NUTLEY, NJ – The Nutley High School boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams, guided by head coach Gerry Ryan, have made strong strides to start the season during the Super Essex Conference Duals at Branch Brook park.
In Week 1 SEC Duals on Sept. 8, junior Jimmy Quinn finished second overall in 18:26.7 and senior captain Eric Vogler was third in 18:32 among 42 finishers to lead the NHS boys. Senior captain Matt DaSilva was seventh in 19:18.8 and sophomore Vinny Marinaro was ninth in 19:40.5. The race included Barringer, Technology, West Orange, Columbia, Glen Ridge, and Belleville. Nutley beat Columbia, 19-27.
For the NHS girls’ team, junior Ellie McCreesh finished first overall among 64 runners in the Week 1 SEC Duals. McCreesh was timed in 22:26. Junior Jaela Small was fifth in 23:50.7; senior captain Amanda Zheng, seventh, in 24:07; junior Shawna Lewis, 14th, 25:12.5; and senior captain Nicolette Contella, 25:31.7. The race included Barringer, Verona, North 13th St., Bloomfield, Caldwell, Newark Academy, Livingston, Irvington, and Newark Tech. Nutley beat Newark Academy, 25-30, Bloomfield, 23-32, and Caldwell, 17-46.
In WeeK 2 SEC Duals on Sept. 13, Quinn finished fourth out of 85 runners. He clocked 17:28.5. Vogler was seventh in 18:07.4; DaSilva was 11th in 18:57.2 and Marinaro was 16th in 19:07. The other schools in the race were Bloomfield, Cedar Grove, Glen Ridge, Caldwell, Newark Tech, West Side, Livingston, Montclair Kimberley Academy, West Essex. Nutley beat Livingston, 20-35, but lost to Montclair Kimberley Academy, 22-35.
On the girls’ side, McCreesh was third overall out of 43 runners in 21:59. Small took 14th in 23:33.9 and senior Katelyn Gill was 15th in 23:38.2 for NHS, which beat West Essex, 22-37, but lost to Montclair, 19-44. Cedar Grove, Christ the King, East Orange, and West Side were the other schools in the race.
In Week 3 SEC Duals on Sept. 20, Quinn was seventh out of 78 runners with a time of 17:24.4. Vogler was 11th in 18:05.4. The race included Central, East Side, Science, Christ the King, Glen Ridge, Newark Academy, Verona, Montclair, Seton Hall Prep, and Newark Academy. Nutley beat Verona, 20-35, but lost to SHP, 18-43, and Montclair, 19-42.
In the girls’ race, McCreesh was fifth overall out of 68 runners in 22:01.0. Sophomore Kate Contini was 11th in 23:17.7 and Contella took 18th in 23:59.4. Nutley beat West Orange, 17-41, but lost to Millburn, 20-38. The other schools in the race were Cedar Grove, East Side, Newark Tech, Irvington, Livingston, St. Vincent, University and Verona.
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In week 3 SEC duals, if I recall correctly, Jaela Small came in at 22:46 in the girls race for Nutley.