Basking Ridge Cross Country Teams Post Strong Finishes At Holmdel Meet

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Ridge cross country teams turned in a strong day at the Shore Coaches Invitational in Holmdel, with the boys varsity squad winning the Varsity B race and the freshman girls also taking first place.

The meet on Saturday brought home a long list of medals and trophies for the program.

The boys varsity team had all seven runners finish in the top 30 of the Varsity B race to secure first place.

Owen James won the race in 16:14. Andrew Bandrowski placed fourth in 16:32, and Ernan Nargotra took eighth in 16:56.

Ridge sealed the team win with four more top-30 finishes. Matias Valle was 12th in 17:07, Nishank Shivapur finished 13th in 17:10, Jeffrey Chen took 17th in 17:13, and Rehaan Wadhwani placed 29th in 17:27.

The girls varsity team placed third in the girls Varsity B race. Isabella Beaudry led Ridge with a fifth-place finish in 19:47, and Maia Zalmover followed in 19:56.

Rachel Ellis was the first freshman in the varsity race with a time of 20:03, while fellow freshman Lily-Josephine Stephen earned a medal with a 21st-place finish in 20:31.

Sophomores Keiko Hou and Maya Glover also turned in solid varsity races, finishing in 21:27 and 21:40, respectively. The results added to a day that saw Ridge score well across multiple races at Holmdel.

In the freshman races, Ridge also posted fast times on the 2-mile course. Dillon Feehan placed ninth in 11:50, which was listed as the No. 2 Ridge all-time mark. Antonina Kane finished fourth in the girls race in 13:55.

The freshman girls swept up more medals, with every Ridge runner in that race finishing in the top 30.

The first mile drew complaints from freshmen, who said it was harder than teammates had described. Even so, both the girls and boys recorded fast races on the course.

With championship meets a few weeks away, Ridge appears positioned to score well based on the results at Holmdel.