NJ Sectional Meets!

New Jersey races really late into the season. This weekend was the sectional qualifying race called Groups. There are 4 Sectional races along with two races for Prep-Schools. Then they will all come together in two weekends for the NJ Meet of Champions. I’ll keep you guys updated from week to week on how this is going and who to look out for. The top teams/runners will be bolded.

New Jersey South Sectionals:

Haddonfield boys’ team out of Group 2 packs it in tight putting 6 in the top 10! They had a team average of 16:18, which would prove to be the fastest of the day out of all 4 groups. They’re lead by 3 strong seniors who ran 16:09 – 16:17 to place 2-4 in the race. They’re ranked 3^rd in the state of NJ.

Group 3 had the biggest individual battle between two of the state’s best in Kyle Kroon and Louis Corgliano of Hammonton. Kroon pulled away in the final meters for a 3 second victory running 15:22. The two runners were by far the fastest of the day at the South Sectionals. Kroon will be joining the Martin twins at Michigan University next fall. 

The Cherry Hill East boys also looked out of Group 4 scoring just 47 points on a team average of 16:22. It’s their first sectional title since 1985! They’ll be another team to watch next weekend. Currently ranked #4 in NJ.

In Group 1, Haddon Township went 1-3 to win the meet with a total of just 31 points. Each of the top 3 is from a different class and they should be ready to roll next weekend. They had a team average of 16:42.

New Jersey North Sectionals I:

Group 1: Wallkill Valley easily took home the team title putting 3 in the top 4 having a team average of 17:15. They’ll need to step it up next week however if they want to compete for that MoC’s spot.

Out of Group 3, Indian Hills looked fantastic putting 3 in the top 10 and running with a team average of 16:52, which was the best of the day by far.

Ridgewood looked dominant per usual out of Group 4, putting 5 in the top 12 for a total of 40 points and a 17:00 average (second best of the day).

In Group 2, we got the fastest time of the day from Chris Luciano of Mt. Lakes HS in a 16:02 effort that was 25 seconds ahead of the next competitor. He led his team to a narrow victory over Ramsey, 57 to 66, but they had a team average of 17:09 to Ramsey’s 17:28!

NJCTC Championships: (Catholic League)

CBA wins the title easily running their JV squad to score 30 points with 5 in the top 10. 

New Jersey Central Sectionals:

Group 1: New Providence claims narrow victory of 44 to 51 over Metuchen. NP put 4 in the top 10, which was enough to overtake Metuchen’s fiery top 3 that were all in the top 5.

Group 2: Holmdel rolled on the competition putting 4 in the top 8, but their 5^th man was 25^th (Something to watch for in the future). They had a team average of 16:42 and Daniel Barlev claimed the individual title for Holmdel as well, winning by 13 seconds, clocking 16:14. Homdel is ranked 10^th in NJ.

Group 3: Stud Tom O’Neill, returning MoC champion, cruised to a 15:31 win that put him way ahead of the competition. His teammates ran very well behind him putting all 5 in the top 20 scoring just 40 points through a team average of 16:25.

Group 4: Dylan Tarpey of Freehold Township would not be out done running 15:31 as well for a victory of his own. Tarpey just committed to Columbia and has run sub 15 for 5k earlier this season. He’s another top NJ guy to watch out for. West Winsor Plainsboro South (WWPS) brought in 3 runners right behind Tarpey to score 42 points enroute to the victory. They also had the best team average of the day, 16:10. 

New Jersey North Sectionals II:

Group 1: Lyndhurst’s top 3 was better than McNair’s and that proved to be just enough as they edged them out 37 to 44.

Group 2: Summit and Bernards went at it in the Group 2 race, but Summits 1-2 finish and depth were enough to beat out Bernards 4 in the top 10 (5^th man was 26^th). They had team averages of 17:03 and 17:11. Leland Jones lead summit with a 27 second victory over teammate Mitchell Booth in a 16:20 clocking.

Group 3: The tightest battle of the day in NJ came from two solid teams in Chatham and Morristown. Chatham pulled out the victory by just 1 point, 65 to 66! Morristown’s Sean Lyon’s won in 16:18. The two teams had averages of 16:59 and 17:02.

Group 4: Robert Stone continues Millburn’s running excellence with the top time of the day in 15:55 for a big victory. He was followed by 3 teammates in the top 8 which was enough to hold off Westfield’s pack by just 2 points! Both squads had the top two averages of the day in 16:44 and 16:48 respectively. They’ll be looking to mix it up out front at the MoC’s. Westfield is currently NJ #8 and Millburn was recently kicked off the list, but they were as high as #4 this season and seem to be making a strong comeback. 

--ForrestCRN