FRANKLIN TWP.
With four out of the top six teams in South Jersey lining up against each other, it was expected the Division 3 race at the South Jersey Open was going to be tight even before the gun was fired.

And it was Ocean City High School and Triton that made sure not to disappoint.

Running in miserable conditions, which included driving rain the entire day, Ocean City, No. 6 in the Courier-Post Top 20, trudged through the mud Saturday at Delsea High School and edged the No. 4 Mustangs 64-67 to win the Division 3 race. Washington Township was third with 75 points.

"I didn't come here thinking we were going to win," Ocean City coach Bill Moreland said. "With Triton and Washington Township in there, I knew it was going to be a tough race. But the guys ran really well, especially our top four."

Finishing as the team's No. 1 man for the second straight week was senior Matt Cowhey, who was second as he covered the 3.1-mile course in an unofficial time of 16:59. (Official results for the Division 3 race were unable to be retrieved)

Providing the Red Raiders with a big boost was the fifth-place finish of senior John Fennekohl, who was given last weekend off by Moreland when the team placed eighth in the Division B race at the Shore Coaches Invitational. Fennekohl was the team's second man Saturday with a time of 17:15.

Rounding out the top five for Ocean City were Ryan Birchmeier (seventh, 17:21), Brett Johnson (12th, 17:37) and William Pestalozzi (38th, 18:16).

"This race gives us a huge boost in confidence," Cowhey said. "Now we know that we can run with anyone in South Jersey and win."

For Triton, Saturday wasn't a team victory. But the Mustangs did have a better showing than they did last week at Shore Coaches, where they finished fourth in the Division B race.

"We ran much better and tougher than we did last week," Triton coach Kevin Pumphrey said. "It was nice that we bounced back. I told the guys before the race that I didn't care if we won or lost, as long as we ran tougher."

Leading the way for the Mustangs was senior Rudy Belko, who won the Division 3 race in 16:31 -- unofficially the second-fastest time of the day.

Confident after his 16:22 at Holmdel Park last Saturday, Belko took the race out hard and led the field by a couple strides after only the first half-mile.

Over the next 2.6 miles, Belko was never pressed.

Belko did develop a cramp in his right side at the 1 1/2-mile mark, which he said bothered him for the rest of the race. But it couldn't prevent him from picking up his first major meet victory.

"I wanted to come here and run fast, but with the weather, it was hard to run a really fast time," Belko said. "It was just good for me to get the win."

In other team action, Moorestown, which ran without normal No. 3 runner Eric Holaday, who was resting for upcoming meets, won the Division 2 race with 82 points.

FRANKLINVILLE-Matt Cowhey woke up early Saturday morning to take the Scholastic Achievement Test.

The Ocean City High School senior looked out the window and saw rain.

He anticipated the weather would also be bad for the South Jersey Open cross country meet at Delsea Regional on Saturday afternoon.

"It exceeded my expectations," Cowhey said.

The Red Raiders ran in a driving rainstorm, but it did not slow them down.

Cowhey finished second in the Division III race to lead Ocean City to the team championship. The Red Raiders outscored second-place Triton Regional 64-67.

The Ocean City boys were not the only ones to run well in the inclement conditions. Mike Keebler of Holy Spirit finished fourth in the Division II race, covering the 3.1-mile course in 16 minutes, 59 seconds.

The runners were soaked and and splattered with mud when they finished.

"This race is going to haunt my dreams for a long time," Cowhey said with a laugh.

The Open featured most southern New Jersey schools. The meet is held on the same course as the Nov. 5 South Jersey Championships. The schools competed in three divisions based on enrollment.

The heaviest rain began to fall just as the Division III race, for the schools with the biggest enrollments, started.

Cowhey said it was uncomfortable yet exhilarating to run in the poor conditions.

"Everyone at the (starting) line was pumped up," Cowhey said. "This is what cross country is. There are no excuses."

Ocean City is No. 6 in The Press' Elite 11. Triton is No. 5.

Washington Township, which finished third in Division III with 75 points, is No. 1.

Ocean City felt it had something to prove Saturday. The Red Raiders gave a sub-par effort at last weekend's Shore Coaches Invitational at Holmdel Park.

Ocean City huddled together before Saturday's start.

"I told everybody this was our chance to boost our ranking back up," Cowhey said. "We knew we could do it. We just had to do it."

Rudy Belko of Triton won the race in about 16:39. There were no official times for this race because the wet weather caused the clock to malfunction. Cowhey finished in about 17 minutes.

Ocean City placed three other runners in the top 12. John Fennekohl, who did not run last weekend because of a sore hamstring, finished fifth. Ryan Birchmeier was seventh. Brett Johnson finished 12th. Will Pestalozzi was 38th.

Johnson's effort was the difference. Triton's fourth and fifth runners finished 27th and 29th, respectively.

Keebler established himself as a runner to watch in the Cape-Atlantic League. He ran impressively in the meet's fastest race, although conditions were better for Division II than Division III.

Ozzie Huerta of Kingsway Regional won Divisioni II in 16:24.

Keebler said he was hoping to finish in the top three because the first three finishers get trophies. But he was happy with fourth because he is only a junior.

Keebler said the weather could have been worse.

"At least," he said, "It wasn't cold."

In girls races, Millville freshman Lindsay Bertulis turned in the most impressive effort. She finished second in Division III to senior Lisa Burkholder of Cherokee. There were also no times in this race because the clock again malfunctioned.

The Ocean City girls ran but standouts Brittany Sedberry and Renee Tomlin did not compete. Sedberry sat out with minor nagging injuries while Tomlin missed primarily because she took the SAT test Saturday morning, according to Red Raiders co-coach Bruce Welch.