The High School South boys cross country team came up short in its quest to win a state title, finishing in second place at the NJSIAA Group IV championship on November 12.
Hurt by injuries, the team finished second for the second straight year to Westfield, 85-120. The Pirates were led by junior twins Dan Riff, 16th in 16:31, and Jake Riff, 21st in 16:43, and senior AJ Chavez, 19th in 16:42. The Pirates also received a 33rd from senior George Hamilton (17:03) and a 62nd from senior Alex Maeda (17:30).
The team advanced to the Meet of Champions on Saturday, November 19.
Injured were sophomore Tom Vinci and senior Dan Sheldon, were the sixth and seventh place runner for South. The two, who did not run in the sectional race the previous week due to the injuries, have been among the team’s top performers all season.
Meanwhile, High School North, the Group III champion the previous four years, was 13th in the 20-team race with 323 points. The strongest runner for North was junior Eddie Cunningham, who finished 22nd in 16:46. North was swicthed to Group IV this year.
The previous week, on November 5, placed first in the Group IV sectional race by nine points over Freehold Township. WW-P North also advanced to the finals, finishing fourth.
