From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Junior Abby Waddington, sophomore Margaret Wisniewski and junior Abby Kotran all finished in the top 10 to Saturday to lead the Clearview girls to the first sectional XC title in school history.

Overall winner Grace Wassell, a junior at Highland, ran 18:05 over 5,000 meters at DREAM Park in Logan Township and won her third straight individual title – more on her incredible achievement soon.

For Clearview, Waddington ran 18:08 for 2nd place, Wisniewski 19:45 for 7th and Kotran 19:59 for 9th as Clearview finished three points ahead of both Mainland Regional and Highland in the closest three-way finish ever in a South Jersey sectional.

Wassell and Waddington ran the two-fastest times of the day and the No. 2 and No. 3 times in course history behind Isabella Turner’s course record of 17:52, set at the 2018 South Jersey Shootout.

Clearview scored 70 points to 73 for Mainland and Highland.  The closest previous three-way finish was seven points. It happened twice, both in Group 1, and incredibly with all three teams finishing with the exact same point totals.

In 1981, Audubon and Manchester Township each scored 56 points, with Audubon winning on a 6th-runner tiebreaker, and Wildwood was third with 63. And in 1997, Haddonfield and Haddon Township each scored 56, Haddonfield winning on a 6th-runner tiebreaker, and Maple Shade was third with 63 points. 

Both years 56-56-63. What are the odds of that?

Also scoring for the Pioneers were sophomore Allison Roes [14th in 20:41] and sophomore Rachel Jones [43rd in 23:16]. Sophomore Lillian Nolan and Anna Hagerman also raced for Clearview.

Lily Oliver of Toms River South placed 3rd in 18:16, followed by Mainland Regional sophomore Sofia Day [4th in 18:35], Highland senior Princess Nwoga [5th in 19:14], Mainland sophomore Gillian Lovett [6th in 19:22], Toms River South senior Taylor Guthrie [8th in 19:55] and Highland senior Vanessa Marinero [10th in 20:16].

Joining Clearview, Mainland and Highland at states next Saturday at Holmdel will be Ocean City [4th with 87 points] and Toms River South [5th with 91]. 

Clearview’s previous best finish was second place in South Jersey Group 4 in 2014.

Three Haddonfield runners ran 15:34 or faster and Haddonfield won its state-record 18th consecutive sectional XC title in record fashion.

The sectional title is Haddonfield’s state-record 40th overall.

Senior Seth Clevenger ran 15:19 to win the South Jersey Group 2 race at DREAM Park in Logan Township, junior George Andrus ran 15:31 for 3rd and senior Tobias Janssen finished in 15:43 for 4th.

All seven of Haddonfield’s runners ran 16:45 or faster. The Bulldogs’ two other scorers were junior Robert DiMedio [10th in 16:16] and senior Andrew Sullivan [14th in 16:40]. They were backed up by juniors Donald Jellig [16th in 16:43] and Ian Romea [17th in 16:45].

Haddonfield finished with a 28-66 margin of victory over Cinnaminson, which placed second with six juniors and a sophomore and averaged 16:42.

Haddon Heights [79], Manchester Township [107] and Red Creek [158] also earned invites to next Saturday’s state championships at Holmdel.

Haddonfield’s five scorers averaged 15:52, destroying the course record of 16:00 set by Cherokee at the 2019 Olympic Conference Championships.

Clevenger’s 15:19 was 3rd-fastest of all the races Saturday and 4th-fastest in course history.

Before its current 18-year streak began in 2004, Haddonfield won SJ-1 in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1997 and 1998, SJ-2 in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 and SJ-3 in 1967.

The only time since 1999 that Haddonfield did not win a sectional title was 2003, when Cinnaminson’s Jon Anderson, Dan Reidenbaker and Steve Grabowski finished 1-3-4 and the Pirates recorded a 29-46 victory at Delsea in SJ-2. 

Other than that, Haddonfield has won either SJ-1 or SJ-2 24 of the last 25 years.

The rest of the top-10 was very fast.

Woodbury sophomore Peyton Shute ran 15:28 for 2nd to break up Haddonfield’s lead pack, West Deptford senior Jacob Cobb ran 15:46 for 5th, Colin Patterson of Haddon Heights was 6th in 15:55, Cinnaminson juniors Alex Boyko and Matt McCarron ran 16:13 and 16:16 for 7th and 8th and junior Jack Bolling of Haddon Heights was 9th in 16:16.

Juniors Patrick Ditmars and Conor Jacob both ran well under 16 minutes, placing 2nd and 3rd and leading Cherokee to its third straight sectional title and 11th overall.

Senior Kyle Rakitis ran 15:15 to become Kingsway’s first individual winner in seven years. That was the 2nd-fastest time of the day, behind Dennis Fortuna’s course-record 15:09 and 2nd-fastest in course history. It’s also his fastest 5,000 on any course. He ran 15:30 last month at Cumberland Regional.

The last Kingsway boy to win a sectional title was Noah Culbreath, who won S.J.-4 in 2013 and 2014. Kingsway’s only other individual winners were in Group 3 – Ozzie Huerta in 2005 and Tim Cooke in 2011.

Cherokee, racing without one of its top runners, injured Nick Kuenkel, still averaged 16:13 for its five scorers on the 5,000-meter course at DREAM Park in Logan Township – 4th-fastest in course history and second-fastest of the day – and packed its first five runners in 56 seconds to win the South Jersey Group 4 championship.

Ditmars took second in 15:43, a one-second all-course PR, and Jacob ran 15:52, a 38-second all-course PR.

Senior Bradley Popler placed 14th in 16:21, sophomore Robert Poplau 20th in 16:27 and senior Joseph Natoli 26th in 16:39 formed the rest of Cherokee’s top 5, and junior Thomas Bromley  and sophomore Andrew Free ran 17:14 and 17:24 for 38th and 43rd overall.

Cherokee previously won South Jersey Group 4 XC titles in 1998, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2019 and 2020. This is the first time since 1998 through 2000 the Chiefs have won three straight.  

Cherokee held a slim 39-41 lead over Southern Regional after four runners before Natoli finished nine places ahead of Southern’s fifth runner.

Joining Cherokee and Southern representing South Jersey Group 4 at states next Saturday at Holmdel are Cherry Hill East [103], Kingsway [139] and Washington Township [141].

Also in the top 10 from South Jersey: Washington Township senior Chris Colavita [4th 15:54], Rancocas Valley senior Andre Faigal [5th 15:55], R.V. junior Ryan Smith [8th 16:02] and Lenape senior Jake Buniva [9th 16:05].

In one of the greatest team performances in South Jersey sectional history, Haddonfield on Saturday scored a perfect 15 points, destroyed the team course record and won its 12th consecutive title at the Group 2 sectionals.

Haddonfield became only the fifth team in state history to sweep the top five spots in a sectional championship race.

Sophomore Anne Earp, senior Jess Goode and junior Sabrina Miller each broke 19 minutes, and junior Helene Usher and sophomore Audrey Naticchia completed the 1-2-3-4-5 sweep as Haddonfield became only the fifth school in state history to score a perfect 15 at a sectional championship.

What’s incredible is that Haddonfield lost four of its top five runners from last year’s sectional championship team – seniors Sarah Naticchia, Allison Colflesh, Payton Weiner and Lindsay Colflesh all graduated.

Of Haddonfield’s seven runners Saturday, only three were even raced at sectionals a year ago – Earp, Miller and Goode.

Earp ran a huge all-course PR of 18:26 to win the individual title, with Goode running a PR 18:46 and Miller 18:53. Earp’s previous 5,000 best was 18:40 and Goode’s was 18:59.

Earp’s time is No. 3 in course history and fastest ever by a sophomore.

Usher ran 19:02 and Naticchia 19:10. Naticchia’s previous all-course 5K best was 19:33.

Haddonfield’s 6th and 7th runners finished 7th and 8th, sophomore Sarah Fetter in 19:57 and sophomore Riley Slootsky in 20:07. 

The only non-Haddonfield runner in the top eight was Cinnaminson junior Stephanie Renouf, who placed 6th in 19:31.

The only other runners in the top 10 were Werst Deptford senior Hope Siner [9th in 20:17] and Sterling sophomore Cara Coppolino [10th in 20:19].

Haddonfield finished with a 15-82 margin of victory over 2nd-place Cedar Creek. Cinnaminson [90], Haddon Heights [110] and Sterling [149] also qualified for states.

Even if you removed Haddonfield’s top two runners, the Bulldogs would have still won the team title with 17 points.

The only other teams to score a perfect 15 in South Jersey sectional history are Moorestown in Group 2 in 2001 and Haddonfield in Group 2 in 2005. Moorestown went on to win the Meet of Champions that year. Haddonfield was 5th.

Only two other schools have recorded a top-5 sweep at the sectional level. New Providence won North Jersey Section 2 Group 1 with 15 points in 1985 and Mount olive won North 2 Group 3 with 15 points in 1995.

Haddonfield’s streak of 12 consecutive sectional titles ties the longest streak in state history. Shawnee won 12 straight titles in South Jersey Group 4 from 1990 through 2001, and Ridgewood won 12 straight from 1992 through 2003 in North Jersey Section 1 Group 4. 

Overall, Haddonfield has now won 29 South Jersey XC titles. In addition to the current 12 in a row, the Bulldogs won SJ-2 in 1979, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and SJ-1 in 1982, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997 and 1998.

Haddonfield has won a sectional title 16 of the last 17 years and going back to 1990, 24 of the last 32 years.

Haddonfield’s insane 18:51 team average destroyed the course record of 19:19 set earlier this year by Cherokee at the Olympic Conference Championships. That’s 28 seconds faster per runner.

Sophomore Olivia Parkinson, senior Nicole Clifford, junior Kelsey Niglio and sophomore Kerry O’Day all placed among the top eight finishers, and Cherokee raced to its second straight sectional cross country championship on Saturday.

Parkinson ran 18:53 for 2nd at DREAM Park in Logan Township, Clifford 19:09 for 4th, Niglio 19:17 for 7th and O’Day 19:24 for 8th. Freshman Megan Niglio wasn’t far back, rounding out Cherokee’s scoring group in 13th place in 20:04. The times were all-course PRs for O’Day and Megan Niglio.

Cherokee outscored 2nd-place Cherry Hill East 34-64 to win the South Jersey Group 4 title, its third overall. Cherokee also won in 2003 at Delsea. 

Cherokee averaged 19:22 per scorer, 2nd-fastest team average in course history. Cherokee averaged 19:19 when it won the Olympic Conference meet last month. Cherry Hill East’s 19:48 is tied for 4th-fastest since the course went into use in 2018.

Kingsway junior Aubrey Pierontoni ran 18:24 to win the individual title. Kingsway was not allowed to race at sectionals last year. 

Pierontoni is Kingsway’s first individual sectional champion since Chelsea Ley won her 3rd straight title win Group 3 in 2009. Lori Townsend and Erica Moore also won sectional titles for Kingsway in Group 2, Townsend in 1990 and Moore in 1992.

Other South Jersey girls placing in the top 10 and advancing to states next weekend at Holmdel County Park were Cherry Hill East junior Alexis Tepper [3rd in 18:59], Eastern senior Sophia Staiger [5th in 19:11], Cherry Hill East senior Madison McNiff [6th in 19:14] and Cherry Hill East freshman Kiley Walsh [10th in 19:32].

Kingsway (110), Toms River North [109] and Southern Regional [153] joined Cherokee and Cherry Hill East qualifying for states.

Dennis Fortuna shattered the DREAM Park course record Saturday morning and led Triton to its first sectional cross country title in school history! 

What a historic day for the Mustangs! 

Fortuna won the South Jersey Group 3 race in 15:09, breaking the 5,000-meter course record of 15:12, set by Cherokee’s Ethan Wechsler at the 2019 Olympic Conference Championships. This is the fourth year the course has been used. Fortuna’s previous 5,000 best for any course was 16:02, but that was at Holmdel County Park at Shore Coaches, one of the most challenging courses in the state.  

Fortuna won by 150 meters over Delsea senior Andrew Littlehales, who placed second in 15:38 and became Triton’s first sectional winner in 56 years, since George Dilenno ran 12:27 over 2 1/2 miles to win the 1966 South Jersey Group 3 title at Pennsauken, beating Sterling’s Mike Kelly by about 100 meters. Dilenno actually ran for Triton Blue, which merged with Triton Red in 1967 to form the current Triton High School.

Fortuna remains unbeaten this fall in major meets, having previously won titles at the Shore Coaches, Manhattan Invite and Camden County. 

Triton placed its five scorers in the top 25 to defeat Ocean City 62-78 and averaged 16:33 per runner, 5th-fastest in course history. Highland [85], Mainland Regional [104] and Moorestown [150] also qualified for next weekend’s state meet at Holmdel County Park.

Also for Triton, senior Forrest Miller ran 16:24 for 6th, junior Antonio Nieves was 12th in 16:44, sophomore Ethan Wence placed 20th in 17:09 and Nicholas Martino was 25th in 17:19. Sixth and 7th runners senior Caleb Messenger and sophomore Cameron Priestly ran 17:26 and 17:57 for 29th and 37th.

Ocean City senior Owen Ritti placed third in 16:08, followed by Mainland senior Linden Wineland [4th in 16:18] and Timber Creek senior Cole Myolan [5th in 16:19]. Highland junior Cole Knoedler took 7th in 16:27, Mainland junior Elliot Post ran 16:29 for 8th, Ocean City junior Nick Scarangelli was 9th in 16:31 and Highland junior Gavin Gallo rounded out the top 10 in 16:34. In all 14 runners broke 17 minutes at DREAM Park in Logan Township and another 17 broke 17:30.

Audubon senior Scott Hubbard ran 16:23 and edged Colonial Conference rival Ethan Bergmann of Haddon Township to win the South Jersey Group 1 XC title and lead Audubon to its second straight team title.

Hubbard finished about eight meters ahead of Bergmann, who ran 16:26 – officially 16:23.98 for Hubbard and 16:26.02 for Bergmann – in a two-man race. Those two gapped the rest of the field by about 125 meters.

Hubbard became Audubon’s first sectional winner in 40 years, since Bob Douglas edged Glassboro’s Brian Kirkpatrick by four seconds to win the 1981 South Jersey Group 1 title at Pennsauken.

Audubon placed all five scorers in the top 12 and outscored Haddon Township 35-56. Audubon had a 62-second gap from first to fifth and averaged 17:06 at DREAM Park in Logan Township. Maple Shade placed third with 83 points. Also qualifying for states were Woodstown and Glassboro.

Seniors Clifford Gilmore and Tyler Wells placed 6th and 7th for the Green Wave in 17:12 and 17:13, junior Joseph Gaspari was 9th in 17:15 and sophomore Aiden Williams placed 12th in 17:25. Senior Aaryn Myers [19th in 18:05] and freshman Leo Davis [31st in 18:54] also ran for Audubon.

The sectional team title was the third for Audubon, which won Group 1 in 1978 and again last year.

The rest of the top 10 included Wildwood sophomore Jorge Cruz Valle [3rd in 16:50], Haddon Township senior Max Tomashek [4th in 17:01], Buena senior Kayden Platania [5th in 17:02], Maple Shade senior Murphy Hastings [8th in 17:13] and Maple Shade senior Ryan Olesky [10th in 17:21].

Haddon Township junior Meghan Lex PR’d for the second meet in a row, became the first Haddon Township girl to win a sectional XC title in six years and leading the Hawks to their 11th sectional championship.

Lex ran 19:43 over 5,000 meters at DREAM Park in Logan Township, lowering her all-course 5,000 PR of 19:58, which she ran two weeks ago at the Colonial Conference meet at Pennypacker Park. 

She’s Haddon Township’s first sectional winner since 2016, when Annika Merkh ran 19:32 at Delsea to win the South Jersey Group 1 title. 

The Hawks placed all five scorers in the top 16 and outscored second-place Wildwood, 31-55, with Schalick (76), Audubon (81) and Cape May County Tech (113) also advancing to states.

Lex out-raced Wildwood freshman Macie McCracken for the individual title. McCracken finished 85 meters back in 20:05, and Schalick senior Mia LaMarra also ran sub-21, taking third in 20:51.

For Haddon Township, sophomore Genevieve Gentlesk [4th in 21:04], seniors Ellie Sennhenn and Kaelin Marshall [10th and 11th, 22:06 and 22:10] and senior Georgia Knorr [16th 23:31] also scored, and sophomore sixth runner Simona Thoder wasn’t far back in 21st place.

Haddon Township also won Group 1 in 2000, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2020 and Group 2 in 1976, 1983, 1984 and 2004, so this is the first time the Hawks have won consecutive South Jersey titles since 1983 and 1984, when they were led by Missy Roller, Suzanne Haug and Barb Countey.

Wildwood’s 2nd-place finish is remarkable considering the Warriors haven’t fielded a full five-girl team at sectionals since 2006. Their best previous finish was third place in 1981 and 1982.

Freshman Leah Pawlus and senior Ava Troiano joined McCracken in the top 15, Pawlus placing 9th in 22:02 and Troiano 13th in 22:46.

Also South Jersey runners in the top 10 were Pennsville senior Taylor Burchfield [5th in 21:11], Schalick freshman Taylor Behrens [6th in 21:30] and Palmyra sophomore Cadence Anderson [7th in 21:50].

Sectional championship day has arrived, with races starting at 10 a.m. Saturday and continuing through 1:30 p.m.

Most South Jersey schools will race at DREAM Park in Logan Township, near Glassboro in Gloucester County, with  a handful racing in Central Jersey at Thompson Park in Monroe Township.

Bordentown, Burlington Township, Delran, Florence, Northern Burlington and Rancocas Valley race at Thompson Park, and every other S.J. school will be at DREAM Park.

To download the meet program, with the schedule of races, group classifications, school rosters, all-time winners and more, click here: 2021 NJSIAA Cross Country Sectional Championship Program

Senior Kishan Patel and junior Jose Bravo took the top two spots and Millville went on to win the Cumberland County XC team title, 31-48, over Cumberland Regional.

Patel ran 18:54 and Bravo 19:29 over 5,000 meters at Cumberland Regional. It was Millville’s first team title since the 2017 team topped Cumberland Regional 27-43 at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville.

The 1-2 finish is the first for Millville at the Cumberland County Championships in 40 years. In 1981, Millville took  the first three spots behind Tony Harden (15:55),  John Morrow (16:18) and Lewis Hagen (16:28) at Vineland High School.

Millville’s other scorers were freshman Arjun Patel [9th in 20:11], senior Anthony Kukal [10th in 20:13] and senior Andrew Zerra [12th in 20:25].

Others in the top 10 included Cumberland Regional senior Anthony Bullocks [3rd 19:34], Vineland junior Sebastian Mercado [4th 19:39], Vineland senior Zain Chaudry [5th 19:45], Cumberland junior Sean Henry [6th 19:55], Bridgeton sophomore Bryan Hernandez [7th 20:01] and Cumberland sophomore Eric Miguel [8th 20:06].