The Rumson girls, led by individual champion Logan Rettino, won a clash of Monmouth County powerhouses, and the Rahway boys and Tyler Weissman of Gov. Livingston opened lots of eyes with dominating victories at the 30th St. Dominic Invitational on Saturday at Lincoln Park in Jersey City.
In the girls race, Rumson, ranked No. 19 in the state, and No. 16 Trinity Hall waged a great battle with both teams jamming its five scorers in the top 10!!! Rumson, which averaged 19:59, went 1-2-5-7-10 for 25 points to edge Trinity Hall, which had a scoring combination 3-4-6-8-9 for 30 points and averaged 20:46..
Rettino, a senior, ignited Rumson's attack with a huge PR of 18:15 to finish first. Her previous lifetime best came when Rettino ran 19:13 as a freshman at the 2021 Shore Conference Championships at Ocean County Park. Rumson's four other scorers were sophomore Kaitlyn Hathaway, second in 18:34, junior Reese Reynolds Malone, fifth in 20:24, senior Hannah Nitka, seventh in 20:56, and senior Cassedy Stypul, 10th in 21:48.
On the boys side, Rahway used a strong frontal attack and several PR's to defeat Highland Regional, 51-58, and Weissman dropped a massive PR to win the race!
Weissman, a junior, stopped the clock at 16:31, a whopping 1:44 faster than his previous PR!!! Weissman's previous best time was 18:15, which he ran as a freshman at the 2022 Union County Conference Championships at Oak Ridge Park.
In the team battle, Rahway received PR's from 5 of its 6 runners, put together a scoring combination of 2-3-4-19-23, and averaged 17:22. Highland Regional countered with a 6-10-12-14-16 and average 17:34.
Rahway's top 5 five were senior Jorge Fernandez, 2nd with a PR of 16:34, senior Judah Garcia Phillips, third with a PR of 16:41,senior Nigel Castlewood, fourth with a PR 16:45, junior John Essel, 19th in 18:20, and senior Romeo Yon, 23rd with a PR of 18:29.
Rahway coach Leon Bunion knew his guys were fit and ready to rip.
"These guys had a solid summer,'' said Bunion. "They are learning that commitment and confidence can take you a long way in this sport. I'm excited about what they can accomplish this season.''