The legendary Phillipsburg-Easton high school sports rivalry kicked off on Saturday, September 12, at the Phillipsburg Athletic Complex. The Phillipsburg cross country teams delivered outstanding performances against Easton, with both the boys’ and girls’ teams taking five of the top six places on one of New Jersey’s most challenging cross country courses. This meet was just the start of a school year packed with athletic events in which the two schools will compete head-to-head.
Phillipsburg sophomore Olivia Auriema led the Stateliner girls to a 37-19 win over the Rovers, finishing first with a time of 20:12.
“My strategy was to stay with Easton’s top runner,” Auriema shared. “I wanted to just keep going and not give up. I was so thrilled when all of our girls came through one after the other.”
Easton’s Vivian Clark finished second with a time of 20:47, followed by Phillipsburg’s Abigail Carrig, Ella Schuetz, Emery McDarby, and Emily Bellfy.
“We’ve been really trying to run together as a team, like doing different workouts on the course, but also focusing on staying together in a pack,” said Carrig, who was pleased with her performance. “We’ve come a very long way as a team, and we’re really trying to go far this season.”
“Beating Easton means success for our team,” stated McDarby, a sophomore at Phillipsburg. “To win on our own course means so much more than last year’s win because it’s on our own turf. We all wanted this so badly; it was really exciting for us.”
Jenna Sokolowski, the girls’ team coach, was thrilled with her team’s performance.
“The girls have been running together every single day since the beginning of June with very little time off. Olivia winning was fantastic; I knew she could do it. Abby has been running exactly where she needs to be, but Ella Schuetz, a freshman, placing third on our team is amazing. For a long time, having so many girls in the top ten wasn’t something that Phillipsburg girls cross country was able to do.”
The Stateliner boys crossed the finish line in similar fashion, with senior Anthony Pettinelli finishing first in 17:38 to help lead Phillipsburg to a 38-18 win over Easton.
“Beating Easton is always a goal, but it was great to see everyone finally come together at the beginning of the season. I think we have a lot of potential for the end of the year,” Pettinelli acknowledged. “We have the same goals as usual: run every race the best we can and win the division again.”
Phillipsburg sophomore Noah Davis was right behind Pettinelli with a time of 17:50, followed by Easton’s Jayden Minor in 17:55. Phillipsburg’s Conor Tennant, Chris McGuiness, and William Taylor placed fourth through sixth, respectively.
“We are still trying to figure out who our varsity guys are going to be,” explained head coach Bill Hurst. “The guys who were up front were the ones who I expected to be up front. I thought Jack Johnson (sophomore) ran a tough race. I thought Seth Wolfinger (senior) ran fantastic. He’s a big kid, and he always gives a great effort.”
“We knew coming in that we were a much deeper team today, but you learn not to expect things because these are high school kids, and you never know what could happen. I am pleased that it worked out the way that I felt that it should have. We will get better every week. If you’re going to beat us, you’re going to have to beat us now because we are going to get much better as the season goes on.”
Both Stateliner teams were thrilled to celebrate their second consecutive victories over Easton.
Keep an eye on the Phillipsburg cross country teams as they compete in the Magee Memorial Class Meet on Saturday, September 26, at Greystone-Central Park in Morris Plains, New Jersey.
