Jamesburg – On Saturday, November 5, in Thompson Park, Jamesburg, NJ the Rumson Fair Haven High School girls cross country team proved that they could really run.
With Junior Rachel Christ leading the way, the team dominated the Central Jersey, Group 2 State Sectional Championship with seven runners finishing in the top twenty. In a field of 99 runners, Christ took first place in the 5000 meter race in18:38 – an average of 6 minutes per mile. Senior Shannon McCarthy came in 2nd in 19:10.39 and Freshman Hannah Anderson came in 3rd in 19:10.59. Junior Michaella Irvine came in 6th place in 19:31, Senior Molly Hellman came in 9th place in 19:54, Junior Isabella Maita came in 14th place in 20:23 and Sophomore Courtney Howley came in 18th place in 20:32.
Claiming its second title in three years, the RFH girls beat the second place team, Holmdel, 21-65. Robbinsville came in third with 66 points. Raritan and Manasquan were the 4th and 5th place teams, all advancing to the NJSIAA Group Championships. With this win, NJRunners.com ranked the RFH girls team number 1 in the state.
The Rumson Fair Haven boys cross country team came in 5th place, also advancing to the Group Championships. Leading the way for the Bulldogs were Senior Ryan Corbett who finished in 18th place in 17:15, Senior Sam Gottuso who finished in 25th place in 17:32 and Junior Blake Goodwyn who finished in 40th place in 17:50. The other members of the team included Freshman Brendan Thorp (18:10), Senior Jack Maris (18:17), Sophomore James Ball (18:34), and Sophomore Jake Albers (18:54).
The NJSIAA Group Championships will be held Saturday, November 12, 2011 at Holmdel Park. This meet is a qualifier for the 2011 NJSIAA Meet of Champions.
The girls Central Jersey Group II Championship race begins at 10:25 am. The boys race kicks off at 11:15 am.
