Columbia junior Keira Monagle, right, won the Essex County girls varsity championship and junior teammate Gwendolyn Butkus, left, earned a medal.l
MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Columbia High School boys and girls cross-country teams return a strong group of runners from last season. That certainly bodes well for another strong campaign.
Last season, the boys team repeated as champions in the Super Essex Conference—American Division Championships and Essex County Championships. The boys then took third place at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 state championships to advance to the NJSIAA’s Group 4 state championships.
The top returners are senior Leo Klint, junior Levi Taber-Kewene, senior Christian Caravetta, junior Abe Hoffmann, junior Julius Marshall and sophomore Nathan Simonich.
Junior Jeremy Crawford and senior Leo Levy are newcomers to watch.
CHS boys head coach Alex Simon said the goals for the boys team are to win the conference, county and sectionals, and become the first team in school history to qualify for the state Meet of Champions.
“This is, on paper, the fastest team we’ve coached since taking over the program, but success isn’t written on paper. The boys know what they need to do and are excited to be able to accomplish those goals,” Simon said.
On the girls’ side, the Cougars, under head coach Michael Johnson, return senior Keira Monagle, who won the girls’ race at the Essex County Championships and also qualified for the state Meet of Champions last season.
Other returners are senior Gwendolyn Butkus, senior Kendall Waite, junior Ameli Witherspoon, junior Elizabeth Poutre, sophomore Amalia Mullen and junior Elizabeth Leahy.
Freshmen Cecily Taber-Kewene and Niko Reese, and junior Kate McManus are newcomers.
The girls team hopes to win the conference and county meets, advance to the group meet and have a few qualifiers for the state Meet of Champions.
“This is a very upperclassmen-heavy group that has been waiting for two and three years for their turn, and now they are ready to achieve those goals,” Simon said. “They are hungry and driven for one of the best cross-country seasons in school history.”
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