By Rich Chrampanis
LAKEWOOD – Dominance was the theme for the 2021 Shore Conference cross country championships at Ocean County Park Oct. 28.
On the boys’ side, CBA continued its mastery CBA with the combination of Jack Moran and Nick Sullivan finishing second and third to pace the Colts to a comfortable team victory over second place Colts Neck.
On the girls’ side, Colts Neck overwhelmed the competition, led by the record-setting performance of senior Lilly Shapiro who set the course record with a blazing time of 17:07, seven seconds better than former RBC runner Molly McNamara 11 years ago. Shapiro, a University of North Carolina commit, is one of the area’s most decorated athletes. She won New Jersey’s Meet of Champions in the 800 meters last June and finished second in the 1,600. She set the state record for 1,600 meters at the Holmdel Twilight race and was ranked second nationally.
Teams now sets their sights on the state competition and the Meet of Champions. CBA will face stiff competition from Union Catholic in its quest for a state title. The top four teams on the girls’ side are from our area with Middletown South, Rumson-Fair Haven and Red Bank Catholic finishing behind Colts Neck.
Shore Conference
Cross Country Championships
Boys Team Results
CBA 52
Colts Neck 104
Manalapan 130
Manchester Twp. 142
Howell 196
Toms River North 215
Middletown South 226
Middletown North 271
Rumson-Fair Haven 289
Freehold Township 303
Boys Individual Results
Dan Valentino, Freehold Township 15:19
Jack Moran, CBA 15:20
Nick Sullivan, CBA 15:34
Kyle Lindon, Howell 15:36
Ryan Johnson, Colts Neck 15:39
Brian Theobald, St. Rose 15:41
Rowan Cassidy, Manalapan 15:42
Stephen Kyvelos, Manalapan 15:45
Joe Barrett, CBA 15:49
Christopher Shay, Middletown South 15:50
Girls Team Results
Colts Neck 47
Middletown South 92
Rumson-Fair Haven 125
Red Bank Catholic 173
Freehold Township 189
Toms River North 209
Trinity Hall 251
Point Pleasant Boro 256
Toms River South 261
Southern Regional 265
Girls Individual Results
Lilly Shapiro, Colts Neck 17:07
Tilly O’Connor, St. Rose 17:35
Cate DeSousa, RBC 17:45
Lily Oliver, Toms River South 17:56
Emma Zawatski, Freehold Twp. 17:59
Presslie Mariner, Colts Neck 18:08
Ava Wilmot, Colts Neck 18:18
Megan Donlevie, Shore Regional 18:23
Rosemary Shay, Middletown South 18:24
Emma Luo, Marlboro 18:26
The article originally appeared in the November 4 – 10, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
