Boys & Girls Teams Sweep 2024 NJSIAA Sectionals - North 2
Emma McGill is the 2020 Hunterdon County Democrat Girls XC Runner of the Year!
Tom Horak | For NJ Advance Media
Jack Tavaglione is the 2020 Hunterdon County Democrat Boys XC Runner of the Year!
Mary Iuvone | For NJ Advance Media
Viking boys run hard at the Bowdoin Classic!!
9/29/19
Our Viking boys ran hard at the Bowdoin XC Classic in Wappingers Falls yesterday, with the varsity squad taking 12th place in the Varsity 1 race and the JV grabbing 14th in the JV 1 race. The course at Bowdoin Park is beautiful, overlooking the Hudson River, but also challenging, with plenty of hills to conquer!
Dylan Fritz led the way for the varsity boys, finishing in 4th place with a time of 16:58. He was followed by Luke Higgins in 12th at 17:13, Matthew Deacon in 80th at 18:50, Nik Oliver in 112th at 19:34, Sam Dispenza in 114th at 19:41, and Noah Carey in 167th at 22:15. There were 28 teams with 189 runners in the race.
The JV boys were led by Christian Beard in 52nd place with a time of 20:28. He was followed by Evan Masiello in 66th place at 21:10, Owen Minor in 76th at 21:19, Crosby Wilken in 119th at 22:32, and Ryan Firko in 152nd at 25:30. There were 20 teams with 179 runners in the race.
Great job gentlemen!!! We are so proud of you!!!
Dylan Fritz
Girls Battle Hard at Ocean County Park!
September 13, 2019
The Viking girls' XC team ran hard today at the Battle @ Ocean County Park in Lakewood. The races were by grade, with the freshmen running 3km and the other grades running 5km.
Emma McGill continued her strong season by winning the juniors race with a time of 18:46, 46 seconds ahead of the second place runner! Zoey Cassavell took 23rd place in the race with a time of 21:25.
In the seniors race, Emily Sell took 8th place at 19:05, Grace Pankuck 14th at 20:05, Emma Pankuck 34th at 21:04 and Cate O'Brien 63rd at 23:33.
The sophomore girls took 4th place overall out of 12 teams, 144 runners. Darby Roskowski grabbed 11th place with a time of 20:12, Julia Romero and Alina Staten finished 20th and 21st at 20:50, Kerrigan Brennan 48th at 22:32, Lindsey Kinsky 69th at 23:41, and Mia Abramo 79th at 24:20.
The freshmen girls finished in 6th place out of 8 teams, 132 runners. Cecelia Jelvani took 43rd place in 14:39, Gabrielle Jelvani 42nd at 15:03, Emily Robbins 55th at 15:30, Madison Bonocore 67th at 16:05, Alyssa Pershad 80th at 16:06 and Amelia Weldon 87th at 16:55.
Awesome job ladies!!! Keep up the great work!! We are so proud of you!
Cate O'Brien, Grace Pankuck, Emily Sell, Emma Pankuck
The Viking Sophomores take 5th place at the Cherokee Challenge!!
September 7, 2019
The sophomore boys ran hard yesterday at the Cherokee Challenge in Marlton, NJ, finishing 5th overall! The Voorhees team as a whole finished a very strong 6th place out of 62 teams overall!!! Runners ran by grade.
There were 383 runners in the sophomore race. Jack Tavaglione placed 2nd, with a lightning time of 10:05! Other top finishers were Matthew Deacon, 23rd, 10:50 and Christian Beard, 42nd, 11:13.
In the Junior race, Nik Oliver finished 59th, 11:06 and Sam Dispenza placed 226nd, 12:51.
The seniors top performers were Luke Higgins 6th, 10:03 and Dylan Fritz, 8th, 10:03 and for the freshman, William Kaiser grabbed 15th place with a time of 11:24.
Great job boys!!!!!
Luke Higgins
The Viking Girls Rock Roxbury!!!
September 7, 2019
The Girls XC team had an incredible season opener yesterday at the Roxbury Invitational in Roxbury, NJ. The meet was well represented, with 45 teams from all over the state competing and our ladies finished in 2nd place overall behind Mendham.
Emma McGill led the way for the Vikings, clocking in the overall fastest overall girls' time of the day and helping her Fastest Four team take 1st place out of 21 teams. Emma's 1st place time of 18:12 was a 29 second PR. Emily Sell took 5th place, 19:17, Grace Pankuck 13th, 19:43 and Emma, 42nd, 20:52. There were 100 runners in the race and our girls edged out 2nd place Ridge, 56-60.
Go here to see Emma's interview on NJMilesplit!!
https://nj.milesplit.com/videos/402713
In the Girls Future Four race, Darby Roskowski finished 5th overall, with a time of 20:17. Julia Romero came in 11th, 21:13, Zoey Cassavell 19th, 21:49 and and Kali Torkildsen 33rd, 21:41. They finished 4th overall out of 25 teams!!
The JV team finished in third place out of 12 teams. The top finishers were Alina Staten 4th , 21:00, Kerrigan Brennan 11th, 22:08,
Gabrielle Jelvani 25th, 22:49, Cecelia Jelvani 31st, 23:09 and
Lindsay Kinsky 40th, 23:35. There were 151 runners overall in the race.
Great meet ladies!!! What a great start to the season!
Emily Sell, Grace Pankuck, Emma McGill and Emma Pankuck
Emma McGill wins state championship and the Boys and Girls both take third place at Holmdel!!!!
11/16/19
Emma McGill added a state championship to her extraordinary XC season today at the Group 2 State Championships at Holmdel Park. This triumph marks her 7th meet championship this season! Dylan Fritz and Luke Higgins finished strong for the boys, in 4th and 7th place respectively. Both teams had a great day, each taking 3rd place overall in their races. It was truly a great day to be a Vike!!!
On the girls' side, Emma won with a time of 18:41, five seconds ahead of Angelina Perez of Lakeland Regional. Emily Sell finished in 16th place with a time of 19:54, Sophia El-Zahr took 30th in 20:38, Julia Romero 43rd in 21:08, Alina Staten 55th in 21:35, Emma Pankuck 61st in 21:44 and Kerrigan Brennan 78th in 22:14. The girls finished behind Holmdel and Haddonfield and there were 147 runners in the race. Emma will be racing next week, at the MOC, hoping to cap off her incredible season as the overall State Champion. Congratulations Emma and good luck next week!!
The girls await to hear if they qualify for a team wildcard spot next week at the Meet Of Champions. Way to go ladies!!!
For the boys, Dylan Fritz took 4th place with a time of 16:37 and Luke Higgins was right behind in 7th place with a time of 16:41. Jack Tavaglione crossed the line in 20th place at 17:08, Josh Kinsky 48th at 17:39, Matt Deacon 81st at 18:17, Nik Oliver 99th at 18:36 and Sam Dispenza 113th at 18:55. The boys finished behind Haddonfield and Bernards, and there were 155 runners in the race. Dylan and Luke will be running next week at the MOC and the boys also are hopeful that they too will qualify for a team wildcard spot next week. Great job guys!!! Good luck to Dylan and Luke at the MOC!
Watch Emma's post race interview on NJMilesplit here:
https://nj.milesplit.com/videos/408741
Emma McGill charging towards the finish at Holmdel today!
Dylan Fritz of Voorhees is Hunterdon County Boys Cross-Country Runner of Year!!! by Andrew Border
12/6/19
Dylan Fritz kept improving throughout his cross-country career at Voorhees, and by the time his senior season ended, Fritz was Hunterdon County’s top runner at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, finishing 36th overall.
That finish, along with helping Voorhees to titles at the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex meet and at the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 2 meet, makes Fritz the pick for the Hunterdon County Democrat’s boys cross-country Runner of the Year.
Fritz was part of Voorhees’ M of C team every year of his career, rising from the team’s seventh finisher as a freshman to its fourth as a sophomore and again as a junior, and finally to its lead runner this fall. Fritz hadn’t broken 17 minutes in seven races at Holmdel Park coming into the year, and then he surpassed it in all three visits to the course in 2019, turning in his best time at 16:34.77 at the M of C.
In his Holmdel debut in 2016, Fritz was one of only seven freshmen out of 187 runners at the meet.
“He ran very well as a freshman at a meet of that magnitude,” Voorhees coach Jeff Capone said. “We were pretty good that year and as he saw what the program was, I think he really was aware of what to expect sophomore, junior, and now his senior year, he’s one of our tri-captains this year, and he continually improved. He ran his best time at Holmdel on (Nov.) 23rd at the Meet of Champions.”
Fritz won the freshman race at the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex meet in 2016 and was part of Voorhees’ varsity seven at the counties meet each of the next three years, turning in top-10 finishes each time and closing his career with an H/W/S title in October in 16:37.24, finishing 4.7 seconds in front of sophomore teammate Jack Tavaglione.
That finish helped Voorhees keep its H/W/S title streak going into a seventh year, putting up 37 points to finish with a 54-point cushion over runner-up Pope John. Fritz then finished runner-up at the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 2 meet to lead three Voorhees runners in the top four spots and help deliver the program its second consecutive sectional title.
“I think he got that from his freshman year on, looking at the commitment of what the team does and what the program is,” Capone said. “The seniors leave a legacy from what they’ve done, and he’s going to be one of those guys that we’ll talk about. I’ll bring him up in the years to come. He left a great legacy running cross-country and I think he’s looking forward to, and obviously I’m looking forward to coaching him indoor and in spring track.”
Fritz’s four-year span at Voorhees included four H/W/S titles, four top-three finishes at the Skyland Conference meet, three sectional titles and a runner-up, top-three finishes all four years at the Group 2 meet, and full-team representation at the M of C each year. From his freshman-year M of C forward, Fritz was a part of the Vikings’ seven in all of those big meets.It’s that kind of tradition, culture and expectation that will widen an athlete’s focus beyond the self.
“All the goals and times we talked about were team-oriented,” Capone said. “We talk to the guys individually about what they want to do and where they’re at and realistically how they’re going to improve, but Dylan knew the legacy of the team and he wanted to win as a team. They wanted to keep our streak alive in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex. They wanted to win another sectional title, (and) obviously we wanted to win another Group 2 title. Those were the kind of goals he set for himself and I think that’s how he pushed the other guys on the team, to remember that and keep the tradition of the program alive.”
Fritz helped keep that tradition alive, and Capone has another example to show Vikings to come of a runner who kept at it and whose results kept on trending upward.
Dylan Fritz