Lower’s Berger, Tech’s Zaccaria join Ocean City teams as qualifiers for state meets

Lower Cape May’s Will Berger placed third in the Group II sectional race to qualify for the state meet.

Cape May County teams and individuals represented themselves well at the sectional cross country meets at Delsea Regional High School on Saturday.

The Ocean City girls team won the South Jersey Group III championship for the ninth time in program history, posting a 35-47 edge over second-place Seneca. Senior Alexa Weber led the way with a third-place finish in 18 minutes, 49 seconds. Freshman Alexa Palmieri was fourth in 19:01, sophomore Casey McLees placed sixth in 19:27, senior Michaela Baker ended 11^th in 20:19 and junior Brooke Farr was 13^th in 20:28.

The top five teams and the top 10 individuals from each sectional meet advance to the state championship meets this weekend at Holmdel Park.

The Ocean City boys team also qualified out of the Group III sectional race by placing fourth. Senior Jesse Schmeizer led the Raiders with a fourth-place finish in 16:15. Senior Korey Greene (14^th in 16:43) and sophomore Anthony Conte (19^th in 16:51) also finished inside the top 20 for the Raiders.

Also joining the Raider teams as qualifiers from the sectional meets are Lower Cape May’s Will Berger and Cape May Tech’s Leo Zaccaria.

Berger, the Cape May County and Cape-Atlantic League individual champion earlier this fall, placed third in the Group III race in 15:59.  The senior missed second place by one second and finished 10 seconds behind winner Martin Riddell, who led Haddonfield to the team championship.

Cape May Tech’s Leo Zaccaria finished eighth in the Group I sectional race to qualify for the state championship meet.

Zaccaria, a junior, placed eighth in the Group I race, posting a time of 17:10. Pitman’s Sebastian Reed won the race in 16:11.

Also at Delsea on Saturday, the Wildwood Catholic girls team placed third in the Bob Keissling Memorial non-public meet. Julia Sorensen was 11^th in 20:47, Joelle Osborne placed 13^th in 20:57 and Alyia Grey-Rivera finished 20^th in 22:12 for the Crusaders.

Wildwood Catholic finished fifth in the Keissling boys race. Chris Johnson placed 20^th in 17:52 to lead the Crusaders.

The Keissling races are not considered a sectional race; all non-public teams are invited to compete at the state championship meets this weekend.

— Brian Cunniff

The Ocean City girls cross country team celebrates winning the South Jersey Group III championship.