Edison competed at the Greater Middlesex Championships at Thompson Park as the penultimate race of the fall 2023 cross country season on Saturday, October 21. While the conditions were less than ideal and the Thompson Park course was difficult, Edison managed to win medals across varsity, JV, and freshmen races.
“When we arrived at the park, it was pouring rain, extremely cold and we all believed we were going to get sick,” said Bryce Hickerson ‘26, a JV member. “The course itself was difficult to run on, people around me were slipping because of the mud.”
Despite the inclement conditions, Hickerson and Brett Bills ‘26 both medalled in the JV race with times of 19:42.34 and 20:00.11 respectively. The Edison Boys JV team had a fourth place finish overall, narrowly beating Monroe by a margin of just four points.
Along with strong JV performances, varsity runner and Captain Paolo Pittenger ‘24 medalled with the time of 17:31.60, the best time of the team. Following him were Mark Palladino ‘26 and Joaquin Sanchez ‘26 with strong showings of 18:36.10 and 18:38.71 respectively.
“Even after having lost the majority of our varsity team last year, the underclassmen have stepped up to fill the varsity team and they have not disappointed,” said Pittenger. “I am excited to see what is to come at sectionals.”
As the final race for the freshmen this season, they stepped up, with three placing top fifteen and receiving medals. Nikolaos Schneider ‘27, Logan Parks ‘27, and Edward Schneider ‘27 ran times of 20:02.69, 20:13.91, and 20:30.94 respectively.
“The downhill in particular was difficult, and I had an asthma attack towards the end of the race,” said Edward Schneider. “I knew I could medal, so I pushed through and thankfully it worked out in the end”.
Despite the difficult conditions, the freshmen displayed their maturity and mental fortitude which resulted in a strong fourth place finish for the boys freshman team overall, being their best placement of the season.
Finally, there were PRs across groups with JV runner Jacob Badilla ‘25 running a minute faster and freshman runner Aaden Wesley ‘27 half a minute faster than his previous record.
This Greater Middlesex Championship proved to be successful for many runners. In one week’s time with training, the team hopes to hit huge personal records at the final race, NJSIAA Sectionals.
