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Muddy and slippery conditions are expected today when the top high school runners in New Jersey meet at 10 a.m. at Holmdel Park in Monmouth County for the State Boys and Girls Group Cross Country Championships.

The top 10 individual finishers and top five teams in each enrollment group from last Saturday's sectional championships will compete. Non-Public schools qualify automatically for today's races.

There will be boys and girls individual and team champions crowned today in six enrollment groups. The top three teams and top 10 individuals in each group today will qualify for the Nov. 21 Meet of Champions. There also are wild-card berths for teams and individuals.

The Wildwood Catholic girls team, led by senior Tara Wuko, is a top contender for a Non-Public B team championship today.

"I feel really good and I'm trying to stay positive and confident," Wuko said Friday. "I'm excited that we have a chance. We'll try to work together and have everyone try to run a smart race, and we'll see how we can do."

Ocean City's Miles Schoedler won the South Jersey Group III race last Saturday in 15 minutes, 59 seconds at Delsea Regional and led the Red Raiders to the boys team title. He's among the top Group III runners today.

The Southern Regional boys team, topped by Matt Valeriani, is one of several strong teams in Group IV. Valeriani placed second in the S.J. Group IV race at Delsea in 15:46 seconds, the fastest time by a Press-area boy. Corrie Gethard of the Southern girls team was third in Group IV last Saturday in 18:44, the fastest time by a Press-area girl.

Emily Casey of Holy Spirit is a contender in girls Non-Public A. Philip Fanz of St. Augustine Prep, who won the S.J. Non-Public boys race in 16:08 at Delsea, should do well in Non-Public A boys.

A powerful northeaster has pummeled much of the state the last couple of days, so runners have an idea what to expect in Holmdel.

"I like Holmdel," Wuko said. "It's a really hard course, and it helps if you've run it before. You don't want to take it out too fast or mess up in the middle. We're used to the weather conditions. We've had a couple races in muddy conditions this year. We'll just go out and have fun and stay positive. Everyone's running in the same conditions. We won (the state Non-Public B team title) when I was a freshman and it would be awesome if we could do it again."

Contact Guy Gargan:

609-272-7210

ggargan@pressofac.com

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