Meet of Champions: Blanchard runs US #3 800m as many athletes climb the county all-time ranks

Mercer County’s star athletes delivered big-time performances on the biggest stage — the New Jersey Meet of Champions. The Wednesday night meet was a short turnaround from the prior weekend’s group championships, but you wouldn’t have known it based on these standout results.

Blanchard runs US #3 800m for silver medal

Stella Blanchard (Wilberforce) hits the bell in the 800m at the Meet of Champions on June 3, 2026. | tspimages for MileSplit

If Stella Blanchard (Wilberforce, Jr.) was flying under the radar on the state and national level, she isn’t anymore after her historic effort in the 800m at the Meet of Champions.

The pre-race storyline was whether Eastern’s Natalie Dumas — the defending national champion and state record holder — could complete the 400m/400mH/800m triple, or whether Oak Knoll’s Reagan Moore — a three-time MOC champ with a 2:05 PR — would play spoiler. But it was Blanchard who very nearly stole the show.

After a relatively conservative first 400m in 64.3 seconds, Blanchard stuck right on Dumas when she ratcheted up the pace and then boldly pulled onto Dumas’s shoulder with 100m left to set up a thrilling sprint down the homestretch. Although Blanchard couldn’t quite get past Dumas before the line, she also didn’t give Dumas an inch, finishing just 0.18 behind her in 2:03.64. Blanchard negative-split her second lap in a 59.2!

Blanchard’s time of 2:03.64 is extraordinary. It’s #3 in the United States this year, and it’s #6 in New Jersey all-time. It’s a 3-second PR, though that doesn’t count the race this spring where she ran 2:08 with a fall. She knew she was in amazing shape, and now everyone else knows, too.

Barely an hour later, Blanchard was back on the track to help her team in the 4×400m, where she blasted an anchor leg of 54.68 — the fastest split across all four heats.

(Read more from Kyle Franko at the Trentonian: Wilberforce’s Stella Blanchard nearly upsets Eastern’s Natalie Dumas in 800 meter. Blanchard talks about entering this race with no expectations, feeling great at the bell, and taking away a lot of confidence heading into next year.)

Lee closes out her storied NJSIAA career with a silver in the 3200m

Allison Lee (WWP North) leads Leah Starkey (Ocean Township) in the second half of the 3200m at the Meet of Champions on June 3, 2026. | tspimages for MileSplit

The 3200m between Allison Lee (WWP North, Sr.) and Leah Starkey (Ocean Township, Jr.) was highly anticipated to be a fast one, considering they hold the #2 and #3 times ever in New Jersey. Lee made sure that happened, setting a quick and steady pace as they went through the 1600m in 5:00 and the 2400m in 7:32. Although she couldn’t respond when Starkey finally made a move with 600m to go, Lee didn’t slow down either, and she pushed to the line in a time of 10:03.58 for 2nd place.

That was Lee’s fifth medal in a MOCs 3200m. Her collection also includes a silver from last spring and a gold from this past winter.

While that was Lee’s last race in a North uniform, she’s not done yet this spring. She was invited to compete in an incredibly stacked field in the 2 Mile at the Brooks PR Invitational, which will take place on Sunday in Seattle.

(Read more from the Trentonian’s Kyle Franko here: West Windsor North’s Allison Lee signs off with another silver in the 3200 meters. Lee talks about wanting to make her last high school race an honest one, having no regrets, and leaving a legacy that shows a balance between running while finding fulfillment in relationships built through running.)

Jha leads Knights 4×800m under 8:00 then doubles back with huge 3200m

Agrim Jha (WWP North) leads a strung-out chase pack in the 3200m at the Meet of Champions on June 3, 2026. | tspimages for MileSplit

Agrim Jha (WWP North, So.) delivered the most impressive distance double among all boys at the Meet of Champions on Wednesday.

He and his fellow Knights opened the meet in the 4×800m, where they ran a nice season’s best of 7:59.64 to become the first Mercer County team this year to break 8:00. Paul Wittenberg, Rohan Varma, and Sushanth Karri all ran excellent splits of 2:01, and then Jha closed it out with a huge anchor leg of 1:55.2 to finish 2nd in their heat and 10th overall. All four of those boys will be back next year.

Jha got a couple hours to recover before he stepped back up for the 3200m, where he again put on a show. After pre-race favorite Luke Hnatt (CBA, Sr.) gapped the field on the first lap, Jha took it upon himself to set a quick pace for the chase pack, leading the boys through the 1600m in 4:34. But even that hot early pace didn’t sap the kick out of his legs — he dropped a 62.3 on the final lap to earn 3rd place in 9:09.72.

By trimming 2 seconds off his PR, Jha became just the eleventh Mercer County boy to ever go sub-9:10, and the first to do it this decade. And he’s still just a sophomore!

Kinsler keeps rolling with another school record in the 400m

Julius Kinsler (WWP South) sprints down the homestretch in the final heat of the 400m at the Meet of Champions on June 3, 2026. | tspimages for MileSplit

Julius Kinsler (WWP South, Sr.) continued cementing his legacy as one of the greatest 400m runners in county history, taking 4th place in a blistering 47.22. That chopped another half-second off his school record from sectionals and elevated him to #3 all-time in Mercer County.

That was an incredible result against historically deep field where six boys broke 47.50. While Kinsler’s time was only good for 4th this year, it’s also 19th in meet history. In fact, 10 of the fastest 43 times in meet history were run on Wednesday.

That closes out a spectacular NJSIAA season in which Kinsler never ran slower than 48.71 in the open 400m. He’ll look to keep his momentum rolling into nationals this month.

Crawford steps up again in the 400mH and earns MOCs bronze

Aldric Crawford (Notre Dame) competes in 400mH at the Meet of Champions on June 3, 2026. | Kyle Franko for the Trentonian

When Aldric Crawford (Notre Dame, Sr.) set a half-second PR last weekend to win the Non-Public A championship in the 400mH, he apparently was just getting rolling. On Wednesday, he leveled up once again when he chopped almost another full second off that PR to grab 3rd place in the Meet of Champions.

Crawford is easily one of the best 400m hurdlers to come through the county in years. His time of 52.50 is #6 all-time in Mercer County, and it’s #15 in the United States this spring.

(Read more from Kyle Franko at the Trentonian: Notre Dame’s Aldric Crawford finishes in 3rd with a 400 meter hurdles PR. Crawford talks about wanting to put Notre Dame track on the map and wanting to run well for his family and his community. His coach JainJa Williams applauds him for being a team player who lifts his teammates.)

More Distance

Finnegan Curley (Hopewell Valley, Jr.) almost medaled from the lower-seeded heat of the 3200m after a spectacular effort. After leading for much of the race, he covered a move by Peter Simpson (Haddonfield, Sr.) from 1200m out, and despite not catching Simpson on the final lap, still closed in 62 seconds to finish in a PR of 9:17.78 for 7th place overall.

Eve Szeliga (Wilberforce, Sr.) continued chopping big chunks of time off her season bests this postseason, running a 2:14.56 for 15th place in the 800m before doubling back for a big 4×400m leg of 57.36.

In the girls 1600m, Sydney Young (Hopewell Valley, Jr.) ran a season’s best of 5:04.98 to finish 16th, and Laura Sallade (Wilberforce, Sr.) took 20th in 5:15.27.

Teammates Kajol Karra (Princeton, Sr.) and Grace Hegedus (Princeton, Jr.) used the exact same 3200m strategy as at groups — work together for seven laps and then kick — and it was similarly successful. Karra finished 18th in 10:57.68, breaking 11:00 for just the second time ever, and Hegedus very nearly joined her under that barrier, running a PR of 11:00.79 for 20th place.

The girls 4x800m featured two Mercer County entries. Princeton (Mila Trkov, Lumnezia Meggers, Lena Murray, and Sevanne Knoch) finished just off their season’s best with a 9:41.06 for 15th, and WWP North (Evelyn Yang, Anita Bhatia, Fatima Arastu, and Sara Secora) ran 10:01.18 for 25th.

More Hurdles

The girls 400mH delivered two more impressive PRs. Della Gilligan (Princeton Day, Jr.) used a big last 100m to move up for 2nd in her heat and 9th overall in a time of 1:01.79, which chopped nearly half a second off her PR. That’s a truly extraordinary performance — she’s just the 4th Mercer County girl to ever break 1:02.

Gabriella Mandell (Notre Dame, Fr.) likewise flashed some major potential in the 400mH, improving on her PR with a 1:03.56 to take 17th in the state as a freshman.

In the boys 110mH prelims, Yi-Tian Xiong (Princeton, Jr.) ran 14.53 for 14th, just ahead of Zamir Jones (Notre Dame, Sr.) in 14.75 for 17th.

On the girls side, two sophomores picked up some great MOCs experience with D’Njah Tatum (Notre Dame, So.) running 15.08 for 20th and Angel Johnson (Ewing, So.) running 15.26 for 22nd.

More Sprints

The Wilberforce girls loaded their 4×400m with Laura Sallade, Eve Szeliga, Emily Prothero, and Stella Blanchard, and that quartet blasted a 3:54.71 to win their heat and finish 8th overall. That school record is #1 in Mercer County this spring, by a lot. In addition to Blanchard’s meet-leading split of 54.68 on the anchor, they got a remarkable second leg of 57.36 from Szeliga.

Coming off a successful groups meet that included three titles in three races, Nathan Bennett (Princeton Day, Jr.) focused all his attention on the 400m at MOCs and made it count — he finished 13th in the state with a blazing 48.58, going well under 49 for the first time ever.

Maya Dubois (Notre Dame, Jr.) had a big day at MOCs, taking 15th in the 100m with a 12.57 into a strong headwind and then doubling back to run a 200m PR of 25.09 for 18th overall. That 200m time is #2 in Mercer County this spring.

In the 4×100m relays, the Ewing boys (Kha-Neaf Mack Hornsby, Zaydin Boyce, Domonique Jones, and Dasan Jones) took 18th in 42.83, while the Princeton (Maddie Hamlin, Johanna Kraft, Ngozi Okeke-Agulu, and Simone Henriques) girls ran 49.54 for 26th and Notre Dame (Gabriella Mandell, Lisa Barber, D’Njah Tatum, and Maya Dubois) finished right behind them in 49.82 for 28th.

Jumps

Bryce Marsh (Notre Dame, Sr.) uncorked the best high jump of his high school career at the right time, clearing 6-4 on his final attempt to claim 17th in the state. He’s one of just ten Mercer County boys to get over 6-4 this decade.

In the horizontal jumps, Kirsten Brenya (Stuart Country Day, Sr.) finished 19th in the girls triple jump at 36-2.75 — her second-longest jump ever — and Jamel Cheeseborough-Williams (Hamilton West, Sr.) finished 28th in the boys long jump at 19-11.

Throws

Ti’Kayla Smith (Nottingham, Jr.) led Mercer County’s large contingent in the girls javelin, finishing in 9th place at 119-2. Mahek Singh (Robbinsville, Sr.) followed in 15th at 111-4, and Abigail Power (WWP North, So.) was 24th at 106-1.

In the girls discus, Makayla Rondinelli (Allentown, Sr.) finished 14th with a throw of 118-10, and Georgia Glanton of Stuart Country Day took 31st at 72-6.

Wheelchair Races

Also earning the Meet of Champions experience was Nathan Lay (Hopewell Valley), who competed in the 100m and 400m mixed wheelchair races. He took 4th place in both events, going 42.28 in the dash and 2:56.91 in the full lap.