The Rumson-Fair Haven Regonal High School (RFH) Girls Cross Country team has won a prestigious honor while setting a new RFH record.
The girls took first place at the 41st Reebok Manhattan Invitational in Van Courtlandt Park, NY on Saturday, according to a release.
The meet is one of the largest and most competitive on the east coast, it said. And RFH girls scored 74 points in comparison to Padua's 113, Monroe Woodbury's 126, West Morris Mendham's 131 and Mount St. Dominic's 148.
“I’m really proud of our girls,” Coach Tim McLoone said in a release. “Van Cortlandt Park is not an easy place to run. Its topography is devilish, with a series of seemingly non-ending climbs that exhaust even the most fit hill runners, followed by a tumbling descent to a flat sprint to the finish. Not only did our girls handily win their race but they were the best of the 22 NJ teams that competed there that day.”
There were 202 runners in the Varsity C's 2.5 mile race. Senior Megan Hellman led the team, finishing third with a time of 15:29.3. Senior Jacqueline Gottuso finished in sixth place with a time of 15:43.3.
Junior, Rachel Lehnert finished ninth with a time of 15:52.6; and junior Fini Satzke came in 23rd with a time of 16:27.1.
Freshman Charlotte Miller finished in 33rd place with a time of 16:46.
Sophomore Morgan Steinhacker finished in 52nd place with a time of 17:07; and junior Sophie Rosa finished in 55th with a time of 17:09.
The team's combined average finish time was 16:03.7, an RFH school record.
The RFH girls and boys will next compete at the Monmouth County Championships on Oct. 17 in Holmdel Park, and then at the Shore Conference Championships on Oct. 24 at Ocean County Park in Lakewood.
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