Colts’ boys, Bulldogs’ girls win at the Manhattan Invitational

By TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

While Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) was at it again, Rumson- Fair Haven Regional High School’s girls cross-country team prepared for its Monmouth County showdown with Red Bank Catholic (RBC) High School by winning the Varsity C race at the Manhattan Invitational.

CBA, the top-ranked team in the nation, tore up the venerable Van Cortlandt Park 2.5-mile team average course record by averaging 12:44.4 per runner in capturing the Eastern States title on Oct. 12.

Mike McClemens (12:33.8) and Blaise Ferro (12:35.3) led the assault, as they finished seventh and ninth. Tom Rooney was 11th (12:37.3), Fran Bogan finished 19th (12:45.5) and Josh Kruppa placed 44th (13:09.8) to account for CBA’s 90 points. Another national power, New York’s Fayetteville-Manlius High School (114), was beaten by the Colts by 24 points.

Middletown High School North’s Tom O’Neill was sixth in the race (12:27.8). His time is the third fastest ever by a Shore Conference harrier at Van Cortlandt, behind only Colts Neck High School’s Craig Forys (12:10.7) and Manalapan High School’s Tom Fischer (12:26.1). All three have one thing in common — they were cross-country Meet of Champions winners.

O’Neill, McClemens, Ferro and Rooney turned in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth fastest times by New Jersey runners at the meet.

O’Neill’s teammate, Justin Lippert, dipped under the milestone sub-13:00 with his 12:58, good for 30th.

It was another impressive win for CBA, which did nothing to harm its top ranking.

The Colts easily won the competition at Van Cortlandt among New Jersey teams with 31 points. Middletown North was fourth (191).

Rumson-Fair Haven girls dominate

The Bulldogs’ girls hope that their Manhattan win is as good an omen. Two years ago, the Manhattan win was their coming out party, and it turned into a springboard to winning the Monmouth County title and, ultimately, the Meet of Champions crown.

Megan Hellman led the Bulldogs in third pace (15:29.3). Jacqueline Gottuso (15:43.3) and Rachel Lehnert (15:52.6) were sixth and ninth for Rumson-Fair Haven.

Completing the scoring were Fini Satzke (16:27.1) and Charlotte Miller (16:46) in 23rd and 33rd.

Rumson-Fair Haven easily finished ahead of Padua Academy (Wilmington, Del.), 74-113.

Hellman’s time was the eighth fastest by a New Jersey runner on the day, while Gottuso’s was 13th and Lehnert’s was 17th.

A showdown with RBC at the Oct. 15 Monmouth County Championship at Holmdel Park was next on Rumson-Fair Haven’s schedule, set for after press time. RBC and Rumson-Fair Haven are the topranked teams in the state, and it was their first real head-to-head race of the season. There will be more to come.

At the Manhattan Invitational, Red Bank Regional High School’s Lauren Sapone ran the 10th fastest time of the day among Garden State harriers, with her 15:39.9 in the A Race. She finished seventh in what was a very fast race, while the Buccaneers’ girls were fourth (190) as a team.

In that A race, Middletown North’s Madelin Marrone (15:40.3) and Alexandra Juzwiak (15:40.6) were eighth and ninth. Among state runners, they were 11th and 12th overall.

Holmdel High School’s Marin Warner raced the fastest time among Shore area runners (15:23.5), which was good for 28th in the Eastern States race. In merged results, she was seventh fastest in the state.

Howell High School freshman Niamh Hayes made quite a Van Cortlandt debut, running the 16th fastest time among state harriers (15:49.9). She finished 15th in the E race.

In the merged team results, Rumson-Fair Haven was first among New Jersey teams at the meet, with 98 points. Red Bank Regional was sixth (182) and Middletown North was10th (273).