What Happened @ The Races - The Week in Review

The Week in Review

Sectionals Edition

 

After a weeks delay in the schedule and seemingly a lifetime of waiting for the NJ High School running community, the 2012 XC season jump started itself on Saturday with the NJSIAA Sectional Championship meet as well as the Robert Keissling Memorial SJ Non-Public Championships. Because of the devastation which rendered the courses unusable at Thompson Park (Jamesburg) and Garret Mtn. Reservation (Woodland Pk.), the meets were re-set as a pair of 2 session events at Delsea Reg HS (3 counting the Keissling races) and the Greystone XC Course at the Central Park of Morris County in Morris Plains.

The following is a recap to Saturday's action, a guide to results, photos, & videos. Lots of great running at both locations as Jerser Harriers continue on the Road to the MOC.

 

I do not usually editorialize in this space, but some comments need to be made here.

* The NJSIAA did a tremendous job dealing with the aftermath of Sandy. Don Danser and his group of Meet Directors deserve high praise for nailing down new sites quickly and communicating almost hour by hour the situation.

* On Saturday, the individual venues handled the logistics of a "Double Header" extremely well. Bus and fan parking, toilet facilities, etc. were handled without incident. I can speak personally for Delsea Reg. HS and have not heard any negatives from Greystone.

* While Morris County has probably known it all along, the state has found a quality XC layout at  the Greystone XC Course. A challenging, legit venue for Cross. We'll be seeing more events there in the future I hope.

* Lastly, but certainly not least of all. I found it absolutely incredible the way the kids handled what was thrown at them the last 2 weeks with such resiliancy. Every athlete or coach or parent that I spoke to related a  story hardship or loss due the storms. Everyone of them also related how happy they were to be at the meet and experience some bit of normalcy return to their lives, if only for that day.

I congratulate the entire New Jersy HS running community for a job well done!

 

And now, let's see What Happened at the Races...

 

 

 

 

 

 

NJSIAA Sectional Championships - Central

On-Site Coverage

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

 

NJSIAA Sectional Championships - North I

On-Site Coverage

Meet Results

 

Special Report on the North I Championships

 

 

Girls Highlights

*GROUP 4

Sophomore Catherine Pagano, who has plenty of  experience racing at Greystone from her youth club running days, rolled to victory in 18:38 to lead Ridgewood to a 44-57 win over Morris Knolls.
Ridgewood, which averaged 19:53 and has six underclassmen in its top seven, put six runners in the top 18 and beat Morris Knolls at each scoring spot. Ridgewood received a huge race from freshman Leah Rosenfeld, 13th in 20:19. Rosenfeld was the No. 5 runner for Ridgewood, marking her first time scoring for the team.

Team qualifiers-Ridgewood. Morris Knolls. Randolph. Kearny. Clifton.


*GROUP 3
Junior Josette Norris of Tenafly came up with the biggest win of her career and Mount Olive, led by the Christian sisters, ran its best race of the season to win a thriller over Passaic County champion Wayne Hills to capture its first title sinc 2004.
Norris, who was second to Ariana North of Northern Highlands by 21 seconds at the Bergen County Meet of Champions, reversed that outcome when she put in a big surge with about a mile to go and pulled away from North, who won the last two titles. Norris crossed with a PR of 18;13, which is the #6 AT mark at Greystone, as she beat North for the first time. North was second in 18:30.
In the team competition, Mount Olive received four personal bests and edged Wayne Hills, 64-67. Freshman Alexandra Christian led the way by finishing fourth in 18:42, and her sister, junior Mariah Christian, was 18th in 20:18. That makes 13 sectional titles, 11 in North Jersey, Section 2 and two in North Jersey, Section 1 for the Marauders.

Team qualifiers-Mount Olive. Wayne Hills. Indian Hills. Northern Highlands. Roxbury

 

*GROUP 2
Senior Sarah Disanza of High Point, who ran a course record 17:48 at Greystone a few weeks ago at the NJAC meet, went wire-to- wire to win by 52 seconds in 18:38, and Ramsey wins the team title, 75-89 over Morris Hills, for its 10th sectional title and first since 2009.
Ramsey trailed 12-24 to Morris Hills early, but it rallied as its No. 6 runner beat the No. 4 runner from Morris Hills to clinch the championship.

Team qualifiers-Ramsey. Morris Hills. High Point. Kittatinny. Lenape Valley.
 
 

*GROUP 1
Senior Colette Richter of Mountain Lakes cranked out a PR of 18:05, which is the All time #4 on this course, to win for the second straight year and keep the Mountain Lakes streak alive at six straight individual titles, and North Warren ran an incredible tight pack race to dethrone Mountain Lakes, 47-69, for its first title since 2008. Mountain Lakes had won the last 3 titles.
Prior to Richter’s two titles, Kristen Landry won four straight individual titles for Mountain Lakes.
North Warren had a gap of just 31 seconds between its first and fifth runners and had six across before the fourth from Mountain Lakes finished.
 

Team qualifiers-North Warren. Mountain Lakes. Bogota. Kinnelon. Sussex Tech.

 

 

Boys Highlights

*GROUP 4
Senior Nick Salamone gradually pulled away for the win in 16:29 to lead Ridgewood to a third straight title and ninth in the past 11 years as the Bergen County power extended its sectional record to 19 titles, all under coach Mike Glynn and all since 1990. The Maroons puts all 7 guys in the top 19 and averaged 16:51 as it outscored Clifton, 44-81.

Team qualifiers-Ridgewood. Clifton. Hackensack. Randolph.  Livingston.


*GROUP 3
Brendan Ungemach of Wayne Hills scored the biggest win of his career and nearly led his pack to the team title, which was captured by Indian Hills, 76-86 over Wayne Hulls.
Ben Malone of Pascack Valley took the line as the defending champion, but the Villanova-bound Malone, racing or the first time in a month due to a hamstring injury and illness, simply wasn’t ready to handle the aggressive front running by Ungemach, who hammered the second loop to open a 25 meter gap on Malone at the halfway mark.
Ungemach, a junior who won the Passaic County title, kept hammering the rest of the way and pulled away for the win by 27 seconds in 15:59, the top time of the day in both sectional meets and No. 9 in course history. Malone wound up 4th in 16:30.
Indian Hills, which ran a great pack race with a compression of a 1-5 split of 37 seconds and a 17:08.4 average, trailed Wayne Hills, 42-53, after each team had four runners across. But the No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 runners for Indian Hills beat the No. 5 man for Wayne Hills to clinch its 2nd title in 3 years and its sixth overall.

Team qualifiers-Indian Hills. Wayne Hills. Wayne Valley. Old Tappan. Paramus.



*GROUP 2
Walkill Valley threw down the top boys team performance in the entire state in terms of score when it went 1-2-4-6-7 to finish first with 20 points and ab averaged of 16:26.6, just off the course record average of 16:24 set earlier this season by Pope John at the NJAC meet.
Sophomore star Craig Corti broke away just before the start of second mile to lead the charge for Wallkill by finishing first in 16:06. Wallkill Valley had a 43 second gap between Corti and No. 5 man Ed Freisinger, who ran his best race of the season with a PR of a 16:49.
One of the most impressive performances in this race was turned in by senior Alec Manson of Morris Hills.
Manson suffered a broken leg with a mile to go in the race, but courageously finished 25th in 17:36 to help his team place second with 63 points.

Team qualifiers-Wallkill Valley. Morris Hills. Ramsey. Newton. Lenape Valley.
 

*GROUP 1
Mountain Lakes was out to prove that there is life after Stephen Lewandowski, the multiple all-stater who graduated last spring.
The Lakers succeeded as sophomore Ben DeVenezia finished first with a PR of 16:11 and Mountain Lakes averaged 17:15 on the way to a 49-83 over Morris County rival Kinnelon.  The title is the 3rd straight N1 win for Mtn. Lakes

Team qualifiers-Mountain Lakes. Kinnelon. Bogota. North Warren. Park Ridge-Emerson.
 

 

NJSIAA Sectional Championships - North II

On-Site Coverage

Girls Highlights

*GROUP 4
North Hunterdon returned to glory with a convincing victory and senior Marisa Ruskan of Bridgewater-Raritan won her second straight title in 18:14, No. 7 in course history.
North Hunterdon, led by sophomore Eve Glasergreen’s runner-up finish in 18:27, No. 13 in course history, averaged 19:28, packed five runners in the top 12, and had five runners cross the line before any othe team had three across on the way to a 37-75 win over Hunterdon Central.
It’s the first sectional title for North Hunterdon since winning the Cenrtal Jersey championships in 2001, and it’s the 16th overall title for the Lions.

Team qualifiers-North Hunterdon. Hunterdon Central. Ridge. Westfield. Bridgewater-Raritan.

 

*GROUP 3
Junior Mackenzie Barry of Mendham blasted the top time of the day at Greystone with a 17:58, one second of her PR as she captured her third straight title and led Mendham to a 33-47 over defending champion Morristown.  Mendham went 1-2-4-8-18 and averaged 19:00. Mendham Abby Seel finished second in 18:19 is No. 9 in course history.

Team qualifiers-Mendham. Morristown. West Morris. Millburn. Cranford.

 

*GROUP 2
Voorhees showed once again why it seems headed for a Meet of Champions title by dropping a course record 18;55.2 and scoring just 20 points as the Vikings went 1-2-3-6-8-10-12 to win its seven straight sectional title with one of the most impressive performances in sectional history. The former course record of 18:57.0 was set by Mendham last month at the Morris County Championships.
Senior Nisa Cicitta led the attack by winning in 18:23, No. 10 in course history, as Voorhees increased his sectional title total to 13, nine in North Jersey, Section 2 and four in Central Jersey.

Team qualifiers-Voorhees. Bernards. Summit. Gov. Livingston. Rutherford.


*GROUP 1
McNair completed the triple crown for the first time in school history by winning its first title since 2008 and its fourth overall, 62-95 over Verona.
McNair, which has now won the Jersey City, Hudson County, and sectional titles this season, was led by sophomore Brittany Gibson, who won by 63 seconds in 19:16.

Team qualifiers-McNair. Verona. Palisades Park. Secaucus. Belvidere.
 

 

Boys Highlights

*GROUP 4
Junior Matt Luppino of Westfield, the Union County champion, won in 16:08, No. 13 in course history, and the Blue Devils got a huge race from senior Kevin Smith and  kept its pack tighter at the back to defeat North Hunterdon, 40-57. It's the 3rd straight title and extended Westfield’s sectional record 19 titles.
Westfield, which averaged a swift 16:29.2 and had a compression of 37 seconds, trailed North Hunterdon after each team had 3 runners across, but Westfield's 5th runner, senior Dan Luzzi, finished eight spots ahead of North Hunterdon's No. 4 man to seal the deal. 
Smith, who finished 4th in 16:23 had an IT band injury that slowed him up earlier this season, but he's coming on strong at the right time for the Blue Devils as he cranked out his best race of the season.

Team qualifiers-Westfield. North Hunterdon. Hunterdon Central. Ridge. J.P. Stevens.
 

*GROUP 3
Junior Rob Stone kept the streak alive for Millburn by becoming the sixth  straight individual champ from is school to win this race, and Morristown edged Millburn, 56-61 for its first title in 10 years. Mendham, which ran without junior star Justin Naselli, was third with 88. Naselli sat out with a sore knee.
Stone, who won in 16:14, joins Peter Murphy in 2007, Tyler Udland in 2008 and 2009, and Blake Udland, 2010 and 2011, as Millburn champs.
In the team race, Morristown and Millburn were tied after 4 runners, but Morristown's 5th man, Alex Cary, finished ahead of Millburn's 4th to seal the deal. Morristown averaged 16:51 and had a 1-5 split of 42 seconds.
It is the first title for Morristown since 2002 and its 16th overall. 

Team qualifiers-Morristown. Millburn. Mendham. Cranford. Chatham.

*GROUP 2
Sophomore Leland Jones of Summit finished first in 16:16, and Bernards edged Summit for the team title, 50-53, for its first since 2005 and its 31st sectional title overall, No. 2 all-time behind the 32 won by Haddonfield.
With normal No. 1 runner Cooper Rudin not feeling 100 percent, Bernards got huge races from juniors Chris Sisto, second in 16:36, and Will Meyers, fourth with a PR of  17:00.
Bernards, which averaged 17:11.4, has now won four North Jersey, Section 2 titles to go along with 27 Central Jersey Championships.

Team qualifiers-Bernards. Summit. Voorhees. Madison. Gov. Livingston.


*GROUP 1
Junior Jorge Maldonado of Palisades Park, third last year, ran 16;45 to finish first and McNair repeated by beating Secaucus, 48-58.
McNair, which went 3-5-7-14-19 and averaged 17:59,  Senior Omar Lopez led the way for McNair by placing third in 17:22.

Team qualifiers-McNair. Secaucus. Lyndhurst. Verona. Palisades Park.

 

NJSIAA Sectional Championships - South

On-Site Coverage

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights