Interview with Elliot Gindi, the 2016 individual winner.
Full Results | Photos | Videos | Coverage
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 Boys Championship Race Here
In this article we focus on the boys race where Elliot Gindi of Ocean Township cemented his place as New Jersey's #1 this season with a convincing six second win at 15:45 to follow up his Group 3 upset victory last weekend. At Groups Gindi just out fought Millburn's Matt Grossman to the line where both recorded times 15:27 ranking them #10 all-time at Holmdel. Gindi is now undefeated in the 5K for eight straight wins and plans on running at Footlocker Northeast Regionals this coming week.
This is Ocean Township's first ever Meet of Champions winner and Gindi was ecstatic about the win, pumping the crowd along the final stretch and holding his arms up in the air as he crossed the line in first. Gindi stated he had a lot left in the tank coming out of the final woods, and it was noticeable as he kicked away from the rest of the field with ease.
Jordan Brannan of Colts Neck also had a great race finishing second running 15:51, Alex Roth third with 15:54, Matt Grossman fourth 15:55, David Rosas fifth 15:58, and Jack Shea sixth 15:58.
Interview with Alex Roth, the leader on the title winning Princeton squad.
Even more exciting results came in the team race when it was too close to count at the line between Princeton, Colts Neck, and Christian Brothers Academy. When the official results printed out Princeton had upset NJ#1 CBA and NJ#2 Colts Neck with 104 points to Colts Neck's 106 and CBA's 109.
Princeton averaged 16:31 and split 1:21 between their scoring five led by Alex Roth in third with a time of 15:54. This is Princeton's first ever Meet of Champions team title, and they are the first public school to take the victory since 2008 when West Windsor Plainsboro North won the meet. The win ended CBA's six year championship streak which tied their own record for longest title run.
Colts Neck took second overall led by Jordan Brannan in second at 15:51, CBA was third led by Genaro Anzalone in ninth running 16:11.
We have the full race video up for viewing right here!
Princeton Boys Team Summary
| M 5000m | 3 | Alex Roth | 15:54.00 | |
| M 5000m | 10 | William Hare | 16:12.00 | |
| M 5000m | 24 | Acasio Pinheiro | 16:30.00 | |
| M 5000m | 48 | Alex Ackerman | 16:45.00 | |
| M 5000m | 86 | Cy Watsky | 17:15.00 | |
| M 5000m | 97 | Jackson Donahue | 17:22.00 | |
| M 5000m | 106 | Nicholas Delaney | 17:29.00 | |
Boys Top Six Team Standings
| 1 | Princeton HS | 104 | 3+8+15+26+52 (61+66) | 1:21 1-5 Split | 16:31 Avg | ||
| 2 | Colts Neck HS | 106 | 2+9+16+32+47 (68+101) | 1:18 1-5 Split | 16:30 Avg | ||
| 3 | CBA | 109 | 7+13+21+30+38 (109+110) | 0:48 1-5 Split | 16:36 Avg | ||
| 4 | Indian Hills HS | 128 | 17+20+23+28+40 (72+86) | 0:29 1-5 Split | 16:44 Avg | ||
| 5 | Don Bosco Prep | 175 | 4+11+50+54+56 (74+128) | 1:19 1-5 Split | 16:48 Avg | ||
| 6 | Ridgewood HS | 201 | 6+43+44+51+57 (108+115) | 1:14 1-5 Split | 16:57 Avg | ||