Verona High School’s girls and boys cross country teams are both headed to the Group championships after strong finishes at the Sectionals race on Saturday.
David Navarro, a junior, was the top finisher for Verona, taking eighth place with a time of 17.40.73. Michael Maglione followed at 18:22.73, with Amon Rosenzweig and Chris Robinson just two seconds apart at 18:43:39 and 18:45:48. respectively. Sean Carney (19:01:52), Philip Chivily (19:57:08) and Andrew Hunt (20:10:54) rounded out the results for the boys, who finished fifth as a team.
“Being moved into Group 2, I am very happy with the boys performance at State Sectionals,” says Coach Laura Palmerezzi. “We prepare all season for this meet to make sure we qualify and move on to group championships. We are looking forward to running at Group 2 Championships at Holmdel.”
The tightly grouped girls team took third place overall in Group 2 girls. Bridget O’Donnell was the top finisher for the Verona girls, doing the 5K course in 21:41.33 for 12th place in the girls group. Jenika Ying was seconds behind, at 21:45:70, followed by Julia DiGeronimo (22:20.19), Annalie Ying (22:55:22) and Veronica Valera (23:01:03).
“This was the meet the girls circled on their calendar in August, knowing it was our first year competing in Group 2,” says Coach Gene Leporati. “Each girl trained extremely hard and were determined to get to the Group Championship at Holmdel. I’m so proud of their accomplishments this season and the incredible camaraderie.”
