NOVEMBER 13, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW BIRCHENOUGH
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Each of the past three weeks, the Ridgewood High School girls cross-country team has defended its title successfully at three major meets.
This Saturday, the stakes will be higher when the Maroons seek to capture a championship they haven’t won since 1999, the State Group 4 crown, and in a wide-open field, head coach Steve Opremcak thinks his team has a shot.
But Ridgewood isn’t alone.
“The difference this year is I see any of six teams possibly winning this race, and that’s pretty crazy,” said Opremcak, who mentioned North 2 winner North Hunterdon, Ridge, Central champion Hillsborough, South victor Kingsway and Shawnee as legitimate competitors for the crown.
Ridgewood earned its way to the race at Holmdel Park by winning the North 1, Group 4 championship for the second straight year, topping Montclair and Randolph in a three-team race, 57-64-67, last Saturday at Garret Mountain Reservation in Woodland Park.
The win also extended a successful four-week string in which the Maroons have won the Big North Freedom Division meet, Bergen County B race and the Bergen Meet of Champions.
They finished 5th…..