A constant drizzling rain fell throughout Tuesday's Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference cross country meet at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Frankford Township.
But that didn't dampen the spirits of the Montville Township boys and girls cross country teams.
Kevin Duffy took second place in the third boys race as the Mustangs recorded a round-robin sweep of High Point, Sparta and Morristown. Meanwhile, Heather Wolf finished third in her race as Montville defeated Sparta but fell to High Point. No score was posted for the Mustangs' race wth Morristown.
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"I wasn't familiar with the course, so I missed a couple of turns," said Duffy, a junior who recorded a time of 16:09.96. "This is a fast course. I like it."
Despite his unfamiliarity with the Fairgrounds course, on which Montville was running for the first time, Duffy nearly pulled out a victory. He had Sparta's Chris Sauer, who won in 16:07.85, in his sights heading toward the finish line, but couldn't quite kick it into gear.
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"I gave a good kick, but he (Sauer) kicked it more," Duffy said.
Montville topped High Point 16-40, Morristown 17-41 and Sparta 22-39.
Teammate Michael Higgins was right behind Duffy in third place with a 16:21.29.
Meanwhile, Wolf, a senior, was third overall in 19:33.82 as Montville defeated Sparta 20-35 while losing to High Point 19-40. High Point's Sarah DiSanza won the race in 19:20.50.
Farah Liu finished second for the Mustangs with a 19th-place time of 21:45.41.
"This is a nice, flat course, but there were a lot of puddles," Wolf said. "I ran a good race and we did well as a team." Wolf said.
Head coach Mark Philhower was pleased with both teams' performances.
"Everybody did very well, even though we missed a few turns," Philhower said. "The girls ran a very tough race. I'm proud of the way everybody ran."
Montville normally runs on a hilly course at Greystone Park in Parsippany. Would they go back to Sussex County?
"I'd definitely like to run this course again," Wolf said.
But perhaps when the weather is nicer.
