Kingsway's Culbreath repeats at sectional

A group of about 10 Kingsway junior-varsity runners and fans ran from the walkway that spilled onto Delsea's track to the finish line on the opposite side of the football field.

As they ran, they yelled Noah Culbreath's name in support of the Kingsway senior who was barely holding on to his lead.

When they finally met beyond the finish, Culbreath gave the people what they wanted. He threw up both index fingers and shouted, "That's two," after he won his second South Jersey Group 4 cross-country championship Saturday at Delsea.

"I really just wanted to defend my title," said Culbreath, who finished the 3.1-mile race in 15 minutes, 41.9 seconds. "It's almost impossible not to have a great day with all our support here."

Culbreath edged Cherry Hill East's Aaron Groff, whose team won the sectional title for the second straight year, by .79 of a second.

"The race picked up when Groff made a move at the second mile," Culbreath said. "I love that about Groff. He's willing to throw himself off the deep end in every race to make sure it's a great race. He really took my abilities to the next level."

Sterling's Sean Macpherson won the South Jersey Group 2 title in 15:44.17. Haddonfield, led by Chad Evans' second-place finish (16:07.46), earned its 11th straight team title and 15th in 16 years.

Haddon Township's Luke Petela heard his coach yelling, "It's just a time trial," as he crossed the finish with no competition in sight for his second straight sectional championship. He finished in 15:29.80, and Township won a seventh straight South Jersey Group 1 title.

Timber Creek's Dominick Munson (15:55.91) won South Jersey Group 3, and Highland took the team title.

In the girls' races, Ocean City's Epiphany Grisbaum had a cramp 800 meters into the race, but it didn't stop her from posting the fastest time of the day. She won South Jersey Group 3 in 18:00.72.

Seneca, buoyed by three freshmen, won the South Jersey Group 3 team title.

Just before Haddonfield's Briana Gess crossed the finish, her next-closest competitor stepped on the track for the last 300 or so meters of the race. Gess, a sophomore who won last year's Meet of Champions, finished in 18:06.21, and her Group 2 team won its fifth straight sectional.

Nina Bendixen knew the last time a Shawnee runner had won a sectional was 1994. She ended that skid and led her team to a South Jersey Group 4 title, finishing in 18:45.13.

"We were excited to bring the Shawnee tradition back," Bendixen said. "It's definitely intimidating, and I had a lot of nerves coming here. I thought I was going to throw up on the way up."

Haddon Township's Annika Merkh recovered from a fractured left ankle over the summer to win South Jersey Group 1. She also led her team to a championship.

"I trained really hard because I wanted to win this," Merkh said. "I had to double up on days and do extra work to try to get with everyone else."

The Results

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 4 BOYS

Team scores: 1. Cherry Hill East, 41; 2. Kingsway, 69; 3. Cherokee, 127; 4. Eastern, 165; 5. Southern Regional, 188; 6. Clearview, 205; 7. Egg Harbor Township, 214; 8. Toms River North, 219; 9. Lenape, 225; 10. Shawnee, 249; 11. Jackson Memorial, 249; 12. Rancocas Valley, 311; 13. Washington Township, 346; 14. Toms River East, 346; 15. Millville, 383; 16. Williamstown, 428; 17. Absegami, 469; 18. Vineland, 470.

Top 20: 1. Noah Culbreath, Kingsway, 15:41.90; 2. Aaron Groff, Cherry Hill East, 15:42.69; 3. Ryan Rafferty, Jackson Memorial, 15:53.52; 4. Vincent DelConte, Egg Harbor Township, 15:55.66; 5. Dan Helfand, Cherry Hill East, 15:59.27; 6. Nicholas Pshunder, Eastern, 15:59.63; 7. Christian Mele, Cherry Hill East, 16:00.41; 8. Nick Falk, Cherokee, 16:00.41; 9. John Flavin, Toms River North, 16:06.65; 10. Josh Dillon, Cherry Hill East, 16:09.27; 11. Myles Boerlin, Kingsway, 16:10.07; 12. Kyle Everham, Kingsway, 16:11.20; 13. Joshua Laprise, Toms River East, 16:11.20; 14. Jack Shea, Cherokee, 16:13.65; 15. Nathan Shivers, Clearview, 16:19.15; 16. Matt Zubrzycki, Lenape, 16:27.43; 17. Isa Jean-Baptiste, Cherry Hill East, 16:28.91; 18. Isaiah Curbelo, Rancocas Valley, 16:33.22; 19. Daniel Henry, Clearview, 16:34.86; 20. Joe Grandizio, Kingsway, 16:37.75.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 4 GIRLS

Team scores: 1. Shawnee, 52; 2. Clearview, 81; 3. Toms River North, 98; 4. Southern Regional, 121; 5. Jackson Memorial, 144; 6. Kingsway, 154; 7. Cherry Hill East, 207; 8. Washington Township, 210; 9. Cherokee, 210; 10. Rancocas Valley, 235; 11. Egg Harbor Township, 303; 12. Eastern, 371; 13. Toms River East, 389; 14. Williamstown, 395; 15. Absegami, 426; 16. Vineland, 427.

Top 20: 1. Nina Bendixen, Shawnee, 18:45.13; 2. Julia Rothstein, Clearview, 18:58.52; 3. Kaitlyn Mooney, Southern Regional, 18:58.75; 4. Caitlin O'Brien, Jackson Memorial, 18:59.88; 5. Morgan Arena, Shawnee, 19:02.46; 6. Kaitlin Donahue, Clearview, 19:03.01; 7. Monica Lee, Cherry Hill East, 19:12.03; 8. Destiny Stanford, Kingsway, 19:19.84; 9. Rachel Vick, Kingsway, 19:28.11; 10. Kara Bonner, Shawnee, 19:32.94; 11. Madyson Reilly, Toms River North, 19:38.07; 12. Emily Schaeffer, Clearview, 19:40.51; 13. Camille Franklin, Lenape, 19:50.33; 14. Grace Cocanower, Toms River North, 19:51.50; 15. Georgia Larzelere, Shawnee, 19:53.98; 16. Greer Field, Cherry Hill East, 19:56.14; 17. Jess McAdams, Cherokee, 19:59.90; 18. Alexa Fotopoulos, Toms River North, 20:00.16; 19. Rachel Ornstein, Southern Regional, 20:07.76; 20. Morgan Shick, Egg Harbor Township, 20:15.84.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 3 BOYS

Team scores: 1. Highland, 43; 2. Ocean City, 61; 3. Delsea, 108; 4. Moorestown, 131; 5. Mainland, 146; 6. Hammonton, 161; 7. Central Regional, 189; 8. Toms River South, 197; 9. Timber Creek, 219; 10. Cherry Hill West, 285; 11. Seneca, 285; 12. Lacey, 307; 13. Oakcrest, 347; 14. Winslow Township, 381; 15. Cumberland, 420; 16. GCIT, 473.

Top 20: 1. Dominick Munson, Timber Creek, 15:55.91; 2. Joshua Clark, Highland, 16:08.79; 3. Justin Branco, Delsea, 16:16.49; 4. Ryan Carroll, Highland, 16:27.55; 5. Brandon Hadtke, Ocean City, 16:27.88; 6. Earl Heim, Mainland, 16:35.35; 7. Joe D'Amico, Central Regional, 16:36.45; 8. Kevin Fox, Moorestown, 16:42.77; 9. Joe Figueroa, Highland, 16:43.79; 10. Scott Sherry, Cherry Hill West, 16:44.38; 11. Zachary Samalonis, Highland, 16:55.93; 12. Jesse Schmeizer, Ocean City, 16:57.12; 13. Patrick Cusack, Ocean City, 17:00.89; 14. Joe Hackney, Seneca, 17:01.96; 15. Evan Schmeizer, Ocean City, 17:04.06; 16. Brett Johnson, Ocean City, 17:07.17; 17. Michael Filippo, Highland, 17:07.47; 18. Joe Lazzaro, Toms River South, 17:10.45; 19. Joseph Dougherty, Hammonton, 17:14.41; 20. Christian Cramer, Moorestown, 17:16.77.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 3 GIRLS

Team scores: 1. Seneca, 51; 2. Ocean City, 78; 3. Moorestown, 87; 4. Mainland, 103; 5. Lacey, 132; 6. Delsea, 164; 7. Timber Creek, 164; 8. Hammonton, 218; 9. Oakcrest, 261; 10. Winslow Township, 296; 11. Cherry Hill West, 322; 12. GCIT, 333; 13. Cumberland, 352.

Top 20: 1. Epiphany Grisbaum, Ocean City, 18:00.72; 2. Alyssa Aldridge, Mainland, 18:48.46; 3. Abby Gauthier, Lacey Township, 19:10.60; 4. Alexsus Vucolo, Toms River South, 19:15.70; 5. Genevie Cickavage, Moorestown, 19:17.97; 6. Sydny Warner, Seneca, 19:21.03; 7. Alyssa Condell, Timber Creek, 19:27.13; 8. Katie Rauscher, Delsea, 19:27.13; 9. Joey Webb, 19:42.31; 10. Tara Thorton, Moorestown, 19:43.57; 11. Chelsea Smith, Toms River South, 19:44.84; 12. Carley Tool, Seneca, 19:53.63; 13. Emma Bergman, Ocean City, 19:58.07; 14. Danielle Hassinger, Delsea, 20:04.54; 15. Lindsay Hoffman, Seneca, 20:05.44; 16. Alexa Clark, Timber Creek, 20:08.29; 17. Kirsten Horn, Seneca, 20:14.75; 18. Rachel Stremme, Ocean City, 20:17.88; 19. Maddie Farmer, Moorestown, 20:19.15; 20. Emma Bean, Mainland, 20:29.01.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 2 BOYS

Team scores: 1. Haddonfield, 26; 2. Middle Township, 79; 3. Pleasantville, 103; 4. West Deptford, 123; 5. Sterling, 131; 6. Manchester Township, 187; 7. Cedar Creek, 233; 8. Buena, 258; 9. Barnegat, 258; 10. Westampton Tech, 271; 11. Gateway/Woodbury, 290; 12. Deptford, 299; 13. Pinelands, 300; 14. ACIT, 317; 15. Delran, 382; 16. Camden, 409.

Top 20: 1. Sean Macpherson, Sterling, 15:44.17; 2. Chad Evans, Haddonfield, 16:07.46; 3. Greg Pelose, Haddonfield, 16:07.90; 4. Danny Brennan, Haddonfield, 16:11.66; 5. Ryan Herlihy, Middle Township, 16:19.85; 6. Chris Goings, Haddonfield, 16:20.11; 7. Andrew Sennett, Gateway/Woodbury, 16:39.37; 8. Nicholas Rivera, Camden, 16:44.50; 9. Mitchel Wileczek, West Deptord, 16:47.54; 10. Giovanni Aracena, Pleasantville, 16:48.99; 11. Colin Gallagher, Haddonfield, 16:50.79; 12. Brandon Quanci, Haddonfield, 16:51.18; 13. Christopher Robison, 16:57.72; 14. Joshua Moore, Middle Township, 16:59.22; 15. Ryan Zuzulock, West Deptord, 17:06.05; 16. Gunnar Pearson, Barnegat, 17:07.52; 17. Alva Saez-Perdomo, Pleasantville, 17:09.05; 18. A.J. Kilpatrick, West Deptford, 17:09.35; 19. Kenny Hunter, Bridgeton, 17:10.37; 20. Noah Prevard, Pleasantville, 17:10.75.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 2 GIRLS

Team scores: 1. Haddonfield, 34; 2. Pinelands, 92; 3. Buena, 98; 4. Delran, 100; 5. Deptford, 114; 6. Sterling, 148; 7. West Deptford, 183; 8. Pennsuaken Tech, 225; 9. Gateway/Woodbury, 246; 10. Medford Tech, 258; 11. Bridgeton, 272; 12. Cedar Creek, 275.

Top 20: 1. Briana Gess, Haddonfield, 18:06.21; 2. Lauren Zodl, Pinelands, 19:19.20; 3. Alexa Gostovich, Haddonfield, 19:35.48; 4. Maddie Tattory, Delran, 19:38.00; 5. Kristin Siegle, Buena, 19:42.12; 6. Madison Coppolino, Sterling, 19:47.97; 7. Gillian Schriever, Pinelands, 19:49.58; 8. Katherine Schriever, Pinelands, 19:49.58; 9. Emily Roth, Pinelands, 19:53.19; 10. Olivia Peifer, Haddonfield, 19:58.20; 11. Meg Schroeter, Haddonfield, 20:08.65; 12. Lilly Minor, Haddonfield, 20:12.14; 13. Bridget Poisel, Haddonfield, 20:21.09; 14. Caitlin Cauley, Delran, 21:00.81; 15. Rachael Donnelly, Buena, 21:16.51; 16. Brielle Gulya, Pinelands, 21:18.73; 17. Katarin Schneider, Deptford, 21:41.44; 18. Emily LaBenski, Deptford, 21:51.33; 19. Kara Barone, Deptford, 21:52.27; 20. Guadalupe Bautista, Bridgeton, 21:54.66.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 1 BOYS

Team scores: 1. Haddon Township, 28; 2. Schalick, 71; 3. Pennsville, 84; 4. Haddon Heights, 118; 5. Maple Shade, 156; 6. Lindenwold, 162; 7. Cinnaminson, 170; 8. Audubon, 222; 9. Pitman, 234; 10. Woodstown, 241; 11 Wildwood, 330; 12. Penns Grove, 330; 13. Gloucester, 368; 14. Clayton, 414.

Top 20: 1. Luke Petela, Haddon Township, 15:29.80; 2. Owen Long, Haddon Township, 15:58.98; 3. Nicholas Gandolfo-Lucia, 16:27.61; 4. Matt Young, Maple Shade, 16:39.19; 5. Mike Tanier, Haddon Township, 16:39.19; 6. Sam Mercoli, Schalick, 16:43.11; 7. Randy Ladd, Haddon Township, 16:45.75; 8. 8. Michael Ungvarsky, Cinnaminson, 16:47.56; 9. Cosmo Pirozzi, Schalick, 16:49.55; 10. Trevor Gentek, Wildwood, 16:51.87; 11. Thomas Bardon, Pennsville, 16:53.85; 12. Sam Gerstenbache, 16:55.31; 13. Jake Dinnerman, Haddon Township, 17:07.22; 14. Maxwell Omsby, Maple Shade, 17:08.08; 15. Robert King, Lindenwold, 17:11.90; 16. Zak Carpenter, Pennsville, 17:12.24; 17. Anthony Mercoli, Schalick, 17:12.61; 18. Justin Smith, Pennsville, 17:14.50; 19. Adam Quann, Pennsville, 17:18.64; 20. Zachary Pope, Pennsville, 17:18.64.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 1 GIRLS

Team scores: Haddon Township, 44; 2. Pitman, 51; 3. Cinnaminson, 61; 4. Woodstown, 121; 5. Maple Shade, 134; 6. Overbrook, 157; 7. Cape May Tech, 210; 8. Schalick, 220; 9. Audubon, 231; 10. Gloucester, 268.

Top 20: 1. Annika Merkh, Haddon Township, 19:53.66; 2. Hannah Vendetta, Pitman, 19:55.98; 3. Haley Adams, Cinnaminson, 19:56.81; 4. Nora Grimm, Haddon Township, 20:10.17; 5. Olivia Gerstenbacher, Schalick, 20:41.23; 6. Isabel Gallatig, Woodstown, 20:45.83; 7. Sarah Meighan, Pitman, 20:46.45; 8. Courtney Catlin, Pennsville, 20:48.55; 9. Elise Davenport, Salem, 20:51.06; 10. Alyssa Sanders, Pitman, 21:15.04; 11. Olivia Rocks, Cinnaminson, 21:37.96; 12. Stephanie Salvati, 21:39.86; 13. Mary O'Malley, Cinnaminson, 21:42.14; 14. Kellyn Madden, Haddon Township, 21:48.92; 15. Ellie Lacey, Haddon Township, 21:50.09; 16. Maureen Agnew, Haddon Township, 21:52.55; 17. Abbygaile Rios, Maple Shade, 21:55.21; 18. Frankie Parker, Haddon Township, 21:56.30; 19. Madison Edwards, Cinnaminson, 22:00.13; 20. Angela Sperlunto, Haddon Township, 22:11.30.