Shannon Clancy Leads a Strong Field at Garret Invite

Governor Livingston All-State track star Victoria Vanriele notched the seventh invitational title of her career, Bergen Tech's Shannon Clancy remains unbeaten, while Morristown's Tobias Gaynor, High Point's Ethan Billings, Montclair Kimberley's Charlie Koenig and Sophia Lore of Mountain Lakes all enjoyed their first individual victories at the Garret Invitational on Saturday at Garret Mountain in Woodland Park. 

Perhaps the biggest headline grabbers of the meet were the Hasbrouck Heights boys, who won their third invitational title in as many weeks. 

The Aviators, paced by sophomore Evan Morrow (17:31) and junior Jake Porco (17:53), fifth and sixth, respectively, defeated North Warren 45-62 for the Varsity C title. Hasbrouck Heights had a sizzling 67-second split and a team average of 18:08. North Warren, which also had three in the top 10, was close behind with an 18:17 average but with a 2:10 split. 

Senior Damian Summers was 10th (18:14), senior TK Kasper was 12th (18:25) and junior Cole Sonzogni was 15th (18:38) to round the Aviators scorers. 

Montclair Kimberley's Koenig won the C race in 17:11. Koenig, the prep state champion last fall, captured his first invitational title this season and his third straight victory overall following two wins in Super Essex Conference batch races. 

High Point's Billings won the Varsity B race comfortably in 16:56. It was his first title after placing second in last year's NJAC Championships, and he was one of only three boys at the meet to slip under 17 minutes.  

A senior-led Gov. Livingston squad nipped Old Tappan for the Varsity B team title, 61-67. Old Tappan had the edge in team average (18:14 to 18:20) and had two runners in the top three, but Gov. Livingston, which boasted an impressive 55-second split, pushed its fourth runner across before Old Tappan's third. 

For GL, senior Brandon Woods was seventh (17:58), senior Alex Aranas was 10th (18:10), senior Aidan Maguire was 11th (18:14), sophomore Christopher Marinko was 15th (18:25), and junior Matthew Saia was 25th (18:53). 

Morristown's Gaynor won a great duel with Cilfton sophomore Jacob Heredia, edging the underclassman by two seconds in 16:50 to capture Varsity A individual honors. Theirs were the two fastest boys times of the meet. 

The victory was a huge accomplishment for Gaynor, whose previous best finish in a championship meet was a sixth-place effort in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 meet last season. Gaynor also snapped Heredia's winning streak, as the Clifton star won the Season Opener, the Back to the Mountain Invite and a Big North Liberty batch meet heading into the Garret showcase. 

Despite Gaynor's accomplishment, Morristown was unable to hold off Randolph, which earned a tight 116-124 victory for the Varsity A team title. Despite the close score and a team average three seconds slower than Morristown (17:56), Randolph had a drastically tighter 1-5 split (76 seconds to Morristown's 2:19). 

For Randolph, senior James Keaney was fourth (17:13), junior Alex Zacieracha was 15th (17:45), senior Joseph Hecht was 27th (18:11), junior Evan Donovan was 32nd (18:19), and sophomore Daniel Houston was 38th (18:29). 

Bergen Tech's Clancy won the girls Varsity A title in a tense battle with Clifton's Mia Dubac, 19:19 to 19:26, the two fastest girls times of the day. Clancy remains unbeaten this fall following prior wins in a Big North Liberty batch meet and at the Suffern Invitational. Dubac entered with a pair of wins, in the Season Opener and in the Back to the Mountain meet.

Northern Highlands stormed away with the Varsity A team title by jamming four runners into the top eight and stifling a solid Clifton crew 49-62. Both teams had identical 21:17 averages. 

Senior Daisy Liljegren led the Northern Highland charge by placing third in 19:39. Sophomore Jessica Reilly was fifth (21:12), sophomore Sydney Schildiner was seventh (21:14), senior Juliana Mercurio was eighth (21:25) and sophomore Hannah Mathew was 26th (22:57). 

Vanriele, a senior at Gov. Livingston and a six-time Meet of Champions winner in the 800 meters, snagged her first title of the season by beating the Varsity B field by 25 seconds in 19:48.  

Vanriele also spearheaded a team victory in a tight team race with Bergen County foes Mahwah and Old Tappan. The Highlanders averaged a race-best 22:18 and scored 71 points to hold off Mahwah with 80 and Old Tappan with 84. 

It's important to note here that Mahwah had a sensational 1-5 split of 1:20, led by senior Amanda Ford, ninth in 22:08. Gov. Livingston's split was 3:52 and Old Tappan's was 4:41.

In the Varsity C race, Lore of Mountain Lakes strong-armed the field by 32 seconds in winning with a 20:12. This was Lore's first career 5K victory on the trails, but she did win the 3,200-meter race at this meet last season.

By jamming three runners in the top 14, Lore and the Lakers slipped past Westwood 87-89 for the Varsity C team title, even though Westwood had the tighter pack (1:38 to 3:30). 

Mountain Lakes was rounded out by sophomores Laila Dages (16th, 22:49) and Ava Smith (17th, 22:50), junior Julianna Frattarelli (33rd, 23:37), and senior Molly Sentowski (34th, 23:42).