 29-30 to win the team title. St. Joe’s 7th runner was Haddon Heights graduate Jack Bolling, who placed 18th overall in 19:00.5.

Also in the top 25 were Lehigh sophomore graduate Derek Coceano from Cinnaminson [17th in 19:00.3], St. Joe’s sophomore Ian Romea of Haddonfield [20th in 19:01.1], St.Joe’s senior Josh Forrest from Collingswood [21st in 19:02.7] and St. Joe’s freshman Matt Hoffman of Ocean City [23rd in 19:04.8].

Seven months after his track season began with a meet at the Armory in January, Pennsauken’s Premier Wynn finished with a 6th-place in his heat of the 400-meter hurdles at the World Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru.

Wynn, whose 51.89 in Wednesday’s trials was 9th-fastest of 45 competitors, ran 52.76 in Friday’s semifinals and fell short of advancing to Saturday’s final – he needed to run 51.11 to advance – but concluded a remarkable and historic season culminating in making his first U.S. National team and competing in a World Athletics international competition.

Wynn ran 50.58 at the USATF Under-20 Championships in Eugene, Ore., in June, to qualify for World Under-20s.

Nonetheless, he finishes 18th in the world among hurdlers who don’t turn 20 in 2024 and finishes the season as the 6th-fastest freshman in NCAA Division 1.

Rowan junior Scott Hubbard of Audubon edged teammate Joshua Cason, a senior from Camden County Vo-Tech, to win the Stockton Season Opener on the first day of college cross country season.

Hubbard ran 8,000 meters in 25:23.62, with Cason 2nd in 25:24.17.

Rowan sophomore Colin Patterson was 4th in 25:27.32, Bishop Eustace grad and Rowan junior Anthony Faust was 5th in 26:04.50 and grad transfer Miles Voenell, who ran for Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore., was 6th in 26:06.39 in his first race for the Profs.

There is no team score listed in the official results, but Rowan would have scored 18 points and Stockton 75.

Also in the top 10 for Rowan were Caleb Clevenger of Haddonfield [7th in 26:08.26] and Matthew Conway of Haddon Township [8th in 26:12.48].

Former Haddonfield runner Tobias Janssen, running unattached, was 9th in 26:29.26. Janssen formerly ran for George Washington.

Rowan is ranked 24th in NCAA Division 3 and No. 1 in the NCAA Division 3 Metro Region. Stockton is 9th in the Metro.

Premier Wynn will be in Lane 7 Friday for his semifinal 400-meter hurdles race Friday at the World Under-20 Championships at Estadio Nacional in Lima, Peru.

Wynn ran 51.89 in his 1st-round race Wednesday and easily qualified for the semis, placing 2nd and earning one of three auto qualifiers in his race. The top three in each of seven trials races plus the next three-fastest runners advanced to the semis.

That 51.89 was 9th-fastest overall of 45 competitors from around the world. World Under-20s is open at athletes who don’t turn 20 until after midnight on Dec. 31.

Wynn will race in the 3rd of three semifinal races Friday, with the first scheduled for 5:05 p.m. EST, the second at 5:13 EST and Wynn’s race due to go off at 5:23 p.m. EST.

The top two finishers in each of the three semis plus the next two-fastest runners advance to the final at 5:45 p.m. Saturday.

I’m not sure how they seeded the semis, but four of the nine-fastest qualifiers are in that 3rd heat, led by Japan’s Kaira Gonda, whose 51.21 was the 2nd-fastest qualifying time. Jamaica’s Daniel Wright [51.42] and China’s Jingwei Guo [51.72] are also in Wynn’s heat.

Seven of the 13-fastest qualifiers are in the first heat, and only one of the 13-fastest qualifiers are in the second race. Makes no sense.

Wynn’s PR of 50.58 from the USATF Under-20 Championships in Eugene in June is 3rd-fastest in that 3rd semifinal, behind Wright [49.88] and Gonda [50.20].