Union County crowned five champions at the NJSIAA Sectional Cross-Country Championships this past Saturday.
At the North Jersey, Sec. 2 Group 4 meet at Oak Ridge Park in Clark, Westfield pulled off a stunning sweep in the Group 4 race, the Summit boys captured the Group 3 title, and Micah Lawson became the first boys ever from Rahway to win a sectional XC title when he crossed first in the Group 3 race in 15:20, the seventh fastest time in course history.
Villanova-bound Colin Riley of Dayton won his second straight sectional title when he ran 16:17 to the Group 1 race at the Central Jersey, Championships at Thompson Park in Jamesburg. Led by Riley, defending champion Dayton finished second.
At Oak Ridge Park, the Westfield boys, disappointed with how it raced when the Blue Devils were second at the Union County Championships on Oct. 20, used that as motivation and rebounded with its best race of the season and the fastest team race in course history!!
Westfield, ranked No. 5 in the state, got the Blue Devil broom party started by blowing up the 3.1-mile layout with a course record average of 15:46 on the way to a convincing 40-66 victory over No. 4 ranked Ridge, who won the last three titles. Westfield, which broke the course record average of 15:49 set by Union Catholic at the Union County Conference Championships last year, jammed five runners in the top 15 and had a 51-second compression as the Blue Devils raised their NJ Sec. 2 record total to 22 titles!! The Westfield boys have also captured three championships in Central Jersey for a combined total of 25.
Junior Avery Keith led the charge for Westfield as he continued his torrid rookie season on the trails with a runner-up finish in 15:13, the fourth fastest time in course history! Keith, now the third fastest runner ever at Oak Ridge, finished a step behind Akshay Vadul of Edison, who won in 15:12.
Sophomore Ryan Daly was sixth for Westfield in 15:43, junior Tage Mehta finished seventh in 15:48, senior Jonathan Scalia was 10th in 16:00, and junior Graham Korins placed 15th in 16:04.
About an hour after the Westfield boys sizzling victory, the unranked Westfield girls completed the Blue Devil sweep with a heart-pounding 65-66 victory over No. 14 ranked Hunterdon Central. It’s the first title for Westfield since 2004 and its the seventh sectional title overall.
This marks the fifth time that Westfield has swept the Group 4 sectional crowns. The Blue Devils also swept the titles in 1991, 1994, 1996, and 2004.
One of the biggest keys to victory for Westfield, which averaged 19:58, was the frontal attack of senior Sonia Olson and junior Lina Wright. Olson, second in 18:53, and Wright, seventh in 19:44, both finished ahead of Hunterdon Central’s No. 1 runner. The rest of Westfield’s pack consisted of senior Bella Hill, 13th in 19:59, senior Stacey Salz, 21st in 20:37, and senior Catherine Collins, 22nd in 20:38.
Meanwhile, in the boys Group 3 race, Summit, ranked No. 7 in the state, ran their best race of the season and won the most dramatic race of the day as the Hillgoppers defeated No. 10 North Hunterdon, the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex County Champs, on a tiebreaker after both teams finished with 56 points. No. 8 Chatham, the Morris County champion, was third with 62. Summit averaged 16:16 and finished 5-7-12-14-23. Summit senior Sam Ard broke the tie by finishing 23rd, seven spots ahead of Chatham’s No. 6 man. It’s the first title for Summit since 2014 and its fifth overall.
