Heading into this season, Barnegat boys cross-country coach Keith Stokes seemed a bit concerned about the status of many of his runners. The two he wasn’t worried about are Gunnar Pearson and Kyle Sarno.

“I’m really happy with how they’re running right now,” said Stokes, whose squad dropped its first dual meet of the season against Manchester on Sept. 13 but watched Pearson and Sarno finish first and second, respectively.