Saint James Girls Become 1st Middle School Team To Win Freshman Race

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — A Saint James middle school girls team made history on Saturday at the HOKA Manhattan University meet in Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx, becoming the first middle school team to win the high school Freshman race overall.

According to Saint James, the Manhattan University meet dates to 1973 and is described as the nation’s largest and most historic high school meet.

The Orange Crush girls defeated every high school freshman team in the field.

Middle school teams are permitted to compete in the high school Freshman races, and Saint James Coach Matthew Wizeman said he chose that route instead of the middle school race for competitive reasons.

"I just felt that the middle school race was not going to be competitive enough for the girls, and it would give our boys great exposure to running at the high school level. It is rare to get the opportunity to run against high schools, and I just wanted our kids to know that they can compete at any level. I wasn’t sure that our girls would win outright, but I did feel that they would represent themselves very well. They won outright and by a substantial amount. This will give them more confidence as we get to the championship portion of the season," Wizeman said.

The meet began with the Freshman races, with the boys running first in each flight.

In the second boys’ flight, Saint James Varsity defeated several high school teams despite competing without several of its top athletes, according to the meet summary.

Three of the team’s top seven runners earned medals. John Babic led Saint James with a 25th-place finish overall, while Jack Thiemer and Matthew Krenek also medaled.

The girls’ result came in the third flight of the Freshman race. All five Saint James scorers finished in the top 20.

Julia Daus and Livy Battista took podium spots by finishing second and third. Bella Milelli placed sixth, Avery Pfistner finished 14th, and fifth grader Teagan Rogers placed 17th. Charlie Miller also earned a medal.

Saint James also had runners in the middle school race. Fifth graders Maverick Heinze, James Malloy and James Battista each earned medals there. They were the three fastest finishers below seventh grade.