NUTLEY, NJ – The Nutley High School boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams took to the fast paths of Brookdale Park for the 2016 Essex County Championships on Friday, Oct. 28, and came away with a pair of top 10 team finishes.
The boys, led by Jimmy Quinn’s 16:13, finished seventh overall with a team average of 17:32. The girls’ team, led by Ellie McCreesh’s 19:57, finished fourth overall with a team average of 21:15.
Both Quinn and McCreesh finished ninth in their races, earning them First Team All-County Honors.
In the Varsity Girls’ Race, the Raiders had to overcome losing No. 2 runner Kate Contini to a hip injury. The girls rose to the occasion with six of the top seven running seasonal bests or lifetime bests to finish fourth overall as a team.
Leading the way was Ellie McCreesh with her 19:57 (SB) in ninth place. Shawna Lewis ran her best race of the year at 21:05 finishing just outside of the top 20. Jaela Small followed in the 3 spot for the Raiders with a Personal Record of 21:29, while right behind her was senior Amanda Zheng at 21:33. Sophomore Isabella Bernardo continued to drop seconds off her time coming in a huge PR of 22:13 for the fifth spot. Nicolette Contella (22:40 SB) and Katelyn Gil (22:55) rounded out the top seven for the Raiders.
Jimmy Quinn led the boys to a seventh place team finish by clocking a big 16:13 PR. Eric Vogler clocked a 17:30 for the No. 2 spot for the Raiders. Matt Dasilva and Gerard Dimayuga both recorded their first-ever sub 18 clockings with a 17:54.1 and 17:54.9 respectively. Vinny Marinaro also clocked a PR of 18:07. Nick Duca came in at 18:42, while Phil Amiths rounded out the scorers for the Raiders in the Varsity race. Their team average of 17:32 is the fastest boys’ team average during the tenure of Coach Gerry Ryan.
The JV Girls’ race saw the Lady Raiders grab another top 5 team finish. They were lead by Emily McIntyre’s PR of 22:57, Taylor Waddleton’s SB of 22:59 and Paula Echeverria’s 23:00. Freshman Shannon Granelli continued to have a strong finish to her rookie year clocking another PR at 23:57. Anna Charlotte Intindola rounded out the top five for the Raiders with a 24:19. Also clocking PRs for the Raiders were Gianna Marinaro (24:32), Kayla D’Auria (25:00), Ana Paun (26:01), Kim Gil (26:41) and Kelly Waddleton (28:30).
The JV Boys’ team finished ninth overall and were led by Darien Ramirez’s 19:02 PR. Kevin Zhang dropped another PR at 19:31 for the No. 2 spot, followed by Mark Alday’s 19:51. Eddie Machado recorded his first-ever sub 20 clocking at 19:55. Also recording PRs for the Raiders were Rauf Ural (20:04), high jumper Silvan Sooksatan (20:10), Noah Roselli (20:47), Brian McCormack (21:03) and Brandon DeFluri (21:10).
Next up for the Raiders is the opening round of the NJSIAA State Championships. The Raiders race at Garret Mountain in Woodland Park on Saturday Nov. 5. The Boys’ race goes off at 11:40 a.m. and the Girls’ race goes off at 12:30 p.m.
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