EDITOR’S NOTE: The Red Raider boys won the Cape-Atlantic League Cross Country Championship Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Egg Harbor Township, but times were not available due to timing errors at the meet.
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — The Ocean City High School boys team rested a few of its top runners, but that didn’t make a difference in the team standings at the Cape May County Cross Country Championships on Oct. 13.
Middle Township senior Jamar Mack, who has battled Ocean City cross country and spring track runners throughout his career, won the race in a time of 16 minutes, 53.99 seconds.
The next five runners across the finish at the Cape May County Park course were all Red Raiders, led by junior Hayden Tarves, second in 17:48.30. Following him were junior Ryan Jefferson, third, 17:50.91; senior Jeffrey Taccarino, fourth, 18:00.76; senior Eric Buck, fifth, 18:01.98; and sophomore Aidan Sokorai, sixth, 18:14.79.
Head coach Matt Purdue rested senior Keenan Neumann, who won the Manhattan University Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 10 in the Bronx; along with teammates senior Nathan Aschmann, junior Nevin Millstein, junior Benjamin McCarthy and senior Michael Romano. Those five teamed up to take the Varsity C title in the Manhattan race. The week before, the group won their division at the Shore Coaches Invitational.
Hayden and Tarves were the other varsity runners who raced in the Bronx.
Other runners for the Red Raiders in the varsity and JV races and their times include freshman Sam Strabuk, 18:37.85; junior Nolan Palombo, 18:38.06; sophomore Peyton Spaulding, 18:40.90; junior Todd Smith, 18:58.77; freshman Gunner Juelg, 20:12.95; senior Josh Tornblom, 20:13.65; freshman Logan Hayden, 20:26.30; freshman Colin Thompson, 20:44.23; sophomore Jaden O’Donnell, 20:48.34; freshman Connor Lowry, 22:42.46; and junior Elihjah Grealis, 27:44.34.
Overall, Ocean City won with 20 points, Middle was second with 42, Wildwood Catholic third with 92 and Cape May County Tech fourth with 100. Wildwood High School and Lower Cape May Regional High School entered runners but not full teams.
Purdue talked about the strategy for the race.
“We rested Ryan (Jefferson) a couple races, we rested Hayden (Tarves) last week,” Purdue said. “So they ran today, and then a couple of other guys we’re kind of cycling through, just trying to keep everybody fresh and healthy, and build in some extra workout time and training time just so they’re not coming back-to-back, race after race.”
“We have some veterans that are seniors that don’t always get a chance to run varsity because of just having three seniors in front of them in the lineup. And then we have a couple younger guys that had an opportunity to run and a chance to be in a championship meet, building some racing experience for the future,” he said.
Purdue and his team expected a quick pace because they knew Mack “was going to run a really fast race. We kind of said he may blaze a course record today.”
The Red Raider boys have won the meet and haven’t lost a county championship since Middle Township won in 2014.
The Cape-Atlantic League meet was Tuesday, after the Sentinel sports section went to press, and after that are the South Jersey sectionals, the state meet and then the Meet of Champions. The boys have won three straight South Jersey Group III sectionals and were second in the state last year.
Mack wins county
meet, aims higher
“I knew from the jump that they weren’t going to run their top five fastest guys, so I used that to my advantage, took it as like a speed workout,” Mack said.
Finally winning the title, he said, “feels pretty great. I’ve been fighting for this position all throughout cross country and throughout the seasons, and it feels amazing, genuinely.”
Through the meets this season, Mack said he hasn’t come in lower than third place in any race. At the Shore Coaches Invitational, he came in second in the Varsity E race with a time of 16:54.85. He won the Division 2 5,000-meter race at the South Jersey Track Coaches Association Open on Oct. 10 with a time of 16:17.80. There were 113 runners in the field.
Mack believes he is well poised for the upcoming state tournament. Middle Township is in Group II.
“Haven’t talked about it much with my parents or my coaches, but I genuinely could win sectionals and even states,” he said. “I really just have to push myself and work for it.”
To accomplish that, Mack said for practice he would be hitting the weight room as much as he can and increasing his speed mileage and doing some speed workouts, but “nothing too much to stress myself out.”
MRHS 2nd at Atlantic County Championship
Egg Harbor Township High School junior Timothy Rooney won the Atlantic County Cross Country Championship on Oct. 16 with a time of 15:13.21. The Eagles’ top five scorers all finished in the top seven to give EHT the win with 20 points.
Mainland Regional High School junior Jack Preissman was third in 15:20.72, the fastest for the Mustangs, who were second as a team with 76 points in a field with 10 teams.
Other Mustang finishers were junior William Gerhardt (16:14.35), 13th; freshman Jameson Foreman (16:15.73), 15th; sophomore Chase Kern (16:45.97), 21st; and junior Maxwell You (17:53.47), 30th. Rounding out the Mainland squad were junior Max Brough (18:00.12), 32nd; and sophomore David Gregory (18:13.55), 33rd.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
