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Jersey Top 10 Cross Country Poll
1. Old Bridge
2. Cherokee
2. Haddonfield
2. CBA
5. Toms River North
6. Paul VI
7. Hunterdon Central
8. Don Bosco
9. Colts Neck
10.Middletown South
I thought this past weekend would aid in my search for
the best XC team in NJ, but instead made
my job all the more difficult since so many teams
showed potential to be the best in the state.
The Shore Coaches Invitational appears to be the meet
that will surely set the record straight.
As for now, this is the state how I see it.
Old Bridge remains number one since nothing drastic
happened to them over the weekend. There were
no embarassing losses and the team represented
themselves well at the Cherokee Challenge. Although
I would have expected more from a team that was #1 in
NJ at the Cherokee challenge, I am confident
that when the team runs at full strength they will be
more impressive.
As for #2 in the state...it is a three way tie. Each
team is essentially even. The breaking point
will be which team shows the first signs of a big
weakness.
Cherokee had a solid day at the Cherokee Challenge.
Pelerin showcased his superior form as he
recorded the fastest time of the day, running a 9:38
for the two mile race. Mueller and Krieger
also ran solid. This was also the first glimpse of
freshman runner Sean McLaughlin as he won the
freshman race in 10:42. But look for the Chiefs to
have a big day at the Shore Coaches Invite.
I heard that they recently ran a tempo run at Holmdel
and a large group of the younger runners showed
promise of being the much needed 5th man.
Haddonfield looked very good. Their top three were
incredible. Platt and Stiles both ran in the 9:40's
with Bonnette not far behind in the 9:50's. The
Bulldogs just look really strong and by season's end
could be the team to beat. It will be exciting to see the
Bulldogs at full strength at the Shore Coaches race...
I just wish they would have better competition to run
against instead of the weaker schools in there
divison.
CBA was rumored to have run faster at their annual
pre-season time trial at Holmdel than they did last
year and this past weekend put alot of truth into that
rumor. CBA easily swept the previous #7 Middletown
South squad this past weekend taking the first 6 overall
spots. This makes me wonder...is CBA that dominant or
is Middletown South weaker than previously thought?
Toms River North drops one spot since Haddonfield
moved up a few places. I did not receive any
information about their performance this past weekend
so no real big jumps for these guys.
Paul VI looked solid at the Abington Invitational (PA)
finishing 2nd overall behind a solid Coatsville
squad. Paul VI placed 3 runners in the top 10,
runnning 16:45, 16:51 and 17:01, an impressive spread
of 15 seconds.
Hunterdon Central had a strong showing at the
Briarwood Invitational finsihing second behind
Council Rock. Jon Fox (3rd overall) and Chris Pannone
(8th overall) looked good running 16:11 and 16:35
respectivly.
Don Bosco does not move that much on the poll since I
did not hear of any performances for them this past
weekend.
Colts Neck moves onto the list after some information
I got from some sources up in North Jersey. The team
has a large squad led by Jorge Ventura 1:55 800 and
4:24 miler and Israel Payan a 4:22 miler. Although
not one of your larger schools they have the make-up to be
able to defeat a good deal of them.
Middletown South...what can I say, ouch!. Never would
I have predicted that CBA would
have gone an impressive 1-6 on them in a dual meet,
but on the same note I am not surprised. Some people
criticised me for relying on tradition
for my rankings...well here is a prime example of what
tradition can do. Perhaps Middletown South took the
meet lightly, using it as workout since they might be
focusing their attention to the Shore Coaches Invite.
They are a top 10 team, let us hope they start to
compete like one.
**Eastern drops off the list after a pathetic dual
meet appearance against a non-power Cherry Hill East.
Eastern won the meet but with nothing that was impressive.
They still could be threat later on in the season but
for right now they have their work cut out for them.
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