Results | Videos | Photos | Team by Team
On Thursday, October 12th, the Ocean County Championships crowned their 2023 champions. The individuals race saw first time winners with Brick Memorial's Jared Voorhees and Toms River North's Jessica Abbott, and the teams race continued a storied history of success for Southern Regional.
Brick Memorial senior Jared Voorhees won the boys individual title running 15:35, becoming the third boy in school history to win the county and the first since Kyle Mueller did so in 2014, previous to that it was Andrew Brodeur in 2007.
This was the second career cross country win for Voorhees, he also won the Osprey XC Invite back on September 22nd. He was fifth at Ocean County Champs as a junior in 2022 running 16:18.
*Note some historical Ocean County Championship stats, such as all-time team title totals, were revised in this article.
WATCH: Ocean County Champs Race Videos
Six seconds back was Santino Anthony D'Amelio of Southern Regional running second clocked at 15:41. A great individual performance but also an essential piece of Southern Regional's eventual team championship run.
They averaged 16:29, split 1:30 one through five, and scored 2+3+12+17+22 for 56 points to finish ahead of second place Pt. Pleasant Boro at 72 and third place Toms River North with 78.
Also racing into the top five finishers was junior Kyle Skiendzielewski in fourth with a 16:01. The rest of Southern's lineup included Jack Gerard DeHart 13th 16:34, freshman Aaron David Wyrsch 19th 16:58, Levi Tofino Miller 24th 17:11. Their displacers Xzavier Garcia and Matthew Harry Desiderio in 32nd and 37th.
This is Southern Regional's 13th county cross country title and their fifth straight!
A strong meet by Andrew Tatesure of Lacey Twp running third overall at 15:53 and Ryan Macom of Toms River East for fifth at 16:05.
Boys Top 5 Individual Finishers
| 1 |  Jared Voorhees | 12 | Brick Memorial HS | 15:35.00 | 1 | |
| 2 |  Santino Anthony D'Amelio | 12 | Southern Regional HS | 15:41.00 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Andrew Tatesure | 12 | Lacey Twp. HS | 15:53.00 | ||
| 4 | Kyle Skiendzielewski | 11 | Southern Regional HS | 16:01.00 | 3 | |
| 5 |  Ryan Macom | 11 | Toms River East HS | 16:05.00 | 4 |
On the girls side Toms River North's star sophomore Jessica Abbott earned her first cross country county title running 17:49, which is now the leading time at the OCP course so far this 2023 season.
Abbott is the sixth Ocean County winner in school history and their first since 2016 when Jade Tricomy won as a freshman. Other past champions included Angela Rugino (2008), Jen Pesce (1995), Jen Flood (1991), and Janet Flood (1979).
Ivy Slavinski of Pt. Pleasant Boro has dropped some major time off her 2022 best at the park with her 18:16 for second place. Brick Memorial saw two running top five, Ryan Kelly third at 19:05 and Katie Rogers fourth with 19:14. Donovan Catholic senior Emily Weigle closed out the top five finishers with her 19:38.
Girls Top 5 Individual Finishers
| 1 |  Jessica Abbott | 10 | Toms River North HS | 17:49.00 | 1 | |
| 2 |  Ivy Slavinski | 10 | Pt. Pleasant Boro HS | 18:16.00 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Ryan Kelly | 12 | Brick Memorial HS | 19:05.00 | 3 | |
| 4 | Katie Rogers | 11 | Brick Memorial HS | 19:14.00 | 4 | |
| 5 |  Emily Weigle | 12 | Donovan Catholic HS | 19:38.00 | 5 |
Southern Regional didn't have a top five individual but the overall team run pushed them through to their ninth Ocean County girls team title in school history and their first since 2020. Toms River North ended their four year streak in 2021 and went back to back in 2022.
The overall title count is tight for Ocean County now with the top four teams all within three championships. Toms River East and Toms River North have both earned 12 total with East's most recent in 2003 and North's 2022, and now Southern Regional with nine matches with Brick Township tied for third all-time at nine a piece. Brick Township's last title was in 1995.
Southern averaged 20-47 with a 1:27 split to hold off the field with 69 total points, 7+11+13+17+21 (50+52).
Toms River North and Donovan Catholic made a strong run at it but had to settle for second and third scored at 72 and 78 points respectively.
Southern's attack was led by junior Madison Rehman running seventh at 19:55, Grace Fessler in 11th 20:37, Adriana Zitzner 13th 20:56, Mya Ducker 18th 21:08, and Casey Collins 22nd 21:22. Displacers were Isabel Zatorski and Layla Fulkerson running 54th and 56th.
Many of these athletes are not finished with their local championship season. The Shore Conference Championships will run on October 19th at Ocean County Park bringing together some of the best from both Ocean and Monmouth County.
Freshmen Notes
There were freshmen races but we also saw up and coming stars take on the varsity races and finish top 15.
In the boys Championship 5K race Gavin Oliver of Donovan Catholic ran to 14th overall with a 16:39 just a few seconds ahead of another frosh out of Toms River North Tahj Wilson, 15th 16:42.
On the girls side Sonja Schwartz, a freshman out of Toms River South finished 10th in the championship 5K race clocked at 20:24. Maeve Smith of Donovan Catholic was next finishing 14th at 20:57.
Boys Freshmen 2 Mile Top 5
| PLACE | VIDEO | ATHLETE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Joseph Rowe | 9 | Manchester Township HS | 11:22.00 | 1 | |
| 2 |  Spencer Patrick Walsh | 9 | Southern Regional HS | 11:27.00 | 2 | |
| 3 | Chase Griffith | 9 | Manchester Township HS | 11:30.00 | 3 | |
| 4 | Gavin Hanlon | 9 | Manchester Township HS | 11:30.00 | 4 | |
| 5 |  Andrew Guinan | 9 | Toms River North HS | 11:39.00 | 5 |
Girls Freshmen 2 Mile Top 5
| PLACE | VIDEO | ATHLETE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Carly Murray | 9 | Southern Regional HS | 15:48.00 | 1 | |
| 2 |  Julia Luddy | 9 | Pt. Pleasant Boro HS | 16:19.00 | ||
| 3 | Camryn Galluppi | 9 | Southern Regional HS | 16:24.00 | 2 | |
| 4 | Lindsey Tetzlaff | 9 | Southern Regional HS | 16:30.00 | 3 | |
| 5 | Sienna McGinn | 9 | Pt. Pleasant Boro HS | 17:19.00 |
Team Scores
Boys Team Scores
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern Regional HS | 56 | 2+3+12+17+22 (30+34) | 1:30 1-5 Split | 16:29 Avg |
| 2 |  Pt. Pleasant Boro HS | 72 | 7+9+11+19+26 (27+37) | 1:02 1-5 Split | 16:40 Avg |
| 3 |  Toms River North HS | 78 | 5+13+15+20+25 (39) | 1:07 1-5 Split | 16:48 Avg |
| 4 | Brick Memorial HS | 128 | 1+18+23+28+58 (69+76) | 3:29 1-5 Split | 17:15 Avg |
| 5 | Toms River East HS | 142 | 4+29+31+36+42 (45+55) | 2:14 1-5 Split | 17:28 Avg |
| 6 |  Jackson Liberty HS | 148 | 6+10+35+43+54 | 2:49 1-5 Split | 17:30 Avg |
| 7 |  Manchester Township HS | 244 | 8+21+64+72+79 | 4:54 1-5 Split | 18:49 Avg |
| 8 |  Toms River South HS | 245 | 24+44+49+61+67 (74+83) | 2:31 1-5 Split | 18:38 Avg |
| 9 |  Barnegat Township HS | 246 | 33+50+51+53+59 (60+77) | 1:26 1-5 Split | 18:37 Avg |
| 10 |  Jackson Memorial HS | 263 | 16+40+56+71+80 (82) | 4:21 1-5 Split | 19:04 Avg |
| 11 |  Central Reg HS | 266 | 41+46+52+57+70 (73+75) | 1:41 1-5 Split | 18:55 Avg |
| 12 |  Lakewood HS | 298 | 32+48+65+68+85 | 4:46 1-5 Split | 19:33 Avg |
| 13 |  Brick Township HS | 303 | 14+38+81+84+86 | 5:39 1-5 Split | 20:06 Avg |
| 14 |  Pinelands Regional HS | 340 | 47+62+66+78+87 | 4:20 1-5 Split | 20:13 Avg |
| 15 |  Pt. Pleasant Beach HS | 421 | 63+88+89+90+91 | 9:37 1-5 Split | 24:35 Avg |
Girls Team Scores
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Southern Regional HS | 69 | 7+11+13+17+21 (50+52) | 1:27 1-5 Split | 20:47 Avg |
| 2 |  Toms River North HS | 81 | 1+15+18+23+24 (41) | 3:53 1-5 Split | 20:39 Avg |
| 3 |  Donovan Catholic HS | 86 | 5+6+14+26+35 (39+65) | 2:38 1-5 Split | 20:53 Avg |
| 4 |  Pt. Pleasant Boro HS | 106 | 2+20+22+28+34 (37) | 4:00 1-5 Split | 21:00 Avg |
| 5 |  Toms River South HS | 106 | 9+10+19+30+38 (44+53) | 2:24 1-5 Split | 21:18 Avg |
| 6 |  Brick Memorial HS | 126 | 3+4+32+33+54 (59) | 4:31 1-5 Split | 21:14 Avg |
| 7 |  Toms River East HS | 133 | 12+25+29+31+36 (40+43) | 1:31 1-5 Split | 21:47 Avg |
| 8 |  Central Reg HS | 260 | 16+46+56+58+84 (85) | 7:41 1-5 Split | 24:08 Avg |
| 9 |  Brick Township HS | 279 | 8+48+67+77+79 (80) | 6:54 1-5 Split | 24:29 Avg |
| 10 |  Pinelands Regional HS | 289 | 51+55+57+60+66 (70) | 1:36 1-5 Split | 23:58 Avg |
| 11 |  Manchester Township HS | 314 | 49+62+63+69+71 (72+81) | 2:25 1-5 Split | 24:38 Avg |
| 12 |  Jackson Memorial HS | 316 | 27+61+68+74+86 | 9:56 1-5 Split | 25:53 Avg |
| 13 |  Lakewood HS | 319 | 42+47+73+75+82 (83) | 5:06 1-5 Split | 25:20 Avg |
| 14 |  Barnegat Township HS | 350 | 45+64+76+78+87 | 11:33 1-5 Split | 27:15 Avg |