Vanriele Wins Epic Duel and Westfield Sweeps Titles at Union County Champs

NJ #6 Westfield rolls to 3rd straight title, Mobisa becomes first boy from Union to win in 63 years 

Jonathan Mobisa of Union and the Westfield pack weren't at full strength when they toed the line for Wednesday's 80th Union County Championships at Warinanco Park in Elizabeth.   

It didn't matter.

NJ # 6 Westfield and Mobisa still dominated the race on the way to impressive victories.

Mobisa, a senior who crossed first in 16:21, became the first boy from Union to win the Union County title in 63 years and the fifth Union boy to ever win. The last boy from Union to be crowned county cross-country champ was Fred Krehbiel in 1954. 

Mobisa, who missed the county race last year with an Achilles injury, had an issue with the same Achilles leading up to this race, which limited his training to just one day over the last week.

"There was no way I was going to miss my final chance to be a county cross-country champion,'' said Mobisa. "The injury was worse last year, so I knew I could I run through the pain this time.''

Mobisa has now won seven Union County titles in his career. He's won six on the track (4 outdoors and two indoors). 

In the team competition, Westfield captured its third straight title, 8th in the past 9 years and extended its county record to 35 titles overall with a 30-88 victory over runner-up Union Catholic.

Westfield, which ran without senior Spencer Weigand, the runner-up to Mobisa at the Union County Conference meet last week, averaged 16:30 and had a ridiculous 1-5 compression of just 15 seconds as coach Chris Tafelski's Blue Devils put all seven runners under 17 minutes.

Senior Matt Meusel led the way for Westfield by placing second in 16:23.

Weigand, who didn't race due to a slightly sore hamstring, is expected back in the Westfield lineup when the Blue Devils square off with NJ #5 North Hunterdon in the Group 4 race at the North Jersey, Section 2 Championships on Nov. 4 at Greystone.