For the first time this season there is a new leader of the pack in New Jersey as Christian Brothers Academy takes over the top spot after defeating previous No. 1 Haddonfield at the 37th Manhattan Invitational last Saturday.
CBA won the Eastern States title at the Manhattan meet over the 2.5-mile course at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx with an average of 13:01.9 and 120 points, 10 more than runner-up Fayetteville-Manlius of New York, which came into that race No. 2 in the nation. Haddonfield, which drops to No. 2, was third with 141.
Haddonfield and CBA are now 1-1 in their season series and will not meet again until the NJ Meet of Champions next month at Holmdel.
Milburn and West Windsor-Plainsboro North made big jumps up into the top 5 based on their strong performances at the Manhattan meet. Millburn, seventh in the Eastern States race, climbed five spots to No. 4, and West Windsor North vaulted six notches to No. 5 after winning the F Division race and recording the top average of the meet with a 12:58.3. Millburn defeated West Windsor North at the Shore Coaches meet two weeks ago.
Delsea at #23 and Wallkill Valley at #25 are making their debut in the rankings, while Red Bank Catholic re-enters at #24. Delsea won its race at the South Jersey Open last Saturday, and Wallkill Valley captured the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex title in a snowstorm on Thursday.
The best matchup this week will be on Wednesday when #11 Ridge clashes with defending champion and #12 Bridgewater-Raritan at the Somerset County Championships at Pleasant Valley Park in Bernards Township at 3 p.m.
Rank-Team (Previous rank)
1-Christian Brothers (2) 2-Haddonfield (1) 3-Toms River North (4) 4-Millburn (9) 5-West Windsor-Plainsboro North (11 ) 6-Don Bosco (3) 7-Westfield (5) 8-East Brunswick (6) 9-Southern Regional (7) 10-Old Bridge (8) 11-Ridge (10) 12-Bridgewater-Raritan (12) 13-Cherokee (13) 14-West Windsor-Plainsboro South (14) 15-Hopewell Valley (15) 16-Ridgewood (16) 17-Shawnee (17) 18-Randolph (18) 19-Mendham (19) 20-Ocean City (20) 21-Lenape (21) 22-Holmdel (23) 23-Delsea (NR) 24-Red Bank Catholic (NR) 25-Wallkill Valley (NR)
GIRLS
After three straight polls of seeing a different team try its hand at the No. 1 slot, top-ranked Hillsborough was idle and stayed on its perch.
Hillsborough’s first defense of its ranking will come on Wednesday at the Somerset County Championships, at Pleasant Valley Park in Bernards Township. The team’s biggest challenge will come from defending champion and ninth-ranked Ridge.
Inside the top five, Voorhees and Hunterdon Central flip-flopped after Voorhees won the inaugural Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Championships on Thursday by a decisive 43-66 margin over Hunterdon Central.
Despite the loss of All-America Lanie Thompson, Voorhees has assured the rest of the state that coach Justina Cassavell and her charges will be in the hunt for the NJSIAA Meet of Champions title Nov. 21 at Holmdel Park. Voorhees won the last two titles with Thompson in the fold.
Pope John, which had won the last six Sussex County Interscholastic League titles, moved up three slots in the poll after placing third in the H-W-S meet. As far as bragging rights go, Pope John remains the top team among the former SCIL programs.
North Hunterdon moved up two slots after placing fourth in the H-W-S meet, 26 points behind Pope John.
Red Bank Catholic moved up one spot thanks to a team title earned in the Varsity B race at the Manhattan Invitational. RBC averaged 16:02.8 and had a spread of 1:38.
Bishop Eustace has officially thrown its hat in the ring of contenders for the Non-Public A state title. The Pennsauken school won its second team title in as many meets and beat powerhouse Haddonfield in the process in the Division 1 race at the South Jersey Open. Two weeks ago Bishop Eustace came away with the Varsity E race title at the Shore Coaches Invitational.
Also from the South Jersey Open, Delsea won the Division 2 race and Williamstown knocked off Seneca in the Division 3 race.
