CHS girls cross-country excels at sectionals; advances to Group 4 meet

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Columbia High School girls cross-country team finished fourth overall among the 15 schools at the North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 State Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Greystone-Central Park in Morris Plains.

The Cougars qualified for the Group 4 State Championships at Holmdel Park on Saturday, Nov. 16. The top five teams in the sectional earned Group meet berths.

Kirah Tianga, a junior, finished 14th in 19:46.80 among the 98 finishers to lead Columbia. Violet Gordon, a sophomore, was 27th in 21:02.50; junior Kate Beemer was 28th in 21:06.80; sophomore Sasha Rojer took 35th in 21:27.10; junior Darcy Perlman was 39th in 21:36.20; sophomore Ellie Rojer was 40th in 21:36.80 and senior Julia Young was 72nd in 23:49.60.

On the boys’ side, Columbia finished eighth overall among the 16 schools. Senior William Schabacker took 18th in 16:46.10 among the 118 finishers to lead CHS. Sophomore Aaron Glassman was 42nd in 17:53.40; sophomore Nate Lindstrom was 44th in 17:54.10; junior Daniel Flynn was 48th in 17:59.80; junior William Griffith was 66th in 18:20.10; sophomore Javier Casella was 77th in 18:55.20 and freshman Daniel Batkus was 79th in 18:56.40.