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Here we go!! The greatest day of the season is finally upon us! Get ur NJ XC State Group Championships on!!!
It just doesn't get any better than this. Anyone who disagrees should have their heart rate checked! Don't get me wrong here. I love Christmas as much as anyone, but this is the best time of the year!!!!
Group Championships Info & Coverage Hub
The NJSIAA Meet of Champions (Nov. 11 at Holmdel) is obviously a great event, but it comes and goes way too fast.
Nothing compares to the State Group Championship because of the never ending drama that plays out all day over 12 races at New Jersey's cross country Cathedral - Holmdel Park, the Holy Grail of NJ XC courses!! The Group Championship meet on Saturday is quite simply NJ XC's Mardi Gras!!!
There's nothing better than seeing fans running all over the course screaming, blowing horns, banging drums, and coaches trying to get from the top of the start hill to the mile mark or from from the tennis courts to the finish line.
There are students/fans decked out in war paint and dressed in crazy costumes as they show off their school spirit, and parents gasping as they trying to follow their son or daughter along the course.
We know you can't get enough of this stuff, and we aim to please. So NJ MileSplit has put together a list below of some of the awesome storylines to follow on Super Saturday.
NJ MileSplit will have full results, updates, race videos, interviews, photos, and more from NJSIAA Group Championships.
Girls Group Championships Preview
SUB 19??
We all know that the biggest lock of the whole meet is the Union Catholic, ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 6 in the nation, will win its third straight Non-Public A title.
So one of the big questions is whether or not this will be the day that UC takes down the Holmdel Park course record average?
Union Catholic has been chasing the CR of 19:01.0 that was set by Voorhees at the 2007 Meet of Champions for two seasons, and has gotten very close.
Last year, UC's chance at the record was derailed when star Peyton Hollis got injured, which forced her to drop out of the Non-Public A race. UC amazingly still found a way to win the Non-Public A and Meet of Champions titles without Hollis.
Earlier this season, UC, which has even more firepower this season thanks to the greatest freshmen class in NJ history, ran 19:06 five weeks ago at the Shore Coaches Invitational, which is No. 4 in Holmdel Park history.
Since then UC, smashed the course record averages at Oak Ridge Park (18:21) and at Warinanco Park (18:18). The 18:18 is the second fastest average by a NJ girls team on any course ever!!!
Leading the charge for UC are the Duke-bound Hollis, who is coming off her best race of the season (a 17:51 to win her second straight Union County title at Warinanco), freshmen Paige Sheppard and senior Courtney Kaiser. Sheppard ran 18:27 at the Shore Coaches meet at Holmdel, Hollis owns a Holmdel PR of 18:33, and Kaiser has run 18:37 at Holmdel.
Doing some quick math here - if UC's top three match their Holmdel PR's that are listed above, then their No. 4 and No. 5 runners would need to average 19:40 between the two of them to give UC an average of 18:59.4.
The talent and the fire to go sub 19 is certainly there for UC, and breaking the Holmdel Park course record would obviously strengthen its case to be called NJ's greatest girls team ever. But there are lots of variables, such as the pace and how hard they push themselves in a race they should control. Olivia Murray of Pingry, a Foot Locker national finalist last year, and Shaelan McNally of Paul VI will be right up there in the lead pack, which should help make the pace honest. Murray has run 18:50 at Holmdel and McNally has gone 18:56.
Emma Zawatski of Freehold Township (Group 4) and Liliah Gordon of Northern Burlington (Group 3) are the picks to win their second straight titles.
The University of Colorado-bound Zawatski, who won the Meet of Champions title last November, ran her Holmdel PR of 18:20 at the Monmouth County Championships last month. The next fastest runner in Group 4 at Holmdel is Julia Scrudato of Montgomery at 18:50. Zawatski defeated Scrudato by 37 seconds at the Central Jersey Championships.
Meanwhile, Gordon is the leader of the pack in Group 3.
Gordon, a junior, is the fastest runner in the state this season at Holmdel Park with the 18:18 she ran at the Shore Coaches Invitational. She will have to run fast to keep her crown because the Group 3 race has the most talent. Rosemary Shay of Middletown South has run 18:29 at Holmdel, SJ champ Maeve Smith has a Holmdel PR of 18:42, and Sofia Day of Mainland has a Holmdel best of 18:51.
Could Gordon make a sun at sub 18? She certainly has the talent and should be pushed for much of the race!
THREE-PEATSNo. 2 ranked Haddonfield (Group 2), Wilberforce (Non-Public B), and Union Catholic (Non-Public A) are all favored to for a third straight year, and Shore Regional also has a shot to pull off the 3-peat in Group 1.
Haddonfield, the SJ champion, is seeking its third straight title and its 11th overall, which would tie the Dawgs with Voorhees for the third most in state history. Red Bank Catholic (20) and Bernards (12) are No. 1 and No. 2 in state history.
In Group 4, Freehold Township, which won its first title last year, will clash with several ranked teams that will try to dethrone the champs. They are No. 6 Ridgewood, No. 8 Cherokee, No. 10 Westfield, No. 12 Cherry Hill East, No. 16 Montgomery, No. 17 Princeton, and No. 20 Hunterdon Central. As always, there should be several wild cards coming out of Group 4.
Looking got the best team race of the day?
Wilberforce, the 2-time defending champion vs. Villa Walsh in Non-Public B has the makings of a classic battle. In the virtual scoring, Wilberforce comes out on top by one point. But you knw the saying, races aren't run on paper.
There is a chance that Monmouth County could win three of the four public school championships. In addition to Freehold Township, No. 4 ranked Middletown South is favored in Group 3, and Shore Regional is one of the top contenders to win Group 1.
The last time a county captured three state titles in the girls competition was in 2009 when Morris County pulled it off when Randolph (Group 4), Mountain Lakes (Group 1) and Villa Walsh (Non-Public B) all won.
We already went through Freehold Township's biggest challengers in Group 4. In Group 3, Middletown South will clash with several ranked teams, including No. 7 North Hunterdon, and underdog Shore Regional will have to avenge its loss to favored Metuchen.