The following is from a cross-country team parent.
Dozens of cross country teams, and over a thousand runners from across New Jersey, converged this past Saturday at the 36th Bernie Magee Class Meet at Greystone Central Park in Morris Plains.
CHS Sophomore Cross Country team
The Columbia Cougars Sophomore Boys Cross Country team, a key part of a rebuilding program by Coaches Lisa Morgan and Rich Moss, defeated state cross country powers Hunterdon Central, Mendham, and Hopewell Valley to win the title. In a close race, with the first three runners on each team counting toward the team score, Columbia defeated second place Mendham by a combined time of 53:14 to 53:45. Leading the way for Columbia was David Ives in 3rd place (out of 131 runners) followed by Tim Depue (5th) and Jon Salinardo (9th). Sophomores Luke Burke, Ricky Hankey, and Edward Martinez also received medals as top 40 runners in the race.
In the other class races Catherine Jordan (Girls – Sophomore), Claudia Steiner (Girls – Junior), Jared Pangallozzi (Boys – Junior), and Gabe Benson (Boys – Senior) also received medals.
