Regular Season Rankings: Girls Individuals
The XC regular season flew by in a whirlwind of fast times and impressive results. It’s clear that Mercer County’s runners are ready to roll this championship season! But before the postseason officially kicks off, let’s look back and give some recognition to Mercer County’s top performers so far.
Below are Track Mercer’s rankings of girls individuals based on regular season performances. Who’s going to shake up these rankings once real championships and all-county awards are on the line?
Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville) pushes all the way to the line en route to winning the Varsity II race at the Bowdoin Classic 2025. | John Nepolitan for RunnerSpace
#1 Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville, Jr.) is, without exaggeration, having one of the greatest debut XC seasons ever. She won the Bowdoin Classic in 18:02, #2 all-time among New Jersey girls on that course. The next week, she won Shore Coaches in 17:24, #4 all-time on that course. Then, in a dual meet at Peddie last week, she shattered the state all-course 5K record by running an unbelievable 16:16. According to MileSplit, that’s the 12th-fastest time ever run by a high school girl on a cross country course. She’ll now get a solid six-week training block ahead of NXR Northeast on November 22, where she’ll face her first real competition. Watch for her to make even more history this fall.
#2 Allison Lee (WWP North, Sr.) continues to cement her status as one of the best long distance runners in New Jersey. She went undefeated this regular season and racked up wins at several big meets. She won the Run the Night two-mile in 11:02, the Shore Coaches Varsity B race in 18:36, and the Manhattan Varsity E race in 14:49 for 2.5 miles. She’s already running faster than she was at this point last season, and she’s right on track to mount another charge at the Meet of Champions individual title next month.
#3 Kajol Karra (Princeton, Sr.) wasted no time reminding everyone that she’s one of the state’s best XC runners, opening the season with a blistering 5K PR of 18:10 to place second behind Bartlett at the Jerry Hart Invitational. She then finished 7th in the Bowdoin Classic and ran 19:18 on that very challenging course, which was even faster than at NXR Northeast last year. Although she had an “off” race at Shore Coaches — she still ran 19:53 for 8th in Varsity B — she bounced back to have her best race of the season at Manhattan, where she placed 19th in the Eastern States Championship and ran a 15:17 on the tough 2.5-mile course.
#4 Sydney Young (Hopewell Valley, Jr.) missed most of last fall with an injury, but this fall she’s finally gotten the chance to show off her XC prowess. She won her first two races of the year, with a 11:31 at the Cherokee Challenge and then a huge 5K PR of 18:19 at the TCNJ XC Invitational. At Shore Coaches, she fought fiercely to keep that winning streak alive in the Varsity C race, and although she couldn’t quite hang onto Middletown South’s Amelia Pattwell, Young got pulled to a incredible Holmdel PR of 19:14 in 2nd place.
Grace Hegedus (Princeton) finishes strong in the Eastern States Championship at the Manhattan Invitational 2025. | John Nepolitan for RunnerSpace
#5 Grace Hegedus (Princeton, Jr.) has been on a roll this season, setting a new course PR everywhere she goes: Peddie (18:18 for 4th place at Jerry Hart), Bowdoin (19:31 for 8th place at the Bowdoin Classic), Holmdel (19:25 for 4th in the Shore Coaches Varsity B race), and Manhattan (2.5 miles in 15:30 for 23rd in the Eastern Championship). And her old course PRs were already very lofty! Her remarkable consistency and leadership have been crucial for Princeton in the statewide team competition.
#6 Stella Blanchard (Wilberforce, Jr.) burst onto the XC scene when she ran a super fast 18:24 to take 5th at the Jerry Hart Invitational last month, then she kicked things into another gear last week when she won the XC Fall Classic in a blistering 18:34 over the hilly course. That time makes her #8 all-time among Mercer County girls at Thompson Park! She hasn’t yet put together a similar performance at Holmdel, but watch for that to change with big races at groups and Meet of Champions next month.
#7 Laura Sallade (Wilberforce, Sr.) has had an excellent start to her senior year. After having running between 19:45 and 20:05 at Holmdel five different times over the last two years, she broke through to the next level with a 19:22 to take 11th place in the super competitive Varsity E race at Shore Coaches. She also placed 3rd in another stacked race at the Thompson 2 Miler in 11:43, and she ran a superb 18:33 for 6th at the Jerry Hart Invitational.
Alaina Sabo (Notre Dame) comes down the homestretch in the Varsity E race at the Shore Coaches Invitational 2025. | Tom Smith for MileSplit
#8 Alaina Sabo (Notre Dame, So.) kicked off her sophomore campaign by winning the John E. Nagel Invitational and then running a quick 19:13 for 9th place at the Jerry Hart Invitational. Those were great results, but her most impressive race of the regular season was at last weekend’s XC Fall Classic, where she torched a big course PR at Thompson Park to take 2nd place in 19:25. She clearly trending upwards heading into championship season.
#9 Phoenix Roth (Princeton, Jr.) blasted a big 5K PR of 19:08 for 8th place at the Jerry Hart Invitational to start her season. Then, after two solid races at the Bowdoin Classic (21st in 20:37) and Shore Coaches (14th in Varsity B in 20:25), she most recently delivered her strongest result yet at the Manhattan Invitational, taking 32nd in the Eastern States Championship with a time of 16:00 over the 2.5-mile course.
#10 Kayla Peckens (Princeton Day, Sr.) quickly introduced herself as a major contender in the county when she went sub-20 in her first high school 5K, taking 12th at the Jerry Hart Invitational in 19:45. At Shore Coaches, she opted out of the freshman two-mile race and instead took on the full course, Bowl and everything. She came away with an excellent result of 19th in the Varsity E race in 20:23, which was 7th among Mercer County girls that day.
Eowyn Deess (Princeton) kicks hard in the final steps of the Eastern States Championship at the Manhattan Invitational 2025. | John Nepolitan for RunnerSpace
#11 Eowyn Deess (Princeton, Jr.) has been running well and continues getting stronger in every race. After opening with a 19:46 at the Jerry Hart Invitational, she went on to run 20:56 at Bowdoin, 20:38 at Shore Coaches (16th in Varsity B), and — most impressively yet — 16:03 on Manhattan’s 2.5-mile course. Deess’s progression last season was key to Princeton’s deep postseason run, and she looks poised to step up again this year.
#12 Rosemary Warren (Princeton, So.) dropped a nice 5K PR of 19:26 in her season opener at the Jerry Hart Invitational and then produced a superb race at the Bowdoin Classic, taking 16th in 20:13 on a very tough course. Those were her only two races this season, but they show some huge potential for when she gets back on the course.
#13 Izzy Meth (Lawrence, Jr.) only raced two weekends of the regular season, but both results indicate that she’s gotten herself into excellent shape this fall. She started by taking 3rd in the junior race at the Cherokee Challenge in 11:58, and then she finished right behind Blanchard at the Thompson Park Class Meet in 19:30, a top-tier time on that course.
#14 Caitlin Williams (Peddie, Sr.) has taken to Peddie’s training program very well this fall. It had been almost three years since she last broke 21:00, but, in her first race for Peddie, she shattered that old PR by running 19:32 at the Jerry Hart Invitational. Then, three weeks later on the same course, she chopped even more off her PR by running a very impressive 19:19 to take second behind Bartlett in their dual meet.
#15 Shanel Tan (Peddie, Sr.) ran some excellent two-mile races at the end of spring track season, and she’s kept the momentum going this fall. At Shore Coaches, she placed 16th in the Varsity F race with a time of 20:43, which was 12th-best among Mercer County girls in the merge. This past weekend, she ran a big PR of 19:34 to place 3rd at her home dual meet.
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Addison Frascella (Allentown, Fr.) placed 2nd at the Thompson 2 Miler in 12:51 and went 20:06 at the Osprey Invite … Juliette Halpin (WWP North, So.) ran 12:38 for 3rd at Run the Night and 20:56 at Shore Coaches. … Sevanne Knoch (Princeton, So.) ran 20:50 at Bowdoin Park, a great time on a tough course. … Rory Laubach (Lawrenceville, Jr.) went 19:53 at Jerry Hart and 20:56 at Shore Coaches. … Risha Rao (WWP South, Jr.) placed 3rd at Thompson 2 Miler in 12:54 and 12th in the Six Flags Wild Safari Varsity A race in 20:03. … Anna Wilson (Hopewell Valley, Jr.) ran 12:29 at the Cherokee Challenge, 19:51 at TCNJ, and 20:53 at Shore Coaches.