Cross country: Ridge girls win Meet of Champions

HOLMDEL - They didn’t win Somerset County. They didn’t win the Skyland Conference. But in the biggest meet of the year, the Ridge High School girls displayed the most valuable trait in the sport of cross country.

They know how to finish.

The Red Devils put it all together at the right time, capturing the perennially strong program’s first NJSIAA Meet of Champions title Saturday at Holmdel Park. And they did it in typical fashion -- slow start, followed by a furious surge.

“The second half of the race they just kicked the crap out of that course,” longtime coach Tim Mooney said. “They didn’t panic. I was probably panicking a lot more than them.”

Senior Sophie Spring paced the Red Devils with a 25th-place finish in 19:22. She was followed by junior Claire Jones (30th, 19:30), junior Shayna Bains (35th, 19:35), junior Lexi Donaldson (46th, 19:48) and junior Catherine Giuseffi (56th, 19:55).

“We didn’t get out well as a pack,” Spring said. “We were way farther back from where we needed to be and not together, and we had to work really hard on those trails to get together.”

They did. The compact 33-second spread among their top five finishers is the stuff of which champions are made. Ridge finished with 72 points and a 19:38 average. Hillsborough, the Somerset County champion, took second with 103. Skyland Conference victor North Hunterdon took eighth with 213.

“I couldn’t be more proud of everyone,” Spring said. “Our team did an amazing job.”

This was a long time coming for Ridge, which has been an elite program for many years. The Red Devils placed second at the 2008 Meet of Champions by one point to Skyland Conference rival Voorhees.

The league is just as loaded now as it was then, which is why Ridge had to wait until November to start collecting hardware. Last weekend’s triumph in Group IV was a breakthrough and a confidence-booster.

“After last week, we knew we had the power within ourselves to do it if we all worked together and stayed focused throughout the race,” Jones said.

It’s a long race, and a long season. Ridge conquered both.

“I’ve been trying to ingrain it in their heads that we’re good enough to do this. It took time,” Mooney said. “They grew up during the year emotionally, saying thing like, ‘I want to win something of significance.’ And that’s what they did.”

Individually, Delaware Valley senior Hannah Bonaguidi was the top local finisher, crossing the line fifth in 18:28. Mainland’s Alyssa Aldridge won in 18:07.

In the boys’ race, Voorhees capped a superb season by placing fifth. The Group II champions tallied 160 points and posted a 16:37 average.

Sophomore Chris Romero was the top local finisher, placing eighth in 15:57. Senior Robert Whitney (27th, 16:22), senior Brendan McGill (40th, 16:34), junior Evan Minor (84th, 16:59) and senior Matt Vira (106th, 17:13) rounded out the Vikings’ scoring.

BOYS RESULTS

Team scores: 1. Christian Brothers 87; 2. Don Bosco 92; 3. Old Bridge 106; 4. Haddonfield 145; 5. Voorhees 160; 6. Indian Hills 208; 7. Cherokee 214; 8. Cherry Hill East 220; 9. Colts Neck 237; 10. Princeton 261; 11. Westfield 282; 12. River Dell 291; 13. Middletown North 294; 14. Haddon Township 355; 15. St. Joseph-Metuchen 373; 16. Wallkill Valley 415; 17. Metuchen 459; 18. Newark Academy 503; 19. Montclair Kimberley 541; 20. Gill St. Bernard’s 563.

Top individuals: 1. Joshua Clark (Highland) 15:33; 2. Blaise Ferro (Christian Brothers) 15:36; 3. Aaron Groff (Cherry Hill East) 15:39; 4. Matt Grossman (Millburn) 15:44; 5. Joe Dragon (High Point) 15:46; 6. Jack Shea (Cherokee) 15:48; 7. Will Daly (River Dell) 15:48; 8. Chris Romero (Voorhees) 15:57; 9. Tim Bason (West Windsor-Plainsboro South) 15:58; 10. J.P. Flavin (Toms River North) 16:00; 11. Evan Quinn (Morristown) 16:05; 12. Brandon Tubby (Hillsborough) 16:06; 13. Jordan Brannan (Colts Neck) 16:08; 14. Ajay Sarathy (Montgomery) 16:08; 15. David Rosas (Don Bosco) 16:08; 16. Jordan Price (New Providence) 16:08; 17. Rey Rivera (Old Bridge) 16:13; 18. Ryan Rafferty (Jackson Memorial) 16:14; 19. Connor Nicholson (Don Bosco) 16:15; 20. Patrick Sullivan (Don Bosco) 16:16; 21. Alexander Roth (Princeton) 16:17; 22. Owen Long (Haddon Township) 16:17; 23. Justin Cornetta (Hunterdon Central) 16:18; 24. Randy Ladd (Haddon Township) 16:19; 25. Billy Byrne (Ridgewood) 16:20.

GIRLS RESULTS

Team scores: 1. Ridge 72; 2. Hillsborough 103; 3. Southern Regional 124; 4. Ridgewood 162; 5. Union Catholic 166; 6. West Morris 201; 7. Seneca 204; 8. North Hunterdon 213; 9. Red Bank Catholic 216; 10. Wayne Hills 262; 11. Pope John XXIII 290; 12. Haddonfield 310; 13. Villa Walsh 335; 14. New Providence 340; 15. Rumson-Fair Haven 349; 16. Voorhees 357; 17. Mountain Lakes 385; 18. Kinnelon 424; 19. Pingry 490; 20. Trinity Hall 573.

Top individuals: 1. Alyssa Aldridge (Mainland) 18:07; 2. Olympia Martin (Ridgewood) 18:25; 3. Briana Gess (Haddonfield) 18:25; 4. Julia Guerra (Indian Hills) 18:28; 5. Hannah Bonaguidi (Delaware Valley) 18:28; 6. Ciara Roche (Freehold Township) 18:30; 7. Nora Honrath (St. John Vianney) 18:34; 8. Lauren Kroepfl (Robbinsville) 18:40; 9. Shannon Goria (River Dell) 18:42; 10. Christina Rancan (West Windsor-Plainsboro South) 18:44; 11. Sierra Castaneda (West Morris) 18:52; 12. Abby Loveys (Randolph) 18:55; 13. Juliet Kohli (Montclair) 19:00; 14. Hannah Cella (Hunterdon Central) 19:00; 15. Alexis Mullarkey (Kingsway) 19:02; 16. Samantha Halvorsen (Ridgewood) 19:06; 17. Lou Miahle (Princeton) 19:12; 18. Shelby Piccinic (Colonia) 19:12; 19. Elizabeth Chartier (Southern) 19:16; 20. Kennedy Gerrat (Jackson Memorial) 19:17; 21. Niamh Hayes (Howell) 19:20; 22. Daniella Veliz (Matawan) 19:21; 23. Alexa Weber (Ocean City) 19:21; 24. Katerina Zachmann (Wayne Hills) 19:22; 25. Sophie Spring (Ridge) 19:22.

Staff writer Jerry Carino:jcarino@gannettnj.com.