All about perspective

Woodstown’s Chew wins Salem County Cross County boys race, Schalick’s Hadfield wins girls race, their squads win team titles

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN — Two races. Two winners. Two vastly different reactions.

Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield repeated as the Salem County girls cross country champion and Woodstown’s Karson Chew made his first varsity win a big one in the boys race, but the reactions to their victories couldn’t have been more different.

Chew was over the moon after he won the boys race at Salem Tech in 17:00.79, while Hadfield was visibly upset walking away from the finish after winning the girls race in 19:15.79. 

Woodstown won the boys team title for the first time since 2021 with 17 points. Schalick edged Woodstown by nine points in what amounted to a dual meet for the girls crown.

Chew admitted he wasn’t a very good classmate or student for much of the school day because he was so locked in to winning the race. He’d come up short each of the last two years, finishing fifth as a freshman and second last year, and wasn’t sure how he’d finish this year because his teammates were equally strong, but he was determined to go for it.

He was the fastest Salem County boys runner in a Tri-County Conference batch meet on the Salem Tech course Oct. 1 (seventh overall).

“I came into it today thinking I need a win, so I went for it and here we are,” Chew said. “Honestly, this year has been rocky for me. I’ve had a couple meets where I didn’t do my best; I had one DNF, which has never happened to me before. A couple meets before this I ran my PR for the season and I was like I know I can do this.

“I knew in my heart, in my head and my legs that I could do it and I did it and I’m super proud of myself for that. I love the energy that all gave me. I’ve been in the top 25 since my freshman year, this year I’m top seven, and I was like, county, this is it, I’m going to win it.”

He’s the first Woodstown boy to win the county crown since John Turner ran a 17:58 to lead a 1-2-4 Wolverines finish in 2021 at Schalick.

He went out in a pack with several teammates, but quickly separated himself with teammate Jacob Marino. They came through the midpoint of the race stride for stride, but then halfway through the second loop he went for it and eventually beat his teammate to the line by 15 seconds. Wolverines senior track captain Cole Lucas, running cross country for the first time, was third.

“I was in my own world the whole day; I was thinking to myself about this meet the whole day,” Chew said. “This is a big thing for me. I needed this so much.

“This was the meet that my coach was hyping me up about. He was like, ‘Who’s it going to be, you or Jacob, who’s it going to be? I kept thinking to myself I need this to be me. For the rest of my season to go well, I need this to be me.”

Winning races might be a new experience for Chew, it’s a regular occurrence for Hadfield. So much so that the quality of the run is as important as the finish.

And that’s what had her coming out of the finishing chute with her face in her hands on the verge of tears and then walking across the field to be consoled by coach Missy Pine. She led wire-to-wire without much push and won by more than a minute, but the 19-minute run over the flat course just wasn’t up to her standard.

She was hoping for something closer to the 18:22 she ran while winning her race Six Flags on Sept. 28 as she prepares for a run at states.

“It should not have been that,” the Cougars senior said. “I’m trying to be better each time and today I guess wasn’t me. I just wasn’t feeling good or something, I don’t know. We need to look forward to Saturday (at Dream Park) and forget about this and just focus on that.”

In her defense she was running her second race in five days and ran into a strong headwind several times along Wednesday’s route. She finished third in her race at Holmdel Park last Saturday. 

“It’s definitely a lot racing multiple times a week, it definitely gets you for sure this part of the season,” she said. “You definitely felt the wind. I don’t know if that was a part of it. My first mile was fine and then after that, that’s when I fell off.”

In the team standings, Woodstown put five of the first six runners across the line in the boys race. Salvatore Longo of Schalick finished fourth to prevent them from scoring a cross country shutout. Schalick’s girls placed seven runners in the top 12 overall and had five of the first eight counters.

“It’s a small county but these small programs have always had quality teams,” Woodstown coach Steve New said. “You might think that winning Salem County is small and not that big of a deal, but I think beating some of these teams that are around here is impressive. I don’t think it’s a small feat to win this county title. It takes a lot of work to do it.”

Salem County XC Championship

BOYS TEAM SCORES: Woodstown 17, Schalick 41, Salem Tech 77, Salem 101, Penns Grove 141.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Schalick 25, Woodstown 34.