Cherry Hill East's girls cross country team won the South Jersey, Group 4 sectional title on Oct. 31 at DREAM Park in Logan Township.

Junior Addison Weiss led the way with a first-place individual finish in 17:50.96, according to NJ.com results. Senior Ryleigh Budsock placed third in 18:14.62. The Cougars scored 56 team points, beating Kingsway's 73 for the team crown.

Katherine Grottini (13th), Rebecca Tibbetts (18th) and freshman Austyn Semar (21st) rounded out the East girls scoring.

In the boys sectional, senior Cian Sherlock finished second individually in 15:31.03, behind Washington Township's Trevor Szilier (15:12.58). Senior Aneesh Rajagopal placed 10th in 15:56.54. The boys team finished second with 88 points behind Cherokee's 33.

Both squads now advance toward the NJSIAA Cross Country State Championships on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Conference meet set the stage

The sectional results capped a strong stretch for the Cougars. At the Olympic Conference Championship on Oct. 21, Weiss and Sherlock each won individual first-place titles, according to the Eastside school newspaper. Budsock finished second in the girls race, and Rajagopal took third on the boys side. The boys team placed second overall.

The Eastside reported the girls team secured first place in the girls division. Cherokee won the overall girls team scoring with 34 points to East's 50, with East finishing second as a team.

Sherlock edged Cherokee's Gavin Danielewicz for the boys individual title at the conference meet. The South Jersey Track Coaches Association hosted the event.

Looking ahead

Both runners credited their coaches, Christopher Corey and Christine Mason, for pushing them to compete at the conference, sectional and state level.

As a senior, Sherlock called the conference win bittersweet.

"I won this meet last year as well so it was important to me to win again to show that I am constantly improving," Weiss told the Eastside about her conference performance.

Cherry Hill West's boys team also competed at sectionals, finishing 14th in the South Jersey, Group 3 meet with 393 points.

The state championships are set for Nov. 7.