Starkey Favored in Group 2 Girls Cross Country
Ocean Township junior Leah Starkey enters Saturday's New Jersey Group 2 girls championship at Holmdel Park as the clear favorite.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Track & Field
The NJSIAA Group 2 girls cross country championship takes place Saturday, November 7, at 12:30 PM at Holmdel Park. Ocean Township junior Leah Starkey is the favorite after running 16:03.81 at the Battle at Ocean County Park, the fastest girls 5K ever run by a New Jersey athlete.
Why it matters
The race offers a deciding moment for a championship field led by a standout individual and a deep Haddonfield team. The outcome will determine the Group 2 state champions in one of the NJSIAA's longest-running postseason traditions.
Starkey's 16:03.81 time at the Battle at Ocean County Park is the fastest girls 5K ever run by a New Jersey athlete, compared with last year's Group 2 individual winning time of 17:31. Haddonfield holds the group-leading 20:11 team average, but how the race will unfold on Saturday remains unknown.
The players
Leah Starkey
Ocean Township junior distance runner and the favorite in the Group 2 girls championship, who set the fastest girls 5K time by a New Jersey athlete.
Dylan Hosty
Haddonfield runner with an 18:54 personal best who captured the South sectional individual title.
NJSIAA
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, the governing body that has run the state group championships since 1919.
The details
Starkey has won the Shore Conference B North Championships, Monmouth County Championships, Shore Conference Championships, Shore Coaches Invitational, and Bowdoin Classic this season. Haddonfield, favored to win its first state title since 2023, is led by Dylan Hosty, whose 18:54 personal best anchors a team that has Molly Mills, Madison Kelsey, Devon Gervasi and Harper Benjamin, each under 21 minutes.
Timeline
Saturday, November 7, 2026: Group 2 girls cross country championship at Holmdel Park, 12:30 PM.
1919: The NJSIAA Group Championships began as a single championship meet.
1982: The current six-group structure took effect for girls.
Season Trajectory
The Group 2 girls championship continues the six-group format the NJSIAA has used for girls since 1982, a structure that has shaped state crowns for more than four decades. Starkey's season-long winning run and Haddonfield's bid for its first title since 2023 will shape how the group's postseason hierarchy is read.
The result will decide the Group 2 individual and team state titles, with Haddonfield's team score and Starkey's placing both on the line. Fantasy and high school recruiting observers will track how Starkey performs against a field that includes several runners under 21 minutes.
The takeaway
Starkey's record 5K and Haddonfield's team depth make Saturday's race a useful measure of where New Jersey's girls distance running stands this fall. Readers following the sport can use the meet to compare individual and team form across the state.
Further reading
For more on the state's competition, see Track & Field coverage of New Jersey championships.
