Cross-Country: Looking ahead to the State Group Championships

The NJSIAA state cross-country championships began in 1919 with one race at Branch Brook Park in Newark over 3 miles. Ed Kirby of Barringer won the individual race and Newark Central won the team title. There were several years between 1919 and 1945 that both a public and non-public race was held. From 1946-1950 and 1954, two public school group races and one non-public race was held, from 1951-1953 and 1955 just two total races were held. In 1956 a third public school group race was added and the non-publics began holding their own races in 1959.

In 1966, sectionals were introduced for public schools and the now traditional four group public school race was introduced. That same year a second non-public school race was added and from 1972-78, there were three non-public divisions.

The first girls state race was in 1972 and from 1976-1981 and from 1986-1992 there were four girls races with the non-public schools integrating with the public schools. From 1982-1985 and since 1993, the traditional four public schools and two non-public school races have been held. (the assistance of Barry Frasco in compiling this information is acknowledged with thanks).

This year's version of the state group introduces the first reduction in the number of teams teams qualifying for the State Meets of Champions since the meet added team scoring in its second year, 1973. This year only the winning team in each of the six group races will advance along with the next eight teams selected in a merge process from the six group races. That will result in 14 teams qualifying, the lowest number since 12 teams competed in 1977.

The top 10 individual finishers in each group race along with the next 30 fastest individuals who did not qualify as part of a team or as a top 10 group finisher. That means that the NJSIAA has traded six qualifying teams for 20 additional individuals in what many call the quintessential team sport.

Just like at the sectionals last week, no team medals will be awarded, the first time since at least 1965 that has happened. The top 10 finishers in each race will receive medals and team trophies will be awarded to the winning schools.

Here's a look race by race at Saturday's action.

BOYS

Group 1

Start time: Noon.

2021 Champions: Audubon and Colin Riley, Jonathan Dayton.

2022 North Jersey qualifiers: Glen Rock, Hasbrouck Heights, Kinnelon, New Milford, Park Ridge/Emerson, Ridgefield, Secaucus; Joseph Capuzzo and Marshall Carver, Waldwick; Keanu Ray, Weehawken; Xavier Trinidad, Pequannock.

Returnees from top 10: Riley (1st); Younes Abada, Secaucus (5th); Ian Zalewski, Verona (6th); Ernesto Botteon, Highland Park (8th).

Race outlook: Haddon Township, Metuchen, Kinnelon and McNair appear to all have chances to win the group and get what likely is the only team bid to the State Meet of Champions. Hasbrouck Heights and Glen Rock should be in the top half of the 20-team field.

Colin Riley of Jonathan Dayton is a heavy favorite individually but North Jersey should have a large role in the top 10 with Abada, Ray, Andrew Garcia of Kinnelon and Aidan Morrow of Hasbrouck Heights all strong contenders to place.

Projected North Jersey qualifiers to State Meet of Champions: Abada, Ray, Garcia, Morrow.

Group 2

Start time: 10 a.m.

2021 Champions: Haddonfield and Seth Clevenger, Haddonfield.

2022 North Jersey qualifiers: Demarest, Indian Hills, Lakeland, Pascack Valley; Andrw Kroczynski and Brayden Lowe-Massi, Mahwah; Matt Maloro, Old Tappan; Colin Menier, West Milford; Tadael Mihret, Rutherford; Peter Priestner, Pascack Hills.

Returnees from top 10: George Andrus, Haddonfield (3rd); Peyton Shute, Gateway (6th); Jack Bolling, Haddon Heights (7th); Colin Patterson, Haddon Heights (8th); Owen Horevay, Lakeland (9th).

Race outlook: Haddonfield is a huge favorite to continue its domination over the group with Cinnaminson the only serious contender for one of the eight team wild cards available. Lakeland and Pascack Valley would be happy with a top 10 team finish.

Andrus is the heavy favorite individually, but Horevay is in the mix with several runners for the second spot and should have little trouble making the top. Mihret has the best chance of the other North Jersey runners to automatically advance and he should grab one of the 30 individual wild cards available if he doesn't make the top 10. Others with good wild card chances are Nathan Caldwell of Lakeland, Raffi Buchajkian of Indian Hills and Lowe-Massi.

Projected North Jersey qualifiers to State Meet of Champions: Horevay; Mihret.

Group 3

Start time: 11:30 a.m.

2021 Champions: North Hunterdon and Dennis Fortuna, Triton.

2022 North Jersey qualifiers: Northern Highlands, Teaneck, Wayne Valley; Ekiumah Conteh, Fort Lee; Bryce Teto, Paramus.

Returnees in top 10: Micah Lawson, Rahway (10th).

Race outlook: Highland Regional, No Hunterdon and Chatham will battle for the win and the automatic MOC bid, but the second and third place teams should also move on. Summit, Ocean City and Colts Neck could also be in the mix for a team wild card. Wayne Valley and Northern Highlands look to crack the top 10 and Teaneck hopes to nreak the top 15 in its first appearance in the state groups since sectionals started.

Peyton Shute of Gateway and Lawson seem to be the class of the individuals in the field. Wayne Valley stars Matt Califf and Sean Matthews will be right there for a top 10 finish and if not, should grab wild cards. Teto has a great chance to also be in the wild card hunt. Jackson Vogel of Northern Highlands and Conteh need career best races to grab the coveted bid.

Projected North Jersey qualifiers to State Meet of Champions: Califf; Matthews; Teto.

Group 4

Start time: 1:30 p.m.

2021 Champions: Ridge and Marco Langon, Bridgewater-Raritan.

2022 North Jersey qualifiers: Bergen Tech, Clifton, Hackensack, Ridgewood; Joel Batres, North Bergen.

Returnees from top 10: Andrew Kenny, Princeton (8th); Ayush Saran, West Windsor Plainsboro South (10th).

Race outlook: Westfield and Cherokee appear to the favorites for the win with Southern and Ridge sure wild cards if they have a normal race. Four or five other teams could grab what might be the final wild card slot.

The individual race seems wide open with five or six runners capable of going under 16 minutes at Holmdel. Saran, Akshay Vadul of Edison, Avery Keith of Westfield and Steve Kyvelos of Manalapan appear to be the top contenders.

Ridgewood might have been a team wild card contender if not for the untimely injury to No. 3 Ian Bajraktari. Now the best the Maroons can hope for is the top 10, and perhaps an individual wild card or two.

Hot take: Bergen champ Dylan Decambre of Bergen Tech will have a big race and make the top 10. He'll certainly advance (he did last year) and expect Hisham Ettayebi of Clifton, Luke Pash and Dj Murphy of Ridgewood and even possibly Trevor Kane of Ridgewood to move on.

Projected North Jersey qualifiers to State Meet of Champions: Decambre, Ettayebi; Murphy; Pash.

Non-Public A

Start time: 9:30 a.m.

2021 Champions: Union Catholic and Shane Brosnan, Union Catholic.

2022 North Jersey entries: Bergen Catholic, DePaul; Don Bosco; Dwight-Englewood; Paramus Catholic

Returnees from top 10: Jimmy Wischusen, Union Catholic (2nd); Collin Boler, Delbarton (3rd); Jack Falkowski, CBA (6th); Nicholas Sullivan, CBA (8th); Alex Kemp, CBA (9th); Caudell Cajuste, Union Catholic (10th).

Race outlook: CBA and Union Catholic will battle but if Wischusen can't run, CBA will win easily. Even if he can, look for CBA to win and Union Catholic grab a wild card. St. Peter's Prep and Delbarton could contend for a team wild card. Don Bosco could finish as high as fifth.

With no Wischusen, look for Collin Boler of Delbarton and Joe Barrett and Nick Sullivan of CBA upfront.

Projected North Jersey qualifiers to State Meet of Champions: Paul Maguire, Don Bosco.

Non-Public B

Start time: 2 p.m.

2021 Champions: Newark Academy and Brian Theobald, St. Rose.

2022 North Jersey entries: Eastern Christian; Hawthorne Christian.

Returnees from top 10: Theobald (1st); Jeremy Sallade, Wilberforce (3rd); Tyler Ferlise, St. Rose (4th); Caleb Brox, Wilberforce (5th); Matt Malloy, Newark Academy (9th).

Race outlook: St. Rose, Wilberforce and Bishop Eustace are teams to watch with Sallade and Ferlise the individual favorites.

Projected North Jersey qualifiers to State Meet of Champions: none.

GIRLS

Group 1

Start time: 1 p.m.

2021 Champions: Shore Regional and Megan Donlevie, Shore Regional.

2022 North Jersey qualifiers: Bogota, Glen Rock, Hasbrouck Heights, Kinnelon, Saddle Brook, Secaucus, Weehawken; Grace Ruitenberg, Pompton Lakes; Danielle Tilp, Cresskill; Sophie Walder, Park Ridge/Emerson.

Returnees in top 10: Donlevie (1st); Claudia Reines, Dayton (2nd); Meghan Lex, Haddon Twp. (7th); Grace Mougalian, Kinnelon (8th); Danielle Tilp, Cresskill ((9th); Johanna Hammond, Highland Park (10th).

Race outlook: Shore should win easily, with Metuchen the only team that figures to give the defending champs a battle. Sectional champs Bogota and Glen Rock, along with Hasbrouck Heights and Weehawken have great chances to finish in the top 10 and a top five finish is possible for the best of those four teams.

Donlevie is also favored to repeat with Reines and Gianna Hernandez of Metuchen her closest competition. Amandine Fernandez of Bogota, Astrid Taffarello and Tari Dunn of Weehawken, Haley Nowak of Secaucus and Tilp are all potential top 10 finishers, with the Hasbrouck Heights duo of Mackenzie Bua and Lexi Powers of Hasbrouck Heights in position to join them.

Projected North Jersey qualifiers to State Meet of Champions: Fernandez, Taffarello, Dunn, Nowak and Tilp.

Group 2

Start time: 11 a.m.

2021 Champions: Haddonfield and Angelina Perez, Lakeland.

2022 North Jersey qualifiers: Demarest, Indian Hills, Lakeland, Old Tappan, River Dell; Katharine Cottone, Passaic Valley; Zoe Merryman, Mahwah; Katelyn Reuter, Dumont; Madison Sovak, Ramsey

Returnees in top 10: Christina Allen, River Dell (3rd); Stephanie Renouf, Cinnaminson (9th); Anna Heras, Pr. Pleasant Beach (10th).

Race outlook: Haddonfield swept the South sectional meet last week and while the perennial group champs won't duplicate that feat this weekend, they will breeze to win over a very good Rumson-Fair Haven team that should earn a wild card. Old Tappan will battle Voorhees for third and an outside shot at a wild card to the MOC. Lakeland is around the top 5 and Indian Hills and River Dell could squeeze into the top 10.

A very intriguing race looms in the individuals with Haddonfield stars Ava Thomas and Riley Slootsky matched up with Julia Shanes of Rumson-Fair Haven. Melina Johnston of Robbinsville and North Jersey standouts Christina Allen of River Dell and Morgan Uhlhorn of Lakeland.

Allen, Uhlhorn, River Dell's Rachel Mills, Zoe Merryman of Mahwah and the OT pair of Kate Meeks and Kristen Johnson can all either qualify automatically or by means of the wild card.

Projected North Jersey qualifiers to State Meet of Champions: Uhlhorn, Allen, Mills, Meeks, Johnston,Merryman.

Group 3

Start time: 12:30 p.m.

2021 Champions: Colts Neck and Lilly Shapiro, Colts Neck.

2022 North Jersey qualifiers: Northern Highlands; Ramapo; Sophia Cheesman, Tenafly; Mary Daclan, Paramus; Kara Langbaum, Wayne Hills.

Returnees in top 10: Lilah Gordon, Northern Burlington (2nd); Cassidy Roop, North Hunterdon (3rd); Lily Oliver, Toms River South (5th); Sofia Day, Mainland (6th); Grace Wassell, Highland (7th); Zui Chunchalkar, West Windsor Plainsboro North (10th).

Race outlook: They're not the favorites but Northern Highlands is in very good position to win its first state group title since 1993 with a big race Saturday. The Highlanders had a tight 45 second pack that led to an easy win over an excellent Ramapo team that is in the mix for its first trip to the State Meet of Champions.

Clearview is the favorite with front runners Abigail Waddington and Abigail Kotran, but if the Highlands pack can get its first runner into the top 10 and have the same compression as last week, the upset is possible. North Hunterdon should be third but if Ramapo can get a big race from its seniors, they could get close enough to grab a wild card berth.

Gordon, Oliver and Day join the Clearview Abigails at the front of the race with Amelia Keogh of Ramapo and the Northern Highlands trio of Autumn Ritter, Rebecca Maclaren and Alison Courtney as likely wild card individuals if the team falls short. Daclan and Langbaum can also advance if they can approach 20 minutes at the Holmdel layout.

Projected North Jersey qualifiers to State Meet of Champions: Northern Highlands, Ramapo, Daclan, Langbaum.

Group 4

Start time: 2:30 p.m.

2021 Champions: Cherokee and Remy Dubac, Clifton

2022 North Jersey qualifiers: Bergen Tech, Clifton, Ridgewood.

Returnees in top 10: Dubac (1st); Julia Scrudato, Montgomery (2nd); Rosemary Shay, Middletown South (5th); Emma Zawatski, Freehold Twp. (7th); Brooke Hunter, Phillipsburg (10th).

Race outlook: Ridgewood has been second in group 4 the last three times the group meet has been held and with an almost entirely new lineup, they're in strong contention again. Freehold Township is the favorite and appears to have the best of it up front. But the Maroons have a strong pack and if they can get their compression down under a minute can win their first title since 1999 and fifth overall. Hillsborough , Toms River North, Westfield, Hunterdon Central and Southern can all win wild cards although it's likely than no more than 4 will come from this group.

Dubac was on fire at this meet (and the subsequent Meet of Champions) last year and seemed ready for a showdown with Emma Zawatski of Freehold Township and freshman Jessica Abbott of Toms River North this year. But an untimely bout with COVID last week puts a repeat in question, although the gutty senior won her second straight sectional title last week.

Projected North Jersey qualifiers to State Meet of Champions: Ridgewood, Dubac.

Non-Public A

Start time: 10:30 a.m.

2021 Champions: Union Catholic and Cate DeSousa, Red Bank Catholic.

2022 North Jersey entries: Dwight-Englewood, Holy Angels, IHA, Paramus Catholic.

Returnees in top 10: DeSousa (1st); Lindsay Hausman, Kent Place (2nd); Kaleigh Gunsiorski, Union Catholic (4th); Shaelan McNally, Paul VI (6th); Leanna Johnston, IHA (7th); Addison McGoey, Kent Place (8th); Olivia Murphy, Pingry (10th).

Race outlook: It's Union Catholic and then everyone else, although Kent Place and Red Bank Catholic could contend for a wild card berth. IHA should be in the running for a top 5 finish. Hausman, DeSousa, Gunsiorowski and Union Catholic's Peyton Hollis are the individual favorites, but Johnston will have something to say about the top five.

Projected North Jersey qualifiers to State Meet of Champions: Johnston.

Non-Public B

Start time: 3 p.m.

2021 Champions: Tilly O'Connor, St. Rose and Wilberforce.

2022 North Jersey entries: Hawthorne Christian.

Returnees from top 10: O'Connor (1st); Arianna Cane, Bishop Eustace (2nd); Elena Cicchini, Bishop Eustace (3rd); Gwen Merserau, Wilberforce (4th); Adeline Edwards, Wilberforce (5th); Ines Lemee, Villa Walsh (6th); Victoria Wong, Villa Walsh (7th); Sophia Park, Wilberforce (8th); Delaney McKee, Villa Walsh (9th).

Race outlook: It's Villa Walsh, Bishop Eustace and Wilberforce for the automatic bid and O'Connor against the field for the individual title.

Projected North Jersey qualifiers to State Meet of Champions: None

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Cross-Country: Looking ahead to the State Group Championships