The boy’s team competed in the Varsity B race, comprised of Group 1 and 2 schools, and finished with 329 points, good enough for 13th place in a 15 team field. Verona’s neighboring school, Montclair Kimberley Academy, won the team title with 78 points.
The Hillbillies averaged 20:13 over the 5K course and were led by senior Ryan Ramsthaler who came in 44th place overall, covering the course in a time of 18:57. Dipping under the 20-minute barrier and coming in second for Verona was senior Dino Calandra with a 65th place time of 19:56. Rounding out the top five for the team was sophomore Mark Walsh (72nd), freshman Michael Maglione (82nd) and junior Sean Burke (84th), with times of 20:10, 20:57, and 21:06, respectively.
The girl’s team also competed in the Varsity B race, finishing 12th out of 17th teams with 300 points. Somerville won the team title with 63 points.
The girls averaged 25:08 for the 5K race and were led by Junior Ava Anderson, who came in 24th place overall with a time of 22:52. Following Anderson was Freshman Julia DiGeronimo with a 72nd place time of 25:16. Next was senior Julia Capuano in 79th place time of 25:47. Senior Gabrielle Horton and sophomore Adrianna Fierro closed out the scoring for Verona with 81st and 83rd place times of 25:49 and 25:54, respectively.
Also competing for Montclair Kimberly Academy was Verona resident, Billy Hughes, who finished in 11th place overall with a time of 17:35.
The Stewart Memorial Invitational is considered by many to be the pre-Sectional meet of the season, as Greystone is the site of the North II Sectional Championship and features many of the teams that will toe the line six weeks from now on November 7.
The Hillbillies will next be traveling to Darlington Park in Mahwah on October 3 for the Brett Taylor Invitational. The girl’s race goes off at 10:30 a.m. and the boy’s at 11 a.m.
Photos copyright Treesh Ramsthaler. Used by permission.
