Aziz Muhammad-Kane competing at the 2023 Six Flags Wild Safari Invite
The Camden County Championships took place on Friday, October 13th, at its annual location of Timber Creek Park.
Aziz Muhammad-Kane of Highland Regional repeated as Camden County Champ on Friday running 16:36.32 to lead the field by 20 seconds. His teammate junior Mason Wassell was second at 16:56.63.
This is Muhammad-Kane's second major win on the season, he also took home the Varsity B race during Six Flags Wild Safari back in September.
Their 1-2 finish wasn't enough to hold off Haddonfield Memorial's 5+8+10+12+20 run however, the Haddonfield boys split 52 seconds and outscored Highland Regional 55 to 67.
Brandon Stoner kicked off their scoring in fifth clocking 17:41.21, John Leibrandt was ninth 17:54.29, Linus Kucer 11th 18:00.18, Case Hurly 13th 18:02.75, and Michael Sinnes closing out their scoring five in 21st at 18:33.29. Their lone displacer Grey Sullivan was 23rd.
It was a busy weekend for Haddonfield with their usual starting seven heading to Van Cortlandt Park for the Manhattan Invite the following day, where they would successfully win the Varsity C race.
Also in the top five was Haddon Heights junior Reggie Hernandez at 17:14.95 and Haddon Township senior Jackson Sennhenn 17:31.83.
Boys Top 5 Finishers
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Aziz Muhammad-Kane | 12 | Highland Reg HS | 16:36.32 | 1 | |
| 2 | Mason Wassell | 11 | Highland Reg HS | 16:56.63 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Reggie Hernandez | 11 | Haddon Heights HS | 17:14.95 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Jackson Sennhenn | 12 | Haddon Township HS | 17:31.83 | 4 | |
| 5 |  Brandon Stoner | 10 | Haddonfield Memorial HS | 17:41.21 | 5 |
Nilaa Ponnappan competing at the 2023 Cherokee Challenge
On the girls side Nilaa Ponnappan, a junior out of Camden Catholic, won the title clocked at 20:50.71, a good 30-plus seconds ahead of the field. Her performance helped boost Camden Catholic to a second place team finish with 52 points.
Ponnappan was third in this race last year with a 21:09.76. Defending champ Shaelan McNally of Paul VI was in New York on October 14th competing at Manhattan.
It was a tough three-way team battle this year but Highland Regional came out on top with 37 points, aforementioned Camden Catholic second with 52, and Winslow Township third with 61.
Highland Regional had two top-five finishers and three in the top ten! Their scoring five included sophomore Lyana Gutierrez third at 22:09.64, junior Audrey Musmeci fourth 22:39.91, Addison Costello ninth 24:02.17, Priscilla Guerrero Sanchez 11th 24:46.76, and Elexis Swen 13th 25:08.06. Their displacers Toni-Loren Powell 20th and Joss Tomeo 23rd.
Highland Reg. last won in 2021 led by that year's individual champion Grace Wassell.
Also running top five overall individually was Ava Millner of Winslow Township second at 21:24.20 and junior Dejia Robert of Gloucester City fifth at 23:24.11.
Girls Top 5 Finishers
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Nilaa Ponnappan | 11 | Camden Catholic HS | 20:50.71 | 1 | |
| 2 |  Ava Millner | 11 | Winslow Township HS | 21:24.20 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Lyana Gutierrez | 10 | Highland Reg HS | 22:09.63 | 3 | |
| 4 | Audrey Musmeci | 11 | Highland Reg HS | 22:39.91 | 4 | |
| 5 |  Dejia Robert | 11 | Gloucester City HS | 23:24.11 | 5 |
Boys Team Scores
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haddonfield Memorial HS | 55 | 5+8+10+12+20 (22) | 0:52 1-5 Split | 18:02 Avg |
| 2 | Highland Reg HS | 67 | 1+2+15+16+33 (42) | 2:29 1-5 Split | 17:50 Avg |
| 3 | Haddon Heights HS | 78 | 3+9+18+23+25 (35+46) | 1:37 1-5 Split | 18:15 Avg |
| 4 | Haddon Township HS | 94 | 4+13+19+21+37 (39+40) | 1:49 1-5 Split | 18:24 Avg |
| 5 |  Camden Catholic HS | 104 | 11+14+24+27+28 (31+56) | 0:53 1-5 Split | 18:33 Avg |
| 6 |  Timber Creek Reg. HS | 143 | 6+26+30+32+49 (51) | 2:29 1-5 Split | 19:00 Avg |
| 7 |  Gloucester City HS | 203 | 29+36+43+47+48 (50+62) | 1:11 1-5 Split | 19:37 Avg |
| 8 |  Winslow Township HS | 237 | 34+38+44+60+61 (63+65) | 2:44 1-5 Split | 20:20 Avg |
| 9 |  Cherry Hill West HS | 240 | 7+53+57+59+64 (66+68) | 4:32 1-5 Split | 20:49 Avg |
| 10 |  Camden Co. V/T (Sicklerville) | 241 | 17+45+52+58+69 | 5:28 1-5 Split | 20:50 Avg |
| 11 |  Audubon HS | 287 | 41+54+55+67+70 | 8:42 1-5 Split | 22:27 Avg |
Girls Team Scores
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Highland Reg HS | 37 | 3+4+8+10+12 (19+22) | 2:58 1-5 Split | 23:45 Avg |
| 2 | Camden Catholic HS | 52 | 1+6+7+11+27 (28) | 6:17 1-5 Split | 24:01 Avg |
| 3 | Winslow Township HS | 61 | 2+9+14+16+20 | 4:41 1-5 Split | 24:34 Avg |
| 4 |  Audubon HS | 108 | 17+18+23+24+26 (30+35) | 1:02 1-5 Split | 26:26 Avg |
| 5 | Gloucester City HS | 119 | 5+15+32+33+34 (36) | 6:57 1-5 Split | 27:47 Avg |
| 6 |  Camden Co. V/T (Sicklerville) | 119 | 13+21+25+29+31 | 4:01 1-5 Split | 27:01 Avg |