Sports Roundup: Lady Maroon Runners Take BMOC Title

The Ridgewood girls cross country team on Saturday morning raced to victory in the snow at the Bergen County Meet of Champions at Darlington in Mahwah. The Ridgewood boys cross country were close to matching their speedy schoolmates, placing second in the team standings. The boys soccer team also excelled, winning its state playoff opener on Tuesday.

Girls Cross Country

In the history of the Bergen County Meet of Champions, the Ridgewood girls cross country team has been dominant over the years. The Lady Maroons harriers though have not won a BCMOC team title since 2005. Ridgewood wanted to end that string and did it with by doubling the score of Northern Highlands, 41-86, notching an easy win.

While a Ridgewood runner did not win the individual race title – which went to Northern Highlands junior Ariana North – the Lady Maroons had their top five runners finish in the top 15.

Senior Caroline Davidson led the way for Ridgewood with a third-place finish with a time of 19:27. Sophomore Laura Weisberger and senior Hanako Shigenobu came in fifth and sixth places with times of 19:33 and 19:34 respectively. Senior Victoria Pan and sophomore Emily Fishbein crossed the finish line at 14th and 15th with times of 20:10 and 20:11.

Boys Cross Country

The Ridgewood boys cross country team came in second, only behind dominant Don Bosco, 20 to 63 and ahead of third-place Ramsey, 120.

The Maroons runners had a pack mentality. Four of the top Ridgewood runners finished between 11th and 15th place. Maroons senior Travis Spicer had the best finish for the school, notching an 11th place with a time of 16:12. Behind Spicer was junior Nick Salamone, who came in 12th with a time of 16:15. 
Salamone was followed by junior Will Ades and senior Levi Jennings coming in 14th and 15th with times of 16:24 and 16:27 respectively.

Boys Soccer

The Ridgewood boys soccer team started what they hope is a long run in the state tournament, cruising to a 3-1 victory over Bergen Tech on Tuesday night in Ridgewood. The boys are the second seed in Group 4 North 1 and will take on 15th-seeded Bergen Tech.

The Maroons scored a pair of goals in the first half to gain control. Three different Ridgewood players scored – Chris Zaprianov, Billy Maltz and Yusuf Hamza.

With the victory over Bergen Tech, Ridgewood takes on the winner of 10th-seeded Hackensack-seventh-seeded Roxbury on Friday in Ridgewood. The semi-finals in Group 4 North 1 are Tuesday Nov. 8.

Girls Soccer

On the girls soccer side, the Lady Maroons are the 12th seed and travel to fifth-seeded West Orange on Wednesday afternoon.

If Ridgewood girls pull the upset they'll take on the winner of 13th-seeded Fair Lawn and 4th-seeded Kearny. When the Lady Maroons hit the field on Wednesday, the team is sure to be cold to start, since the girls last played more than a week ago, a 2-1 win over Demarest on October 24.