Kingsway's Chelsea Ley and Haddonfield's Marielle Hall ignored the pressure that comes with being a prohibitive favorite and each ran to victory Saturday at the NJSIAA state girls' cross-country championships at Holmdel Park.

Ley, who is unbeaten against New Jersey competition this season, blazed home in 17 minutes, 53 seconds, the fastest time of the day among the six girls' races, to claim the Group 3 individual title. It was Ley's first state title after finishing second the last two years.

"I knew I had a target on my back, but I didn't let the pressure bother me," Ley said. "I felt I had to move out today faster than I did at sectionals.

"I hit the mile mark and turned it on. I didn't hear any footsteps in back of me and felt I had control" of the race.

The footsteps Ley heard during the first part of the race were those of Highland's Megan Venables, who finished second with a time of 18:15, the second fastest of the day.

Hall, who also won in 2007, finished in 19:18, to take the gold medal in Group 2.

"I went out and ran the best I could, but I didn't focus too much on time, especially considering the conditions today," Hall said.

Hall and her Haddonfield teammates were attempting to win their fifth consecutive state Group 2 title, but were denied by Delsea, which also edged Haddonfield last week in the South Jersey sectionals.

Delsea, with five runners in the top 33, scored 81 points to Haddonfield's 112. It was Delsea's first state cross-country title.

"This is really huge. We're really, really excited," Delsea's senior tri-captain Ashley Deckert said. "We went out hard at sectionals and winning that gave us the confidence we needed today."

Delsea approached the meet with a game plan for victory: stay bunched together in pairs.

"Felicia O'Donnell and I run together and there was no way we were going to go out and try to stay with Marielle [Hall]. She's insanely good," Deckert said. "Our plan was for Felicia and I to stay with the pack in back of Marielle, with our other girls staying in front of Haddonfield's second runner."

Delsea coach Linda Marchese emphasized that time was not important for her runners.

"We didn't talk times, we focused on place," Marchese said. "We wanted two girls in the top ten, two more in the top 20 and our fifth girl at least 40th."

Delsea and Haddonfield will return to Holmdel Park next Saturday for the Meet of Champions. The first three teams in each group along with two wild-card selections, and the first ten individual runners in each group, with ten wild-card selections, will participate.