Two local individuals and one team are headed to the NJSIAA Group Cross Country Championships, as they vie for spots amid the Meet of Champions field for next weekend.

Southern Regional junior Taylor Mulch secured a spot in the Group IV meet when she ran to an eighth-place time of 18:53 during the Nov. 5 South Jersey Group IV meet at Delsea High School. She finished just behind Shawnee’s Kara Bonner (18:50) and Isabella Turner (18:52). The only Ocean County runner ahead of Mulch was Toms River North freshman Jade Tricomy, who finished third in 18:38.

Meanwhile, the only local boy to advance to the group-meet stage was Barnegat senior Gunnar Pearson, who just made the…