Will Van Etten, one of the most talented young distance runners in the state, has joined Delbarton's strong pack, Delbarton XC coach Collin Frost has confirmed.
The addition of Van Etten, a rising freshman, gives the already deep Morris County squad additional firepower that could help the Green Wave emerge as one of the state's top teams this season.
Van Etten put together an amazing resume when he dominated the middle school and age-group competition on both the state and national levels.
As an 8th grader last fall at the NJ Middle School State Championships at Montgomery High, Van Etten made history by running 9:50.5 over 3K to smash the course record of 10:01.8 that was set in 2017 by Jackson Barna, who starred at Ridge High and is now competing at Georgetown. With the victory, Van Etten became the first boy to ever win back-to-back titles, and it was the 24th Youth State Championship between USATF/AAU/MS for Van Etten.
Van Etten, who owns a 4:26.67 PR for the mile, joins a Delbarton crew that returns a deep and talented pack, which includes seniors John Cuzzocrea Jr. (16:55 at Holmdel), Joe Sheaffer (17:18 at Holmdel), Sean Dooley (4:22 for 1,600), Zach Gordon (4:31 for the mile), Grant Parker, and Ryan Readlinger, juniors Lucas Nevistich and Dillon Byrne, and sophomore Todd Smith.
Last year, Delbarton finished seventh in the loaded State Non-Public A Championship race, but don't be surprised if this hungry and improving pack finishes much higher in Non-Public A this fall, and makes a run at possibly earning a spot on the starting line at the Meet of Champions.