North Hunterdon girls win Nike Northeast Regional XC title

After placing second at the NJSIAA Group IV meet and the Meet of Champions in a two week span, the North Hunterdon High School girls cross country team decided it had enough of coming in second place.

At the Nike Northeast Regionals on Saturday at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., the Lions took first place to qualify for the Nike National Championships on Dec. 3 in Portland, Ore.

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Ellie DiMarcello placed eighth in 18:47 and her sister, Anna DiMarcello, was 14th in 19:09 as North Hunterdon took first, 81-157, ahead of the Sabres Running Club. Angela Kearsley (19:19), Brenna Talamo (19:49) and Emily Nugent (19:55) rounded out the top five for the Lions.

"We obviously had lost to Ridge two weeks in a row at the Groups and Meet of Champions, but the girls and the coaches knew we were as good as any team in New Jersey and one of the better teams in the region," North Hunterdon coach Sean Walsh said. "It’s one of those things you think about and dream about and it’s one of those things that’s out there and you never have an idea if the program can get to that level, but it’s surreal and crazy."

Hillsborough's Chloe Wong placed fourth in 18:43, as the top 10 individual finishers advance to next weekend's National Championships. Ridge's Lexy Donaldson just missed out, placing 11th in 18:58, as the Red Devils took seventh as a team.

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At the Meet of Champions, held Nov. 19 at Holmdel Park, North Hunterdon was second as Ridge claimed its second-straight team title, 71-114. Ellie DiMarcello was fifth while Anna DiMarcello placed ninth. Ridge also finished ahead of the Lions at the Group IV meet, 59-79, after North Hunterdon had dealt the Red Devils losses at the North 2 Group IV meet and the Skyland Conference Championships.

"I think that was something I was most proud of, their resiliency," Walsh said. "They handled tough losses knowing how much they wanted the Groups and MOC, but to come back shows that maturity that a championship team should step up and come back and run that well after a set back and being tired, they’re exhausted, but their resiliency, I was proud of that."

Now all the Lions need to do is keep their momentum and rest up for the the Nike National Championships on Saturday.

"It’s something we thought was possible for sure, it was just something we tried not to talk about. Those are some of the things we thought might happen but didn’t go overboard with following rankings and stuff like that," Walsh said. "We know, especially in the New York region, there’s a bunch of good teams, very strong. We know there’s great teams around us and I think the girls feel good now, seeing what we can do and where we stack up. It’s a program of girls now that is built for a bunch of years knowing what it’s like and being in that situation."

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego