Edwin Klanke, one of the top runners in the state, led a St. Peter's Prep pack that made a huge statement with a dominating performance at Saturday's St. Domimic Academy Invitational at Lincoln Park in Jersey City.
The UPenn-bound Klanke, the Hudson County champ and State Non-Public A runner-up last year, crossed the line first in the boys race in 15:21 to spark a 1-2-3-4-7 finish for the NJ No. 5 ranked Marauders. St. Peter's averaged 15:48, and had a 1-5 split of 1:05 as they blitzed the competition with a 17-98 victory over runner-up St. Rose.
St. Peter's top five runners, all seniors, were Klanke, Rodolfo Sanchez, second in 15:29, Ethan Blackwelder, third in 15:37, Jack Sipperly, fourth in 16:11, and Jack Glynn, seventh in 16:23.
Runner-up St. Rose received a sensational race from sophomore Brian Theobald, who ran 16:13 to grab fifth place.
In the girls race, St. Dominic Academy repeated as team champion and sophomore star Tilly O'Connor of St. Rose ran away with the individual title in 18:28.
SDA averaged 20:33, and put six runners ahead of Governor Livingston's No. 3 runner, and its seven in front of GL's No. 4 to lock up a 31-64 victory. St. Dominic, which went 3-5-6-8-9, was led by defending individual champ Kayla Sullivan, third in 19:39, five seconds faster than her winning time a year ago.
The remainder of St. Dominic's top five were Milani Bethel, seventh in 20:15, Charlotte Hennessey, eighth in in 20:25, Caroline O'Donnell, 10th in 21:08, and Tea Baramidze, 11th in 21:20.58.
Individually, O'Connor controlled the girls race as she finished more than a minute ahead of senior Caroline Mondelli of GL, second in 19:31. O'Connor is coming off a fantastic freshman campaign, highlighted by a fifth-place finish at the Monmouth County Championships at Holmdel Park (19:18), and an eighth-place finish at the Shore Conference meet at Ocean County Park (a PR of 18:20).
Another highlight was provided by promising freshman Samantha Richter of GL, who ran a strong fourth in 20:03.