The RCSJ Men's and Women's Cross Country teams are primed to open their season with a large show of force coming off of a highly successful 2022 Track and Field season. This season, both squads are excited to get started and are ready to continue the strong tradition of success for Roadrunner Cross County. Following two seasons strongly impacted by the COVID pandemic, the RCSJ Roadrunners have been rebuilt with the largest teams in several years. The women's team returns a trio of runners from last year's team who placed 3rd , 5th , and 11th at the Region 19 Championships. All three returning runners earned All-Region honors in XC or Track last year, providing a strong base for the 2022 squad. New additions to the women's team will add a great deal of depth and talent to make the Roadrunners contenders for the Region 19 Championships. On the men's side, the Roadrunners are only returning 1 runner, but they are gaining a large roster of incoming talent. The incoming class of runners boasts athletes with a resume of numerous Sectional and State team titles in cross country, indoor, and outdoor track.
The Roadrunners will open their season at the Osprey Open hosted by Richard Stockton University. See season preview below.
Season Preview
Coach: Ryan Hughes (20th season). Coached the Women's XC teams to national titles in 2006 and 2012, national runners-up in 2007 and 2013, and 4 other top 6 nationals finishes. Coached the Men's XC teams to a runner-up finish in 2012 and 8 other top 6 national finishes. Coach Hughes has produced 31 All-Americans in XC as well as 1 individual National Champion and 3 individual National Runner-ups during his tenure.
Assistant Coach: Leyna Ambrose (5th season)
Fall 2022 Season: 3 All-Region runners; 3 All-GSAC runners
Key Returnees: Women -- Ashton Wiseley (Wash. Twp), Alyssa Connor (Wash. Twp.), Paige Wodarczyk (Wash. Twp.). Men -- Benjamin Kellum (Clayton)
Promising Newcomers: Women -- Autumn Heaton (Schalick), Mackenzie Cochran (Wash. Twp.), Susana Serrano (Woodbury), Alex Benito (West Deptford)
Men -- CJ Gilmore (Audubon), Charlie Hepler (Delsea), Mike Abate (Gateway), Joey Malec (Wash. Twp.), John Schilling (Deptford), Derek Wyllie (GCIT)
Coach Ryan Hughes on Fall 2022 season: "We are excited and pumped for a great season. The teams have been training well with each other and are hoping that their pack/flock mentality will help them excel this year. We have a good foundation to build on, but our strength is always in peaking toward the end of the season where we are looking to bring back some titles for RCSJ."