Monmouth County Championships took on historic Holmdel Park on October 10th. Amongst the repeat team titles and hard racing there were new individual winners and as always a look to the future.
For the girls championship we once again saw Emma Zawatski lead Freehold Township to the championship, win but this time Zawatski left Holmdel with the individual championship in hand as well. The first individual girls winner in school history at this meet.
The star senior set a new course PR of 18:20 leading the field by 27 seconds. The win helped spark the eventual 45 to 66 points win over Middletown South.
*Note some historical stats for Monmouth County, such as number of titles won, have been revised in this article.
Freehold Township won their first Monmouth team title in school history last year and now with back to back wins join six other schools as the only programs to win multiple Monmouth titles including Red Bank Catholic, Middletown South, Colts Neck, Mater Dei, Raritan, and Manalapan.
The victory came off a 19:52 average and 2:08 split, scoring line of 1+7+9+13+15 (16+20).
Behind Zawatski's individual win Freehold Township's championship scorers included junior Leah Rutledge running seventh at 20:05, senior Ava Biemuller ninth 20:10, senior Heather Feinstein 14th 20:18, and junior Sophia Briggs 16th 20:28. Their displacers were freshman Natalie Briggs 17th and sophomore Caroline Cox in 21st.
Girls Top 5 Finishers
| 1 |  Emma Zawatski | 12 | Freehold Township HS | 18:20.00 | 1 | |
| 2 |  Rosemary Shay | 12 | Middletown South HS | 18:47.00 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Elizabeth Scarpa | 11 | Colts Neck HS | 19:21.00 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Megan Devanny | 12 | Matawan Reg. HS | 19:40.00 | 4 | |
| 5 |  Sadie Honig | 11 | Manalapan HS | 19:56.00 | 5 |
Middletown South girls were a strong second place team here led by senior Rosemary Shay, who has shown so much progression this fall with major time drops at multiple courses now. Shay ran to second overall at 18:47.
Colts Neck's junior Elizabeth Scarpa is the top returner for 2024 running third at 19:21. Megan Devanny of Matawan fourth at 19:40 and Sadie Honig of Manalapan fifth with 19:56. The only finishers under 20 minutes that day.
On the boys side the individual title saw another first time winner with Howell junior Michael Card's hard fought 16:19 victory. The top four finishers were all within six seconds of each other, Matthew Remishofski of Wall HS was just a second back at 16:20!.
Card is Howell's first boys Monmouth County cross country champ in school history and has shown plenty of strong performances this fall after missing out on the entire 2022 season due to injury. At this point let's not be surprised if he's under 16 minutes at Holmdel by season's end.
Boys Top 5 Finishers
| 1 |  Michael Card | 11 | Howell HS | 16:19.00 | 1 | |
| 2 |  Matthew Remishofski | 12 | Wall HS | 16:20.00 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Patrick Coyle | 12 | Red Bank Catholic HS | 16:23.00 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Sean Galvin | 10 | Christian Brothers Academy | 16:25.00 | 4 | |
| 5 | Olivier Langeveld | 10 | Wall HS | 16:28.00 | 5 |
Christian Brothers Academy may not have had their usual starting lineup but their team of up and coming talent once again stepped up to the challenge and won CBA their 22nd straight and 54th overall!
CBA led a tough race with Colts Neck 49 to 68 while averaging 16:46 and splitting just 41 seconds between their top five, an entire scoring five that returns next year by the way including three sophomores, a freshmen and a junior!
The winning effort was led by sophomore Sean Galvin in fourth clocked at 16:25, sophomore Luke Hnatt sixth 16:29, freshman Gavin Schmitt 10th 16:54, junior Thomas Field 14th 16:59, and sophomore Ryan Collins 15th 17:06. Their displacers were sophomore Matt McInerney, who did displace points on Colts Neck's fourth and fifth, and senior William De Marco 28th 17:33.
Team Scores
Girls Championship
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Freehold Township HS | 45 | 1+7+9+13+15 (16+20) | 2:08 1-5 Split | 19:52 Avg |
| 2 |  Middletown South HS | 66 | 2+11+12+14+27 (36+39) | 2:38 1-5 Split | 20:14 Avg |
| 3 |  Shore Regional HS | 152 | 18+23+28+40+43 (91) | 1:46 1-5 Split | 21:38 Avg |
| 4 |  Manalapan HS | 182 | 5+17+46+56+58 (71+73) | 3:01 1-5 Split | 21:48 Avg |
| 5 |  Colts Neck HS | 185 | 3+29+50+51+52 (55+65) | 3:22 1-5 Split | 21:46 Avg |
| 6 |  Trinity Hall | 187 | 10+21+30+45+81 (90+102) | 3:54 1-5 Split | 21:51 Avg |
| 7 |  Red Bank Regional HS | 189 | 25+31+33+37+63 (85) | 1:48 1-5 Split | 21:58 Avg |
| 8 |  Red Bank Catholic HS | 191 | 26+32+35+38+60 | 1:40 1-5 Split | 22:03 Avg |
| 9 |  Rumson-Fair Haven HS | 209 | 8+42+47+48+64 (69+75) | 3:03 1-5 Split | 22:11 Avg |
| 10 |  Ocean Township HS | 271 | 6+57+61+67+80 (101+106) | 4:00 1-5 Split | 22:40 Avg |
| 11 |  Middletown North HS | 300 | 22+62+68+72+76 (92) | 2:36 1-5 Split | 22:57 Avg |
| 12 |  Raritan HS | 304 | 34+41+54+87+88 (89+96) | 2:33 1-5 Split | 23:18 Avg |
| 13 |  Matawan Reg. HS | 339 | 4+44+78+103+110 (111+112) | 14:00 1-5 Split | 25:18 Avg |
| 14 |  Manasquan HS | 349 | 19+49+70+104+107 (108+109) | 8:48 1-5 Split | 24:39 Avg |
| 15 |  Holmdel HS | 352 | 53+59+66+74+100 (105) | 3:30 1-5 Split | 23:47 Avg |
| 16 |  St. Rose HS | 390 | 24+84+93+94+95 (99) | 4:17 1-5 Split | 24:26 Avg |
| 17 |  Howell HS | 407 | 77+79+82+83+86 (97+98) | 0:42 1-5 Split | 24:07 Avg |
Boys Championship
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Brothers Academy | 49 | 4+6+10+14+15 (17+28) | 0:41 1-5 Split | 16:46 Avg |
| 2 |  Colts Neck HS | 68 | 7+8+9+20+24 (29+56) | 0:55 1-5 Split | 16:55 Avg |
| 3 |  Manalapan HS | 105 | 11+18+23+26+27 (40+43) | 0:35 1-5 Split | 17:20 Avg |
| 4 | Wall HS | 236 | 2+5+46+48+135 | 5:04 1-5 Split | 18:10 Avg |
| 5 |  Freehold Township HS | 246 | 21+33+45+67+80 (109+133) | 1:50 1-5 Split | 18:17 Avg |
| 6 |  Ocean Township HS | 256 | 35+37+52+53+79 (82+83) | 1:24 1-5 Split | 18:21 Avg |
| 7 |  Middletown South HS | 267 | 13+54+57+68+75 (76+88) | 2:08 1-5 Split | 18:24 Avg |
| 8 |  Red Bank Regional HS | 273 | 44+47+58+61+63 (78+87) | 0:33 1-5 Split | 18:33 Avg |
| 9 |  Rumson-Fair Haven HS | 276 | 16+19+65+86+90 (111) | 2:20 1-5 Split | 18:26 Avg |
| 10 |  Monmouth Reg. HS | 292 | 34+39+70+72+77 (99+130) | 1:21 1-5 Split | 18:35 Avg |
| 11 | Howell HS | 307 | 1+55+71+89+91 (121+126) | 3:12 1-5 Split | 18:32 Avg |
| 12 |  Marlboro HS | 330 | 12+49+84+92+93 (108+113) | 2:37 1-5 Split | 18:45 Avg |
| 13 |  Matawan Reg. HS | 338 | 30+50+73+81+104 (106+112) | 2:22 1-5 Split | 18:51 Avg |
| 14 | Red Bank Catholic HS | 378 | 3+32+38+140+165 | 10:31 1-5 Split | 20:09 Avg |
| 15 |  Shore Regional HS | 383 | 25+64+69+105+120 (129+151) | 2:55 1-5 Split | 19:07 Avg |
| 16 |  Holmdel HS | 398 | 41+66+96+97+98 (100+107) | 1:29 1-5 Split | 19:10 Avg |
| 17 |  Middletown North HS | 444 | 22+74+95+110+143 (161) | 4:42 1-5 Split | 19:40 Avg |
| 18 |  Freehold Boro HS | 472 | 42+62+85+138+145 (164) | 4:02 1-5 Split | 20:05 Avg |
| 19 |  Manasquan HS | 498 | 60+94+101+119+124 (127+146) | 1:54 1-5 Split | 19:48 Avg |
| 20 |  St. Rose HS | 515 | 36+102+114+131+132 (137+162) | 3:16 1-5 Split | 20:03 Avg |
| 21 |  Henry Hudson Reg HS | 526 | 51+59+118+148+150 (160+167) | 4:03 1-5 Split | 20:27 Avg |
| 22 |  Ranney School | 635 | 115+122+123+136+139 (149) | 1:34 1-5 Split | 20:56 Avg |
| 23 |  Raritan HS | 652 | 116+117+134+141+144 (147+153) | 1:54 1-5 Split | 21:14 Avg |
| 24 |  Long Branch HS | 652 | 31+128+158+166+169 (170+172) | 11:18 1-5 Split | 23:43 Avg |
| 25 |  St. John Vianney HS | 679 | 103+125+142+154+155 (157+168) | 3:52 1-5 Split | 22:03 Avg |
| 26 |  Keansburg HS | 801 | 152+156+159+163+171 | 9:45 1-5 Split | 26:04 Avg |