From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Ocean City’s Riley Tolson recorded her second straight Cherokee Challenge victory Saturday morning, winning the sophomore girls race a year after winning the freshman race.

Tolson ran 11:42 over 3,200 meters at Cherokee, finishing 150 meters ahead of 2nd-place Krissa Woods of Tatnall School in Wilmington, Del.

Last year, Tolson ran 12:07 to win the freshman race.

Tolson is the 2nd straight Ocean City girl to win the sophomore race at the Challenge. Carly Godfrey won last year. Ocean City’s other sophomore girls winner in the meet’s 30-year history was Alexa Palmieri in 2018.

Also in the top 10 from South Jersey were Moorestown’s Makayla Zell [4th in 12:32], Ocean City’s Lenna Driscoll [5th in 12:37] and Cherokee’s Erin Healy [8th in 12:50].

Also notable that Hope Edwards, who was the 3rd-fastest freshman 400-meter hurdler in the U.S. last year at 1:00.32 as a Moorestown freshman, is now a sophomore at Pennsauken. She placed 14th in 13:13.

Hanza Salahuddin became the 6th Cherokee runner to win the freshman boys race at the 30th annual Cherokee Challenge Saturday morning.

Salahuddin ran 10:26.36 over 3,200 meters at Cherokee and won by a fraction of a section over Allentown’s Reed Huggins, who was 2nd in 10:26.67.

Other Cherokee freshmen to win the Challenge on their home course are Mike Caputi in 1996, Keith Krieger in 1999, Sean McLaughlin in 2021, Alex Yersak in 2004 and Jack Tindall last year.

Other South Jersey runners in the top 10 were Braden Bernardini of St. Augustine, who was 4th in 11:06, and Luke Feeley of Cinnaminson, 10th in 11:20.

Clearview graduate Abby Waddington began her junior year at Boston University by placing 5^th out of 45 runners Friday at the Providence College Friar Invitational.

Waddington ran 14:43 over 4,000 meters at the Mark Coogan Cross Country Course at Highland Park in Attleboro, Mass.

Waddington finished just 36 seconds behind winner Gabby Schmidt of Providence, who ran 14:07. Waddington was B.U.’s first finisher.

Providence won the team title with 20 points, and Boston College was 2^nd with 46.

Liliah Gordon, in her first collegiate race, finished first Friday afternoon in the Dolan Duels, the annual season-opening Penn State-Lock Haven dual meet on the West Branch Cross Country Course across the Susquehanna River West Branch from Lock Haven in Woodward Township, Clinton County.

Gordon, a PSU freshman from Northern Burlington, ran unattatched, which seems to indicate she won’t be officially racing this fall for Penn State, potentially saving her last year of eligibility until the fall of 2029.

The official results don’t say how long the course was, so it seems pointless to mention her time, but she won by five seconds over PSU sophomore Ada Rand of Australia, who has run 4:15.24 for 1,500 meters. An article previewing the meet on Lock Haven’s web site also doesn’t say how long the course is.

Can you imagine this sort of information lapse in any other sport? Embarrassing.

Seniors Luke Andresen and Ryan Gibson both ran sub-10 minutes for 3,200 meters Tuesday and Haddonfield – ranked 21^st in the U.S. – opened the 2025 season with a top-seven sweep in a five-team Colonial Conference batch meet.

Andresen ran 9:45 and Gibson 9:50 at Pennypacker Park in Haddonfield and Cherry Hill for Haddonfield, which won the state Group 2 title last year and finished 2^nd at the Meet of Champions and 1^st among public schools.

Seniors Peter Simpson [10:23], Benjamin Andrus [10:24] and Brandon Stoner [10:43] completed Haddonfield’s scoring group, and seniors Michael Sinnes [10:43] and Aaron Keither [10:43] were also in their top seven.

Gloucester seniors Marcus Flagg [10:53] and Vincent Kelly [10:53] placed 8^th and 9^th. Haddonfield sophomore Connor Brand took 10^th in 10:58 and was the 1^st underclassman across the line.

Freshman Dylan Hosty, in her 1^st high school race, won the girls race in 13:03, also over 3,200 meters. Junior Molly Mills [13:03], junior Madison Kelsey [13:04] and senior Riley Austin [13:05] gave Haddonfield a sweep of the top four spots.

Senior Riley Fayer of Audubon took 6^th [13:05], with West Deptford junior Taylor Sierzega [13:07], West Deptford senior Kayla Romanoski [13:19], Audubon junior Lydia Gravante [13:38], Haddonfield junior Harper Benjamin [14:08] and Haddonfield senior Elizabeth Pappas [14:09] also in the top 10.

Brandeis freshman Ben Weiner from Cherokee, in his first collegiate race, placed 2^nd in the Wellesley XC Invitational Saturday at Neholden Golf Course in Wellesley, Mass.

Weiner ran 16:31 over 5,000 meters for Brandeis, ranked 10^th in the East Region in the initial USTFCCCA poll.

Weiner finished 50 meters behind junior teammate Hugh Lickider, the overall winner in 16:20. Brandeis won the team title with 15 points, packing its five scorers in 36 ½ seconds.

One weird note about this race: Brandeis was the only team entered.

Rowan junior Colin Patterson from Haddon Heights ran an 8,000-meter all-course PR and recorded his 1^st collegiate win in track or cross country at the Salisbury Fall Classic.

Patterson ran 25:14 at WinterPlace Park & Equestrian Center outside Salisbury, Md. His previous-best 8,000 time on any course was a 25:27 a year ago today on Stockton’s course in Galloway Township.

Patterson won by 40 meters over Salisbury senior Tristan Dutton, who placed 2^nd in 25:21.

Senior Matthew Conway from Haddon Township also broke into the top 10 with a 9^th-place finish in 25:49.

Also in Rowan’s scoring group were senior Anthony Faust from Bishop Eustace [14^th in 26:08], freshman Giovanni LaPietra of Columbia High in East Greenbush [15^th in 26:11] and junior Aidan Brad of Williamstown [16^th in 26:11].

The Profs finished 3^rd, behind Salisbury [32] and Navy [37]. Rowan is ranked 2^nd in the USTFCCCA Metro Region, behind only Moravian.

Elias Knoll, a freshman from Shawnee, was Ursinus’s 1^st finisher in his first collegiate race Saturday morning.

Knoll placed 4^th overall out of 78 runners in the Bryn Mawr Invitational at Rose Tree Park in Upper Providence Township, Delaware County. Knoll ran 16:40.2 and finished just 4 ½ seconds behind overall winner Samuel Domencic of Immaculate University of East Whiteland Township, Chester County.

Swarthmore won the team title 23-51 over Ursinus.

Knoll ran within five seconds of his 5,000 all-course PR of 16:35 set at last year’s Olympic Conference meet on the DREAM Park speedway in Logan Township. Knoll’s high school teammate, Noah Stapleton, a Swarthmore freshman, placed 25^th in 18:06.

In her first race since February, Paul VI graduate Shaelan McNally, a Bucknell sophomore, won the season-opening Lehigh Invitational Friday.

McNally ran 21:06 over the 6,000-meter course at Lehigh’s Goodman campus, winning by 120 meters over senior teammate Caryn Rippey, who was 2^nd in 21:33.

It was McNally’s first race since she ran a PR 17:47.52 in an indoor 5,000 in Youngstown, Ohio, on Feb. 14. Her time is a big 6,000 all-course best. Last fall she ran 21:34 in a meet at Lafayette College in Easton in November.

McNally, from Haddon Heights, led a 1-2-3-4 Bucknell finish. The Bison outscored West Virginia 21-63 to win the team title. Bucknell is ranked No. 12 in the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region.

In her first collegiate race, St. Joe’s freshman Chloe Care of Ocean City placed 27^th out of 91 runner in 23:16.0. She was the Hawks’ fourth finisher.

In the men’s meet, St. Joe’s sophomore Matt Hoffman of Ocean City placed 17^th out of 98 runners covering the 6,000-meter course in 18:39. St. Joe’s senior Josh Forrest of Collingswood was 20^th in 18:41, and junior Ian Romea of Haddonfield 24^th in 18:43.6 followed by Lehigh sophomore Will Mrozonski from Paul VI, 25^th in 18:45.9.

St. Joe’s outscored Bucknell 43-56 to win the team title. Bucknell is ranked 11^th in the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region.

The USTFCCCA is the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Most of the course is in Bethlehem, although the section around the three-mile mark just south of Interstate 78 and just east of Mountain Drive South is in Lower Saucon Township

Here’s a look at where all South Jersey runners who finished in the top 100 in the boys and girls Meet of Champions last year will be running this fall.

Out of 52 runners – 29 boys and 23 girls – 32 are back in high school and presumably still running XC. And out of the 20 who graduated  – 10 boys and 10 girls – we found colleges for all but two. If you have any information on Clearview’s Ethan Worst or Moorestown’s Gabrielle Joseph (or if any of these are incorrect) please let us know!

BOYS
11. Brody Bogos [Cherry Hill East], freshman at Rutgers
15. Jack Tindall [Cherokee], sophomore at Cherokee
19. Benjamin Andrus [Haddonfield], senior at Haddonfield
21. Bennet Wright [Haddonfield], freshman at Richmond
25. Peter Simpson [Haddonfield, senior at Haddonfield
26. Benjamin Realley [Cherokee], junior at Cherokee
27. Brandon Lyons [Cherry Hill East], freshman at Rider
29. Luke Andresen [Haddonfield], senior at Haddonfield
31. Ryan Gibson [Haddonfield], senior at Haddonfield
33. Ty Blackman [Glassboro], freshman at Rider
34. Enzo Corona [Cherokee], freshman at Monmouth
38. Erik Preisner [Ocean City], senior at Ocean City
41. Liam Tindall [Cherokee], freshman at Wisconsin-Osh Kosh
43. Logan Bromley [Cherokee], senior at Cherokee
44. Jacob Wickersham [Cinnaminson], senior at Cinnaminson
45. Alvin Lin [Cherry Hill East], senior at Cherry Hill East
47. Will Nelson [Cherry Hill East], senior at Chery Hill East
58. Noah Stapleton [Shawnee], freshman at Swarthmore
59. Ethan Buck [Ocean City], freshman at Lafayette
66. Ethan Worst [Clearview], N/A
67. Sean Sooy [Cherokee], junior at Cherokee
68. Keenan Neuman [Ocean City], junior at Ocean City
73. Rex Takakjy [Cherry Hill West], senior at Cherry Hill West
76. Dylan Saber [Williamstown], freshman at Temple
79. Sean Martino [Cedar Creek], senior at Cedar Creek
80. Benjamin Weiner [Cherokee], freshman at Brandeis
85. Nathan Aschmann [Ocean City], junior at Ocean City
88. Milo Poerner [Cherry Hill East], senior at Cherry Hill East
91. Ryan Duffy [Kingsway], junior at Kingsway

GIRLS
2. Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], freshman at Penn State
11. Riley Austin [Haddonfield], senior at Haddonfield
17. Megan Niglio [Cherokee], freshman at Lafayette
20. Chloe Care [Ocean City], freshman at St. Joe’s
25. Jordan Hadfield [Schalick] freshman at Rhode Island
28. Madeline Meder [Cherokee], senior at Cherokee
33. Sofia Day [Mainland Regional], freshman at Vanderbilt
41. Macy Huber [Paul VI], senior at Paul VI
48. Carly Godfrey [Ocean City], junior at Ocean City
49. Grace Gutowski [Paul VI], junior at Paul VI
53. Peyton Blake [Paul VI], sophomore at Paul VI
59. Ryleigh Budsock [Cherry Hill East], junior at Cherry Hill East
63. Julia Flanagan [Holy Cross], senior at Holy Cross
65. Riley Tolson [Ocean City], sophomore at Ocean City
71. Erin Healy [Cherokee], sophomore at Cherokee
73. Noelia Reyes [Moorestown], freshman at St. Joe’s
76. Macie McCracken [Wildwood], freshman at West Chester [basketball]
82. Ashley Doyle [Delran], senior at Delran
83. Sophia Aldridge [Williamstown], senior at Williamstown
90. Theresa Albertson [Eastern], junior at Eastern
91. Juliana Sieminski [Delsea], freshman at Rowan
93. Jonalee Adames [Sterling], freshman at St. Joe’s
97. Gabrielle DeJoseph [Moorestown], N/A