Columbia HS boys’ cross-country team excels at Section meet; advances to Group 4 State final

From left are the Columbia boys’ varsity cross-country runners: Will Schabacker, Ricky Hankey, Jon Salinardo, Edward Martinez, Jack O’Connell, David Ives, and Tim Depue.

MORRIS PLAINS, NJ – On Saturday, Nov. 4, the Columbia High School boys’ varsity cross-country team finished a strong fourth out of 15 teams in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 State Championship meet held at Greystone Park in Morris Plains to advance to the Group 4 state final race this weekend.

This is the third straight NJSIAA Group 4 State final for the Class of 2018 and the second under head coach Chris Faraone.

Co-captain David Ives led the way with a medal-winning 10th place finish out of 109 runners in a time of 16:20. Following him with another strong performance was Jon Salinardo in 20th place at 16:46. Rounding out the top five scoring for the Cougars were Edward Martinez, Tim Depue, and Ricky Hankey.

The Columbia HS girls finished a successful 2017 season at Greystone Park, finishing ninth out of 12 teams. Catherine Jordan, a senior, led the way to finish 37th out of 86 runners. Following her were sophomore Sari Rosenberg, senior Isabel Farrell, sophomore Eloise Wendt, junior Elyssa Nielson, and sophomore Julia Young.

The NJSIAA Group 4 State final will take place this Saturday, Nov. 11, in Holmdel.