By TOM WILLIAMS

The calendar year 2022 is about to end, a year not completely out from under the cloud of a pandemic, but getting much better.

Through it all, Ocean City High School sports continued to succeed. Nine teams won championships during the calendar year.

That included a pair of teams that frequently competed together and had seasons almost filled with identical success.

The runners get the nod in 2022 – the boys cross country and girls cross country teams are the OCHS Teams of the Year..

Both teams were 9-0 in dual meets, won easily at both the Cape May County and Cape-Atlantic League meets and finished second in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 3 meets – the boys to Highland and the girls to Clearview.

The boys are no strangers to success, especially over the last 15 seasons under Matt Purdue. This was his 12th undefeated dual meet season, his 13th first place finish in the county and CAL meets and the 14th time his team has finished either first our second in the South Jersey meet. Purdue’s dual meet record is 134-3 and his .978 winning percentage is not only the highest by a coach in any sport with at least five seasons in CAL history, it is likely the best in South Jersey history.

Of course, girls coach Tim Cook technically has a better career record (9-0) but this was his first season at the helm. He took over when Trish Henry stepped down after 152 wins in 19 seasons and a trophy case full of championships.

The complete boys season log is available HERE. And you can see the girls record, meet-by-meet, HERE.

Senior Nick Sarangelli led the way for the boys. He finished first in the county and CAL meets, third in South Jersey. He was sixth in the state meet and ran in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. (That’s right, the NJSIAA cancelled all competitions between state champions in every sport except cross country.)

Sarangelli will move on to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida – the world’s largest and most respected university specializing in aviation and aerospace. Don’t be surprised if we see him taking a run on the moon in the next decade.

Junior Matt Hoffman was usually right behind Sarangelli, finishing second in the county and CAL meets and fourth in South Jersey. Senior Chris Sardy and sophomore Ethan Buck both joined Sarangelli and Hoffman on the All-CAL team and this multiple champion team received additional and valuable performances from senior Colin Abbott and sophomores Kal Heyman and Sam Ritti.

The girls were younger, led by sophomore Maeve Smith. She led the Raiders to first place finishes in the county and CAL meets. Smith finished second overall in both meets but led a wave of six straight Ocean City runners in the county and five straight in the CAL. She also was seventh in the South Jersey meet (but No. 2 among sophomores) and 16th in the state (No. 4 among sophomores).

Junior Frankie Ritzel and sophomore Chloe Care joined Smith on the All-CAL team. The team also got important performances from seniors Olivia Palmieri, Grace McAfee and Abby Insera plus freshman Gabrielle Henry.

Ocean City has always had success in cross country, starting with coaches Mike Naples and Bill Moreland. The 2022 Raiders together had seasons that will be remembered for a long time.

They are the 2022 OCHS Teams of the Year – Boys Cross Country and Girls Cross Country.

Next week – the 2022 OCHS Athletes of the Year.