Girls CVC Championship: Ewing sprints away with team title

Snowstorms pushed the CVC Championships back to February 1, but they were worth the wait! With athletes being one week closer to peak form ahead of sectionals, this was one of the CVC’s fastest winter track championships in years.

Check out the top finishers in each girls event below. Read the boys recap here.

Ewing senior Leah Daniels gets the baton in the 4×200m at the Group 3 Relays on January 19, 2026. | Mathfact for MileSplit

Girls Team Scores. The Ewing girls ran away with the CVC championship, powered by their elite sprinters. Senior Leah Daniels led the way with two golds and a silver, junior Angel Johnson added two golds and a silver, and sophomore Faith Settles medaled in two sprints plus the long jump. In addition to having speed, the Blue Devils also had strength: Zoey DeSouza and Jayla Little took 2nd and 4th in the shot put. Together, the team put up an impressive 86 points to claim their first-ever CVC championship.

Hopewell Valley narrowly edged Princeton for 2nd place by a single point, 64-63. Hopewell Valley loaded up on points in the mid-distance and field events, including with Uchenna Obidike winning the shot put and Avery Rick winning the pole vault. Princeton’s balanced, all-around strong team brought home a medal in almost every event on the track.

Girls 400m. Ewing’s Leah Daniels dominated in the first race of the day with a 58.63, a new PR for the senior. That’s a huge result — according to MileSplit, it’s the 2nd-fastest open indoor 400m by a CVC girl in the last 13 years. Nottingham’s Ariana Crusoe Gaye got up for 2nd place in a big season’s best of 1:01.08, just ahead of Hopewell Valley’s Autumn Carter in 1:01.28 for 3rd.

Girls 1600m. WWP North’s star senior Allison Lee didn’t hold back at CVCs and delivered two impressive displays of talent. Starting with the 1600m, she broke 5:00 indoors for the first time with a NJ #10 4:56.47. According to MileSplit, that’s also #4 all-time in Mercer County! Behind her in the 1600m, Princeton’s Kajol Karra and Grace Hegedus went 2-3 in season bests of 5:11.95 and 5:13.14.

Girls 55mH. The CVC’s hurdlers complete rewrote the Mercer County leaderboard, with all eight finalists achieving with new PRs. Ewing sophomore Angel Johnson led the wave with an NJ #18 8.47 for the big win. Princeton’s Johanna Kraft won the battle for 2nd with an 8.83, which cut over 0.25 off her PR and is the #1 time by a New Jersey freshman this winter. Notre Dame’s D’Njah Tatum showed the biggest improvement out of everyone — she came into the meet with a PR of 9.87, shattered that with a 9.09 in the prelims, and then dropped an 8.88 in the finals for 3rd place. Hightstown’s Aijah Somerselle joined them in the sub-9 club with an 8.93 for 4th place. 

Girls 800m. This race came down to a thrilling photo finish, as Princeton’s Lena Murray and Hopewell Valley’s Elsie Rey-de-Castro were both credited with the exact same time of 2:24.97. Once the results were official, it was Murray who got the win, upgrading her silver medal from last winter’s CVCs to a gold one this year. Rey-de-Castro came just centimeters short of the win but still walked away with a new indoor PR. Princeton’s Phoenix Roth, who rarely races the open 800m, stepped up for her team and got 3rd place in 2:27.49.

Girls 55m. Ewing teammates Leah Daniels (the 400m champ) and Angel Johnson (the 55mH champ) both doubled back for an electric 55m final. In the end, it was Johnson who got her second win of the day, outleaning Daniels, 7.31 to 7.33. The showdown produced PRs for each teammate, who are now #25 and #28 in New Jersey this winter.

Ewing’s stars weren’t the only girls on fire in the 55m final. Nottingham’s Ariana Crusoe Gaye chopped almost .3 off her PR, blasting a NJ #39 7.37 to add a bronze medal to her silver from the 400m. Hightstown’s Aijah Somerselle ran a quick 7.43 (and even went 7.41 in the prelims) to take 4th place.

Girls 3200m. WWP North’s Allison Lee delivered a commanding performance to win the 3200m in a NJ #7 10:49.58 — and that was just a couple hours after running a NJ #10 time in the 1600m. But Lee had plenty of fast company. Princeton’s Kajol Karra took home her second silver medal of the day with a NJ #14 11:05.14. Lawrence’s Izzy Meth just barely edged Princeton’s Grace Hegedus for the bronze medal, with the two juniors both running top-25 times in New Jersey.

Girls 200m. Ewing’s Leah Daniels continued her incredible meet with the 200m: after already running PRs in the 400m (for the win) and the 55m (for 2nd behind her teammate), she added another solo championship in the 200m with a time of 25.86. Hightstown’s Aijah Somerselle similarly completed a strong sprint triple with a 2nd-place finish in 26.23. Another Ewing sprinter, sophomore Faith Settles, snatched the bronze medal out of the second-to-last heat after running a nice PR of 26.68. 

Girls 4x400m. The meet closed with a thrilling 4x400m, as Notre Dame won an extremely close race in 4:19.17 — just 0.03 ahead of runner-up Hightstown in a season’s best of 4:19.20. Ewing’s sprinters closed their busy and successful day with a 4:21.17 for 3rd place.

Girls High Jump. WWP North’s Anamika Sertil became the first Mercer County girl to clear 5-2 this winter, achieving that mark for the first time ever, indoors or out, to win the CVC high jump. Notre Dame’s Jamie Werdal tied her PR of 4-10 to secure 2nd place.

Girls Pole Vault. Hopewell Valley’s Avery Rick, who finished runner-up at both indoor and outdoor CVCs last year, earned her first CVC championship with a season’s best clearance of 8-6. Robbinsville’s Meghann Hansen took 2nd place with a mark of 8-0, and Hopewell Valley’s Olivia Branham also cleared 8-0 for the first time to earn 3rd place.

Girls Long Jump. Hightstown’s Chloe Lewis soared to a massive PR to win the long jump in 17-10.75. That mark even beat her outdoor PR and puts her at NJ #12 this winter. It took a special effort to top WWP South’s Yona Choksi, who also impressed with an 8-inch PR of 16-10.25 for 2nd place. Ewing’s Faith Settles might’ve been the biggest surprise in this event, jumping 16-5 for 3rd place in just her third long jump competition. Princeton’s Ngozi Okeke-Agulu also extended her PR to 16-4 for 4th place. Those are the top four marks on the Mercer County leaderboard this winter.

Girls Triple Jump. WWP North’s Jada Sands pieced together her best jump yet at just the right time, scoring an upset win in the triple jump with a 2-foot PR of 33-1. Hamilton West’s Alexis Johnson took 2nd place with a distance of 32-3.75, and Lawrence’s Angima Olando hit the 32’ mark for the first time with a 32-0 for 3rd place.

Girls Shot Put. Hopewell Valley’s Uchenna Obidike completed the CVC Relays / Championships sweep in the shot put with a dominant throw of 36-4.25. Ewing’s Zoey DeSouza extended her PR to 32-11.5 to take 2nd place. Two more girls cleared 32’, with Hightstown’s Jaiden Bosley edging Ewing’s Jayla Little for 3rd place, 32-3.75 to 32-2.25.