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Owen Long of Haddon Township crossed the line at 16:15 to win his first cross country state title on Saturday. Last indoor he won the 3200m Group 1 title running 9:37.03 as a junior. This was the school's first individual Group win since Kirk Earney who won with a time of 17:11 in 1990. Long held off New Providence's Jordan Price who finished second with a time of 16:28, Price had just won his third straight Sectional title the weekend previous.
This team race had the entire media tent jumping when the results came through. The Metuchen and Wallkill Valley boys put a fantastic run together on Saturday to negate what the favorites were predicted to be for the advancing spots. Going into the race it was thought the title was between Haddon Twp and Pennsville as Haddon Twp eyed their fifth straight title, Metuchen and Wallkill Valley had different plans.
Metuchen won their first Group 1 team title since 1994 running an average of 17:30 and scoring 112 points, they were led individually by Jake Beacher in 11th running 17:07. What makes this race even more exciting is that it was a one point victory, Metuchen's sixth man Stephen Tang was the athlete who clinched the win over second place Wallkill Valley who scored 113 points with an average of 17:30.
By the 30th scoring finisher Metuchen had their top five in and were tallied at 112 points (10+19+25+28+30). Wallkill Valley would have matched that total with the 36th scorer but Tang out leaned Wallkill's fifth man at the line to displace his score adding one point to their total! It was so close both finishers had the same time of 17:54 placing 40th and 41st in the race. Even if he lost the spot and it went to extra runners Stephen Tang out placed Wallkill's sixth man, so it seems he was destined for a big role in the team scoring.
One more thing about Metuchen, they return six of their top seven next year. A large majority of this state championship team will be returning.
Advancing Individuals
| Place | Athlete | Team | Result | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Long, Owen | 12 | Haddon Twp HS | 16:15.00 | 1 | |
| 2 | Price, Jordan | 12 | New Providence HS | 16:28.00 | 2 | |
| 3 | Quann, Adam | 12 | Pennsville HS | 16:38.00 | 3 | |
| 4 | Walsh, Patrick | 11 | South Amboy HS | 16:40.00 | -- | |
| 5 | Singer, Chris | 11 | Kinnelon HS | 16:43.00 | 4 | |
| 6 | Pasquariello, Mark | 11 | New Providence HS | 16:45.00 | 5 | |
| 7 | Gerstenbacher, Samuel | 12 | A P Schalick HS | 16:48.00 | 6 | |
| 8 | Daurio, Danny | 11 | Bogota HS | 16:49.00 | 7 | |
| 9 | DeGennaro, Nick | 12 | Cedar Grove HS | 16:52.00 | 8 | |
| 10 | Ladd, Randy | 12 | Haddon Twp HS | 17:01.00 | 9 | |
Advancing Teams
| Place | Team | Points | Scorers | Times | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metuchen HS | 112 | 10+19+25+28+30 (36+38) | 0:36 1-5 Split | 17:30 Avg | ||
| 2 | Wallkill Valley HS | 113 | 14+15+20+27+37 (50+69) | 0:42 1-5 Split | 17:30 Avg | ||
| 3 | Haddon Twp HS | 121 | 1+9+24+39+48 (58+72) | 1:59 1-5 Split | 17:24 Avg | ||
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