Schalick’s Hadfield becomes second state XC champion from Salem County when she wins Group I race
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
HOLMDEL – Jordan Hadfield would never have dreamed or expected to have the kind of success she enjoyed in her first year running cross country this fall.
She has experience as a distance runner in outdoor and indoor track, but opening it up in the open air like she’s done this fall was something completely new. She was just hoping for a reasonably acceptable time to establish a baseline for the outdoor season.
But she’s done better. A lot better.
The Schalick junior completed what can only be described as a great first year running cross country in the best possible way Saturday. She won the NJSIAA Group I girls championship, going around the Holmdel Park course in 19:19.24.
“I’m super excited about it,” Hadfield said. “I was very nervous about it, but I’m so happy that I was able to do it because I really wanted it.
“If I were to say I’d win a state championship, it’d probably be in soccer before running if I’d have ever thought. I really wasn’t expecting this, but as the season progressed I thought maybe this is possible.”
She’s the first runner from Schalick to win a state Group title and second ever state champion from Salem County. Woodstown’s Jaime Weisgerber set the bar when she won the Group II race in 1994.
It was her ninth win in 11 races this season. The only races she didn’t win were the South Jersey Shootout (third) and the Shore Coaches Invitational (sixth), but those misses gave her a sense of what it was going to take against elite runners going forward.
She led Saturday’s race wire-to-wire, an approach that has served her best all season, and won by 14 seconds over Delana Einreinhofer of Wallkill Valley, the runner who beat her in last year’s outdoor 1600 and 3200 and at the Shore Coaches meet.
“I’m amazed every time she goes out there,” Cougars girls coach Missy Pine said. “Cross country is a difficult sport and you really can’t explain it to anybody, you have to actually try it yourself to see what it’s like.
“She’s done track for two years prior and decided this year she would give it a go with cross country and she’s done extraordinary well. We expected her to do well this season, but we never expected all that she has been able to accomplish.”
The Cougars finished 14th as a team. Elizabeth Petrunis was their second fastest runner, coming in 40th overall (22:29.56).
Metuchen won the girls and boys Group I team titles. The girls placed all five of their counters in the top 20. The boys placed all of their counters in the top 25.
The Schalick boys were 13th as a team. Senior Charles Fuerneisen, the Salem County boys champion, was 33rd overall (18:04). Matthew Tozer was 45th (18:23).
“I thought both the boys and girls teams performed well,” Pine said. “It’s a tough course that we don’t get to run often. They did the best that they could and having the added hills and obstacles that we’re not used to, they performed at the best that they could.”
Woodstown’s Jacob Marino finished right alongside Tozer and teammate Karson Chew was 75th (19:09).
Next up for Hadfield is the Meet of Champions, next Saturday, back here at Holmdel Park.
Group I Girls
TEAM SCORES: Metuchen 61, Shore Regional 92, New Providence 133, Hasbrouck Heights 158, Glen Rock 210, Bogota 220, Haddon Twp. 223, Highland Park 227, Weehawken 244, McNair Academic 257, Kittatinny 287, Manville 295, Mountain Lakes 305, Schalick 306, Maple Shade 363, Kinnelon 380, Ridgefield Memorial 389, Audubon 406, Gloucester City 427.
| TOP 5 | SCHOOL | TIME |
| Jordan Hadfield | Schalick | 19:20 |
| Delana Einreinhofer | Wallkill Valley | 19:34 |
| Gianna Hernandez | Metuchen | 20:13 |
| Astrid Taffarello | Weehawken | 20:19 |
| Macie McCracken | Wildwood | 20:19 |
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