From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Washington Township’s Trevor Szilier ran away from the field to win the Sophomore Race at the Cherokee Challenge Saturday morning.

Szilier ran 10:09 over 3,200 meters, finishing 80 meters ahead of 2nd-place Nikhil Shah of Pingry School of Bernards Township, who ran 10:25.

Szilier is Washington Township’s 2nd winner at the Challenge and first in 22 years, following Carmen Cavella, who won the Senior Race in 2003 in 9:58.

Szilier was the 6th-fastest freshman in New Jersey last year with a 4:34.81 [converted from full mile at Greensboro Nationals] and the 4th-fastest freshman at 3,200 meters in South Jersey with a 10:03.58 at the Gloucester County Championships at Deptford.

Other South Jersey runners in the top 10 were Egg Harbor’s Liam Aspenberg [6th in 10:43] and Lenape’s Jayden Carn [10th in 10:51].

Holy Cross’s Julia Flanagan ran the fastest time by a South Jersey girl in 12 years at the 30th annual Cherokee Challenge Saturday morning, placing 3rd in the Senior Race in 11:21 over 3,200 meters.

That’s fastest by a South Jersey runner in any race at the Challenge since 2013, when Haddonfield’s Briana Gess won the freshman race in 10:55. Flanagan is fastest by a South Jersey girl in the senior race since Megan Lacy of Cherokee ran 10:55 in 2011.

Flanagan, the state Parochial A 3,200 champ last spring at 10:52.74, finished behind only Anna Bockus of Padua Academy in Wilmington, Del., who won the senior race in 11:08, and Alexia Tubbs of Conestoga High of Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, Pa., who ran 11:13.

Flanagan’s time is fastest ever by a Holy Cross girl at the Cherokee Challenge. She’s the first Lancer girl to place in the top three in any Cherokee Challenge race in 26 years, since Deanna Kloss ran 12:19 and placed 2nd in the Junior Race in 1999. Kloss went on to an outstanding swimming career at Gettysburg.

Cherokee’s Alyssa Suriano placed 4th in the Senior Race in 11:42, sharing the No. 2 time among South Jersey girls with Sophomore Race winner Riley Tolson of Ocean City.It was the first lifetime cross country race for the former soccer player.

Other South Jersey girls in the top 10 in the Senior Race: Williamstown’s Sophia Aldridge [7th in 11:54], Cherokee’s Madeline Meder [8th in 11:59], Audubon’s Riley Fayer [9th in 12:01] and Cherokee’s Sofia Recinto [10th in 12:09].

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.