THE 15TH OF NOVEMBER 2025,A GREAT SATURDAY AT HOLMDEL PARK

By ELLIOTT DENMAN

What a great Saturday at Holmdel Park !!!

Getting it going (at 8.30 am) was the 8th annual Bill Bruno Alumni XC Race - proudly hosted by Shore AC and open to all - which attracted its largest ever field (nearly 200) and was won by host club's men's champion Brian Hill in 15,43 over Julian Bonk 16.40/
Third was  SAC;s Kyle Spector 16.46 and fourth Mike Margeliane 16.53.
Women's champion was  Easton,Pa's Adelyn Davis 18.27, with the Shore AC duo Kerry Dyke 18.42.02 and Amanda Huneke 18.42.60 terrific in 2-3, and Gypsy Cooper next, 19.13 .
Truly great event  !!

Then, of course, came the classic 53rd NJSIAA Meet of Champions twinbill, girls at 11 am, boys at noon.

For only the fourth time in MofC history, the Shore Conference provided both individual champions (according to my calculations).

After Ocean Township sensational sophomore Leah Starkey edged Union Catholic sensational junior and defending champion Paige 
Sheppard  17.15 to 17,17 in the girls race with UC's Caylee Kaiser 17.45 third ahead of another brilliant sophomore, Middletown South's Amelia Patwell of the famed Patwell family, 17.52.

Then the boys:  CBA teammates Luke Hnatt 15,23 and Gavin Schmitt 15.26 ran 1-2 in the boys race, just ahead of Manalapan's Clay
Stevens.15.35, and Chatham's Marcus  Valenzuela.
    All these times - individual and team totals - rank right up there with the very/very best in Holmdel history.   After its debut at Ocean County Park in 1972. the Mof C has been staged at Holmdel ever since 1973 (excepting Covid year 2021/).   

Top four boys teams: CBA,Haddonfield, Union Catholic,  Manalpan;   Top four girls teams Union Catholic,Ridgewood, Paul VI, Cherokee.  
     It was CBA's superb 28th title and fourth straight. !!!    
(Only previous Shore Conference individual sweeps I denote:  Craig Forys (Colts Neck) and Danielle Tauro (Southern Regional) both 2005 and 2006; both going on to stardom at Univ of Michigan, then   CBA's Joe Barrett (now of Univ North Carolina) and Freehold Township's Emma Zawatski 2023.)