The following was submitted by a team parent.
Ten boys cross country teams from across the area gathered at Branch Brook Park in Newark on October 6 for the Super Essex Conference League Championships. The Columbia varsity team finished in second place trailing only perennial state power Millburn. The Cougars topped a number of strong teams from the SEC including Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, and Montclair.
Columbia was again led by junior Jared Pangallozzi who finished 3rd out of 69 runners in a time of 16:32.0 over the 5K (3.1 miles) course. Rounding out the scoring by the top 5 runners for the Cougars were two sophomores – David Ives (8th) and Tim Depue (22nd) along with two seniors – Gabe Benson (14th) and Jacob Paul (26th).
Columbia Cross Country Team: Coach Lisa Morgan, Gabe Benson, Jon Salinardo, David Ives, Tim Depue, Luke Burke, Jared Pangallozzi, and Jacob Paul. Not pictured – Coach Rich Moss
The SEC meet was the first race in the fall cross country championship season. Next up for the Cougars will be the Essex County Invitational on Saturday, October 17. The race will take place at Branch Brook Park in Newark with separate races for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
