Interview with Alyssa Aldridge, the 2016 individual winner.
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The annual and prestigious NJSIAA Meet of Champions took place on Saturday, and what a day it was! We saw a whirlwind of excitement between title defenses, upsets, and fall season culminations between the boys and girls races.
WATCH the Girls Championship Race Here!
Coming into this race the girls defending champion Alyssa Aldridge of Mainland Regional had just ran her Holmdel best of 18:07 all alone to win the Group 3 championship the weekend previous. That lone wolf finish at Groups would be a prelude to Aldridge's first sub-18 minute time of 17:55 at Holmdel and second straight Meet of Champions title on Saturday. She once again took the final straight away all alone as the crowd cheered her on and finds herself moved up to 12th all-time at the state course.
Aldridge is now just the sixth girl to win two Meet of Champions titles, the first since 2008, and has a chance to join an elite club of four women who have won three championships when she returns for her senior campaign next fall.
The women who have won three titles: Hilary Noden of Hopewell Valley 1972-74, Janet Smith of North Edison 1980-81 and 1883, Jodie Bilotta of North Hunterdon 1985-87, and finally Monal Chokshi of Bridgewater 1989-91.
Aldridge plans on running the Footlocker Northeast Regional this coming weekend.
Briana Gess closed out her last high school cross country race on New Jersey soil with a solid finish in second running 18:35. She's been a major name in the state these past four years since she burst onto the state scene winning multiple meets right out of the gate including the Meet of Champions title as a freshman back in 2013.
Others with strong races going under 19 minutes were... Rachel Vick of Kingsway third at 18:41, Alexa Westley of Warren Hills fourth 18:48, Ellie DiMarcello North Hunterdon fifth 18:54, Niamh Hayes Howell sixth 18:55, Chloe Wong Hillsborough seventh 18:59, and Alyssa Condell Timber Creek eighth 18:59.
The team race featured a rematch between Ridge and North Hunterdon after their Group 4 showdown had Ridge back on top as the NJ#1 favorites.
Ridge would win again scoring 71 points, splitting 45 seconds between their top five and averaging 19:41. The Ridge girls continued their impressive Holmdel win streak which started at the 2015 Shore Coaches Invitational and has continued for six straight meets now including another Shore Coaches race, two state Group titles, and back to back Meet of Champions victories.
North Hunterdon came in second with 114 points and a 19:51 average, they were led by sophomore Ellie DiMarcello in fifth running 18:54. Kingsway had an impressive race after coming in as the second wild card they finished third with 132 points and an average of 19:59, improving from their 20:12 average a week before. Rachel Vick led the way for Kingsway with her highest career finish at the Meet of Champions in third running 18:41.
Ridge Girls Team Summary
| F 5000m | 15 | Lexy Donaldson | 19:17.00 | |
| F 5000m | 26 | Caitlin Haggard | 19:38.00 | |
| F 5000m | 30 | Amanda Passman | 19:45.00 | |
| F 5000m | 32 | Shayna Bains | 19:46.00 | |
| F 5000m | 44 | Brooke Fazio | 20:02.00 | |
| F 5000m | 62 | Catherine Giuseffi | 20:22.00 | |
| F 5000m | 67 | Claire Jones | 20:25.00 | |
Girls Top Six Team Standings
| 1 | Ridge HS | 71 | 7+11+15+16+22 (32+37) | 0:45 1-5 Split | 19:41 Avg | ||
| 2 | North Hunterdon HS | 114 | 3+5+26+36+44 (89+124) | 1:44 1-5 Split | 19:51 Avg | ||
| 3 | Kingsway HS | 132 | 2+13+28+41+48 (97+113) | 2:03 1-5 Split | 19:59 Avg | ||
| 4 | Shawnee HS | 179 | 14+30+43+45+47 (78+105) | 0:57 1-5 Split | 20:24 Avg | ||
| 5 | Northern Highlands Reg. HS | 180 | 21+27+31+46+55 (95+126) | 1:01 1-5 Split | 20:26 Avg | ||
| 6 | Colts Neck HS | 182 | 12+17+18+53+82 (92+116) | 1:57 1-5 Split | 20:22 Avg | ||