VIDEO, PHOTOS: Cross country meet officially rekindles island rivalry

Posted: September 10th 2023

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

Wildwood High School and Wildwood Catholic Academy hadn’t faced each other in any sport since 2017 until a starter’s gun ended that puzzling one-sided cold war shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday morning.

That starter’s pistol sent the runners from the Warrior and Crusader cross country programs running down the boardwalk to begin what some billed as “Island Rivalry Day.” A girls tennis match, won 3-2 by Wildwood Catholic, began at 9:30 a.m. and a boys soccer game, won 7-2 by Wildwood, started at 11 a.m.

The cross country meet didn’t include much in the way of team competition. Neither side had the services of the required five runners to score in the boys meet. Only Wildwood Catholic had enough to score in the girls meet, giving the Crusaders a 15-50 victory.

Due to the light participation, the coaches and race officials agreed to run the races simultaneously. Wildwood’s Macie McCracken, the defending Big Five and county meet champion who also placed second at the Group I sectional meet last year, beat the field rather comfortably. She recorded a time of 21 minutes, 4 seconds on a grueling course that featured a good portion of the race held on the beach and the entire portion of the race held under hot, humid conditions.

Wildwood Catholic’s L.J. Belasco, his team’s only male runner, was the second finisher overall and the first male in 21:54. Wildwood’s Brian Cunniff followed at 23:11, with teammate Alexis Huerta finishing exactly a minute later. 

Wildwood’s Leah Pawlus was the second female and fifth overall in 24:45.

Ally Grandizio was Wildwood Catholic’s top female finisher and sixth overall in 25:06.

There may not have been much of a team competition due to the numbers situation in both programs. But the simple fact that there was a competition between the two schools resonated strongly with all in attendance.