Seton Hall Prep cross-country teams sweep SEC titles

WEST ORANGE, NJ — On Tuesday, Oct. 12, at Branch Brook Park in Newark, the Seton Hall Prep cross-country team, in an impressive show of program strength, won the varsity, junior varsity, and freshman races to capture the Super Essex Conference–American Division titles.

In the varsity race, the Pirates scored 39 points. Senior Anthony Bottino finished in fourth place in 17:07; sophomore Connor Schmit, sixth place in 17:13; senior Danny Collum, seventh place, 17:18; senior Ben Ferraro, eighth place, 17:27; and senior Brady Sheaffer, 14th place in 17:44. Strong efforts were also run by senior AJ Villaruel, 17:50, and junior TJ Sparno, 18:05. 

The JV team scored 32 points. Senior Bedros Maldjian finished first in 18:20; senior Benjamin Brennan, second in 18:24; junior Russell Webb, fifth in 18:57; senior Michael Davis, 11th in 19:37; and senior John Dec, 13th in 19:49. The freshmen scored 23 points. Brendan Mathey was first in 12:02.3; Matthew Oess was second, 12:02.9; Christian Dolz-Carrizo was fourth in 12:08; Nick Lazzari was sixth in 12:37; and Gabe Ramos was 10th in 12:53. The other top runners were William Magaldi in 12:55 and Michael Allen in 14:14. The Pirates will prepare for the Essex County Championships, which will be held at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield on Oct. 29 at 2 p.m.