As a senior, Gareth Aguilar knows he’s not running this cross-country season with only the purpose of improving himself. He’s one of the leaders now, and his larger role within the grand scheme of things is to challenge the younger runners behind him to get better so the Barnegat High School boys program can take the next step higher.

“I feel we’re more than ready to take that step,” said Aguilar after finishing first overall with a time of 19:04, leading the Bengals to a 19-39 victory over Pinelands and a…