The CVC Championships were a spectacular success! As you would expect, this meet had a steady stream of exciting finishes, state-leading times, big PRs, and gutsy efforts. There is a ton of talent in the CVC, and it definitely showed at this meet.

The weather turned out to be beautiful on Saturday, especially given all the rain in the week leading up to it. There was a nice breeze that kept the heat at bay and also gave a little boost to the sprinters – though the jumpers and distance runners may not have appreciated it as much.

Below are the top six finishers in every girls event. (Read the boys recap here.) There were obviously many other noteworthy performances from top to bottom of the results, so congratulations to everyone who competed.

I’ve included photos of most winners, but you can find many more photos in this album: CVC Championships Photo Album.

Girls Team Champions

Congratulations to WWP North on winning the CVC Championship! Their well-rounded squad scored in 13 of the 18 events, and they ended up with 95 points. Hopewell Valley took 2nd place with 69 points, and Lawrence finished 3rd with 62 points.

Girls 4x800m

The Hopewell Valley girls started the day strong with the 4x800m, where they led almost wire-to-wire and won in 10:17.74. WWP North took 2nd place in 10:23.46 behind a great anchor leg from Sara Secora, whose 2:25 split was easily the fastest of the day. Robbinsville also loaded their team and ran their best time of the year by far, a 10:31.01 for 3rd place. Princeton was 4th in 10:35.54, Allentown got 5th in 10:46.98, and Notre Dame claimed the last medal in 11:08.39.

Girls 1600m

Running alone in windy conditions, Allison Lee (WWP North) clocked a very impressive 4:59.02 for the win — that’s #8 in New Jersey this season! It’s also just her second time going sub-5. The battle for 2nd place shaped up to be the same as at the Mercer Coaches Classic, with Zui Chinchalkar (WWP North) leading Kajol Karra (Princeton) and Sydney Young (Hopewell Valley) in a tight pack for 1200m. Unlike last week, however, Karra and Young succeeded this time in getting around Chinchalkar. Karra took 2nd in 5:09.77, Young followed in 5:11.80, and Chinchalkar finished 4th in 5:12.58. Behind them, Izzy Meth (Lawrence) trimmed another second off her PR with a 5:16.56 for 5th, and Teagan Walker (Ewing) snuck under 5:20 for the first time ever with a 5:19.98 for 6th.

Girls 100mH

In a dramatic photo finish, Tomaisa Tard (Trenton) won the 100mH final over Alicia Riggins (Lawrence) by a razor-thin margin of 0.004. Both girls were credited with the same very fast PR of 14.90, which is an all-conditions NJ #19! The next two places went to WWP South seniors, with Adama Turay getting 3rd in 15.28 and Saraiah Hoover taking 4th in 15.90. Angel Johnson (Ewing) was just a step back in 16.02 for 5th, and then Della Gilligan (Princeton Day, So.) earned a point for the Panthers by edging out Zunica Zubah (Trenton) for 6th place, 16.25 to 16.31.

Girls 100m

Samya Jenkins (Lawrence) showed up ready to sprint today, dropping a 12.28 in the prelims and then a 12.22 in the finals to win the front half of her 100m/200m double! Her finals time is an all-conditions NJ #22. Jenkins definitely had to work for the win though, especially after Ariana Crusoe Gaye (Nottingham), who was seeded only 5th going into the final, ran a massive PR of 12.29 to push her all the way to the line.

It required a photo to separate the next three places. Aijah Somerselle (Hightstown) earned 3rd place in 12.47, Martha Olorunnisola (Allentown) was 4th in 12.48, and Autumn Carter (Hopewell Valley) took 5th in 12.50. Simone Henriques (Princeton) closed out the medals with a 12.62 for 6th place.

Girls 400m

Despite having less rest than the rest of the field – they had raced in the 100m finals only 15 minutes earlier – Autumn Carter (Hopewell Valley) and Ariana Crusoe Gaye (Nottingham) proved their toughness by going 1-2 in the 400m. Crusoe Gaye placed first in her heat with a 1:00.71, her second-fastest time ever, and then Carter topped that in the next heat with a season’s best of 1:00.17.

WWP North got two scorers in this 400m, with Brie Davis-Owens finishing 3rd in 1:01.30 and then Nina Dixit getting 6th in 1:02.16. Between them was Faith Settles (Ewing) in 4th with a 1:01.43 and Anastasia Kudin (WWP South) in 5th with a 1:01.57. Naila Nelson (Allentown) just missed out on getting a surprise medal after running a big PR of 1:02.48 to win her heat.

Girls 800m

The 800m girls didn’t let a little wind on the backstretch slow them down – there were lots of PRs today! The biggest performance came from freshman Alaina Sabo (Notre Dame), who won with a 3-second PR of 2:16.33. Her time is #28 in New Jersey this season and #3 among freshmen. Zui Chinchalkar (WWP North), who was doubling back from the 1600m and led for the first 500m of this race, held on for 2nd place in 2:19.58. That’s her first time going sub-2:20 in the open 800m outdoors.

Lena Murray (Princeton) used a big kick to also go sub-2:20 for the first time ever, running 2:19.83 for 3rd place. Sydney Young (Hopewell Valley) finished 4th place in 2:22.24. She narrowly held off a hard-charging Sara Secora (WWP North), who set a PR of 2:22.35 for 5th place. Elsie Rey-de-Castro (Hopewell Valley) took the 6th and final medal in 2:27.31, just ahead of Elizabeth Eckel (Hopewell Valley) and Mila Trkov (Princeton). All six of these girls are sophomores!

Girls 200m

Samya Jenkins (Lawrence) completed the sprint double by dominating the 200m with a wind-legal time of 25.40. Tomaisa Tard (Trenton) ran a season’s best of 26.02 for 2nd place. Her time was just enough to beat the 26.09 from Martha Olorunnisola (Allentown), who had just run that new PR to win the previous heat. Aijah Somerselle (Hightstown) got 4th in 26.37, Ariana Crusoe Gaye (Nottingham) picked up her 3rd individual medal of the day with a 26.65 for 5th, and Claire Dumortier (WWP South) ran a season’s best of 26.70 for 6th place.

Girls 400mH

Brie Davis-Owens (WWP North) got a commanding victory here, winning by two seconds with a season’s best of 1:04.36. Saraiah Hoover (WWP South) took 2nd place in 1:06.37, and Della Gilligan (Princeton Day) impressed with a 1:07.30 for 3rd place, which was a PR by over three seconds. Ava Tabeart (Princeton) was 4th in 1:10.34, Rachel Shumsky (Hightstown) earned 5th after winning her earlier heat in 1:14.19, and Tomaisa Tard (Trenton) rounded out the medals with a 1:14.65 on very short rest after her 200m.

Girls 3200m

Just as she did in the 1600m, Allison Lee (WWP North) ran away with this one and won comfortably in 10:50.44. Izzy Meth (Lawrence) and Grace Hegedus (Princeton) had a good battle for 2nd place. They were side by side the whole race before Meth dropped the hammer on the last lap and prevailed in 11:13.44. Hegedus hung on for 3rd place in 11:17.03, a new PR. Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley) cruised in 4th place all race and finished in 11:24.97. Rosemary Warren (Princeton) and Yana Chheda (WWP South) had their own 8-lap battle for 5th place. Warren ended up on top, 11:44.79 to 11:48.98, but both girls came away with PRs.

Girls 4x100m

It was a historically fast 4x100m day for many schools. Ewing took the win in a very quick 49.91, one of their fastest times ever. They had to go fast because Hightstown actually did break its school record – by almost a second – when they ran a 49.95 to win the prior heat. The Rams ended up in 2nd place. Allentown was 3rd place in 50.04, their third-fastest time in school history. Lawrence was 4th in 50.30, Princeton was 5th in 50.36, and then Nottingham set a school record with a 50.92 for 6th.

Girls 4x400m

WWP North capped off their championship with a 4x400m win in 4:07.56. Brie Davis-Owens anchored them home in 59.0, the fastest split of the day. WWP South, who came into the race without a real seed time, ran 4.11.38 alone in the slower section, and that time held up for 2nd place overall. Princeton ran 4:12.61 for 3rd place, Notre Dame ran a season’s best of 4:15.64 for 4th, and Hopewell Valley finished just behind in 4:16.11 for 5th place. Lawrence came through for the last medal in 4:23.43.

Girls High Jump

Three girls cleared at least 5’ in a great high jump competition today. Uchenna Obidike (Hopewell Valley) led the way with a first-attempt clearance of 5-2, which tied her indoor PR, matched her outdoor PR, and earned her 1st place here. Nyviah Pacheco (Hamilton West) took 2nd place after keeping a clean sheet through 5-0. She finished there, which is her new outdoor PR. Anamika Sertil (WWP North), a freshman who did not do winter track, is the newest member of the 5’ club after her second-attempt clearance of 5-0 today. Amanda Hoglund (Allentown) finished 4th in 4-10, Erin Krakovski (Hopewell Valley), matched her PR of 4-8 for 5th place, and Bryana Mason (Ewing) impressed with a 4-inch PR of 4-8 for a 6th place medal.

Girls Pole Vault

Sophie Trzaskus (Lawrence) delivered another consistently impressive performance in the pole vault, winning in 9-0. Avery Rick (Hopewell Valley) and Zuzanna Trzasko (Lawrence) both finished at 8-6, but Rick won the tiebreaker for 2nd place after clearing that height on her first try. Meghann Hansen (Robbinsville) took 5th in 8-0, Arielys Torres (Hamilton West) was 5th in 7-6, and Eva Fea (WWP North) was 6th in 7-6 also.

Girls Long Jump

Zairra Galloway (Hamilton West) snatched the win on a last-attempt jump of 16-6.5. Adama Turay (WWP South) also delivered her best jump at the very end, but came just short with a 16-3. Chloe Lewis (Hightstown) jumped 15-11 for 3rd place, just two inches ahead of Ngozi Okeke-Agulu (Princeton) in 4th place with 15-9. Another two inches back was Anaiss Matos (Steinert), whose last-attempt jump of 15-7 moved her just ahead of Kara Vandal (Princeton Day), who got the last medal with a jump of 15-5.5.

Girls Triple Jump

Zairra Galloway (Hamilton West) got her second win of the day with a three-inch PR of 35-4.25 in the triple jump. She was pretty consistent and cleared 34’ four times today. Anaiss Matos (Steinert) upgraded her 5th place medal in the long jump to a 2nd place medal in the triple jump, where she went 32-1. Amanda Hoglund (Allentown) also added a triple jump medal to her high jump medal, getting 3rd in 31-8.5. Hephzibah Olotu (Hightstown) was 5th in 31-4.5, just ahead of Gabriele Pociute (Lawrence), who jumped a season’s best of 31-3. Jada Sands (WWP North) snuck another point for her team with a last-attempt jump of 30-9 for 6th place.

Girls Discus

Sonjay Baylor-Reeves (Trenton) heaved a massive throw of 133-01 to win the discus. That was a 15-foot improvement on her PR from last week, and it moves her to #9 in NJ this season. There were three other girls who PR’d by at least 12 feet: Makayla Rondinelli (Allentown) with a 121-3 for 2nd place, Eva Gedrich (WWP North) with a 116-8 for 3rd place, and Madison Wallace (Lawrence) with a 101-5 for 6th place. Nishika Singh (Princeton) also broke 100’ for the first time with a 103-6 for 5th place. Uchenna Obidike (Hopewell Valley), who launched her own massive PR last week, backed that up with another good throw of 112-4 for 4th place here.

Girls Shot Put

Sonjay Baylor-Reeves (Trenton) and Makayla Rondinelli (Allentown) went 1-2 again here, just like in the discus. Rondinelli threw a 1-foot PR of 35-6.5 to put some serious pressure on Baylor-Reeves, but Baylor-Reeves came up clutch with a last-attempt throw of 38-5 for the win. Uchenna Obidike (Hopewell Valley) got her third field-event medal of the day with a 35-6.5 for 3rd place. That put her just an inch ahead of Afua Apau (WWP North), who took 4th in 35-5.5. Zi’Asia Williams (Nottingham) and Daneille Marsh (Notre Dame) both threw big PRs to break into the medals, with Williams getting 5th in 34-1.5 and Marsh getting 6th in 32-7.5

Girls Javelin

There were lots of PRs in the javelin today, starting with a huge one from Ti’Kayla Smith (Nottingham), who won it all with a throw of 111-11. Eva Gedrich (WWP North) also broke 100’ for the first time with a 104-6 for 2nd place. Gia Kanaris (Allentown) and Elizabeth Reisbord (Hightstown) both PR’d by at least five feet, with Kanaris in 3rd with a 98-1 and Resibord just two inches behind in 97-11 for 4th. Barbara Tur (Robbinsville) probably had the biggest PR of the day to get 5th in 96-09, which was a 25-foot improvement over her best from last week. Zi’Asia Williams (Nottingham) rounded out the medals with a 94-0 for 6th place.

CVC Championships: Girls Recap