Haddonfield harriers chase down history, set South Jersey's all-time dual-meet win streak

HADDONFIELD – It's a streak 27 years in the making.

The Haddonfield Memorial High School boys’ cross-country team marked a historic achievement when it established South Jersey’s all-time dual-meet record of 245 straight wins with a batch-meet sweep at Pennypacker Park on Tuesday.

The Haddons eclipsed the old mark of 244 set by powerhouse Paul VI from 1979-2007. With legends like two-time Meet of Champions titlist Jason DiJoseph and MoC gold medalist Ron Faith, the Eagles held the record, which had the untouchable feel of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak or Cal Ripken Jr.’s 2,632 consecutive games played.

However, a decade before Paul VI’s streak even ended, Haddonfield’s harriers started their run to history.

“It’s finally here,” Nick Baker, Haddonfield’s legendary coach who has guided the team during the entire streak, said a few days before the big event. “Twenty-seven years with no clunkers. Pretty incredible when you think of having a year with a down class or a bad injury or untimely illness, which always can happen.

“It’s a testament to all the kids that have gone through this program. This streak is about them. It’s all those captains over that period of time. It’s not just the All-South Jersey kids and the all-conference kids. It’s everybody, the runners, the coaches, the families and the community.”

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This year's Haddonfield runners posed for a team picture with the balloons in the No. 2-4-5 signifying the consecutive wins while the coaching staff wore t-shirts with 245-0.

"It’s awesome to continue Coach Baker’s legacy on what he’s built here," junior Bennett Wright said. "Every year we go over the goals for the season and that's always a big thing, to keep the streak going, it's a tradition."

Hundreds of runners have competed for Haddonfield over the course of the streak and all of them had something in common:

“Since we’ve been alive, we haven’t lost a dual meet,” Austin Stoner, a 2016 Haddonfield grad, said. “We don’t know anything but winning. It’s no joke to be that successful for that length of time.”

Stoner, who ran for Yale University and is currently a medical student at Stanford, has kept up with the streak with his former teammates and his younger brother Brandon, who is a member of the current team.

“Anyone who has been on the team, they’re aware of it. It’s something guys really care about,” Austin Stoner said. “When I was there, the streak was 150 wins. It was kind of weird because (the record was so far off in the future), but it was cool that we were handing it off to the next group.”

Baker, who took over the Haddonfield cross-country program in 1982 and holds a 369-16 career mark, said there were some close calls over the years, but he felt the record would be achievable following a win over Haddon Heights last fall. He said there’s been one constant over the span of the streak.

“Being prepared,” said Baker, who started his coaching career in 1976 with the Haddonfield middle school program.

Austin Stoner believes there was a better answer.

“It’s Coach Baker,” he said. “Consistency is always key and Coach Baker is that heartbeat, that thread that combines all of these generations together.”

Haddonfield has earned plenty of titles over the span of the last three decades, including 25 straight Colonial Conference banners. Later this fall, the squad will look to extend their sectional and state title streaks to 20 and seven, respectively.

The state and national record for consecutive dual meet wins is held by Christian Brothers Academy, which began this season with 391 straight victories dating back to 1973. According to maxpreps.com, Haddonfield’s streak is the fourth longest for a public school in the nation’s history.

The distance between Haddonfield and Paul VI is shorter (2.6 miles) than the typical cross country course (3.1), and the similarities between the two running programs aren't far off, either.

Just ask Matt Cieslik. He certainly knows, running for Paul VI during its streak and now coaching Haddonfield a it makes a run at history.

“Fortunately, I get a little part in keeping a piece of the streak with me,” said Cieslik, who is a co-coach with Baker and was a star runner for Paul VI in the late 1980s.

“It speaks to the culture of your program. At Paul VI, we were definitely aware of (the streak), but we didn’t really talk about it. We were confident in our talent, coaching and willingness to race hard. That put us in a good place to succeed.”

Haddonfield’s Liam Dougherty was well aware of the streak, too. His father, Pete Dougherty, was a standout at Paul VI where he, like Cieslik, placed fourth at the Meet of Champions.

"It will be fun to rub it in that Haddonfield has the streak now," Liam Dougherty, a senior, said. "It just feels great to be a part of Haddonfield history. (The streak) is always in the back of everyone's head. There is some pressure that has come along with the streak, but you know you have to keep it going."

Baker said there’s no secret to the success, but said that the strength of the middle school program has always provided a vital pipeline to the high school. It’s also been a family business. Nick’s wife, Maureen, and daughter, Courtney, have both coached the middle school program while his son, Colin, is a volunteer coach with the high school program.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Haddonfield cross-country earns South Jersey record win streak