Round-up: Casciano leads charge of athletes climbing the leaderboards
The CVC Championships and NJSIAA sectionals were some of the most significant meets over the past few weeks, but they certainly weren’t the only ones. Mercer County athletes have been plenty busy elsewhere! Here are a few other recent high-flying performances that are too good to stay under the radar.
Girls Highlights
Hun senior Anna Casciano has been on a tear this month. At MAPLs, she won the shot put with a new PR of 43-9.25, and then three days later at Prep A States she blew that away with an absolute bomb of 44-9. That’s #4 in New Jersey this winter and moves her up to #2 all-time indoors in Mercer County!
Peddie senior Foluke Oladeji won the Prep A State title in the 55m after dropping a PR of 7.38 in the final. That time is #5 in the county this winter.
At the MAPL Championships, Lawrenceville senior Jael Gaines claimed two bronze medals and set indoor PRs in both the 55m (7.40) and 200m (26.35).
Hightstown junior Jenna Ntori won the 55m at the NJ JV-Novice Invitational in a PR of 7.56, which is #9 in Mercer County.
Hightstown senior Aijah Somerselle raced her first ever indoor open 400m at the NJ JV-Novice Invitational, and it was a spectacular debut — she won the varsity race and became just the 2nd CVC girl to go sub-60 this winter with a 59.59 PR.
Lawrenceville sophomore Yasmin Willie helped carry her team to the Prep A State Championship with PRs in both the 400m (1:00.22 for 2nd) and 200m (26.60 for 4th).
Lawrenceville junior Rory Laubach placed 2nd behind her teammate Blair Bartlett in the Prep A States 800m with a PR of 2:20.32, which is #3 in Mercer County.
Hightstown sophomore Siena Rivera took 3rd in the varsity 1600m at the NJ-Novice Invitational with a PR of 5:16.34, which is #5 in the county.
Princeton’s top trio of distance girls all had great 3200m races at the Garden State Invitational on February 13. Kajol Karra ran a season’s best of 10:59.22 for 3rd place, Grace Hegedus was right behind her in a PR of 11:02.36 for 4th, and Phoenix Roth was just a few seconds back in her own PR of 11:09.97 for 5th. Those are the #3-#5 times in Mercer County this winter and all rank inside the state’s Top 30.
Peddie senior Tessa Hughes won the Prep A State 55mH title and ran a season’s best of 8.45, and she also took 2nd in the 200m with a PR of 25.78. Both of those marks are #2 in Mercer County this winter. She also won the high jump (5-2) and placed 5th in the shot put (24-7.5) to cap an incredible all-around meet.
Wilberforce junior Stella Blanchard took a short break from crushing mid-distance races to show off her top-end speed: she placed 4th at the CIRCUIT NYC in a PR of 26.14, which is #4 in Mercer County.
Notre Dame’s 4x400m team of Gabriella Mandell, Abby Lois, D’Njah Tatum, and Ava Fallon dominated at the NJCTC Championships on February 16. Their winning time of 4:10.24 is #2 in Mercer County and #1 in the CVC this winter.
At the NJ-Novice Invitational, Hightstown sophomore Chloe Lewis won the long jump in 17-0 and placed 3rd in the triple jump with a PR of 34-1.5 — which took over the #1 spot on the county leaderboard by just a half inch.
Stuart Country Day senior Kristen Brenya was on fire at Prep B States. She won the high jump in 4-10 and then set three PRs on the track, medaling in the 55m (6th in 7.82), 200m, (5th in 28.60), and 55mH (3rd in 9.44).
Derrick Carter (Trenton) competes in the 55m at the Poreda Invitational on December 13, 2025. | Tom Harkins for MileSplit
Boys Highlights
In the 55m at the JV-Novice Invitational, Trenton junior Derrick Carter blasted a big PR of 6.61 for the win in the finals. That moves him up to #3 in Mercer County. Later in the meet, he ran a 200m PR of 23.13 for 4th place, #7 in the county.
At the MAPL Championships, Hun seniors Warren Hernandez and Avery Radom ran identical times of 6.65 in the 55m, with Hernandez being given 3rd place and Radom taking 4th. Those marks are tied for #5 in the county.
Lawrenceville senior Ayodele Joa-Griffith ran an open 400m PR of 50.16 for 2nd place at the Prep A States, and that’s also the #2 mark in the county. Four days later, Joa-Griffith took 3rd in the 800m at the CIRCUIT-NYC with another fast time of 1:55.93.
Princeton Day junior Nathan Bennett won the Prep B State 400m title with a PR of 50.96. He’s just the 4th Mercer County boy to go sub-51 in the open 400m this winter.
Peddie senior Elie Meyer broke the 2:00 barrier in the 800m to win the Prep A State title in 1:58.64. His teammate Luca Romanelli wasn’t far behind in an indoor PR of 2:00.19. Those times are #2 and #4 in Mercer County.
The Lawrenceville distance corps was on fire at the CIRCUIT-NYC. They had four boys run PRs of 4:33 or faster in the full mile: junior Arunav Sarkar (6th in 4:26.52), senior Bastian Bocklage (9th in 4:32.80), junior Hejyule Bae-Robinson (10th in 4:33.42), and sophomore Julius Jordan (12th in 4:33.90). With that teamwork, the impressive quartet — who are now #2, #5, #6, and #7 in Mercer County — qualified for the 4xMile at nationals.
A week earlier, three of those Big Red boys also ran great 3200m PRs at Prep A States. Bae-Robinson took 2nd in 9:49.58, Bocklage was right behind him in 9:50.49 for 3rd, and Jordan followed closely in 4th in 9:55.83. Those times are #4, #5, and #7 in the county.
Princeton senior Saboor Qureshi trimmed a few more seconds off his 1600m PR with a 4:33.97 for 13th at the Garden State Invitational. That’s #9 in Mercer County.
Princeton’s Yi-Tian Xiong took over the #1 spot on the Mercer County leaderboard in the 55mH with a very impressive 7.59 PR for 7th in the final at the Garden State Invitational. That mark also makes the junior #13 in New Jersey.
Notre Dame’s loaded 4x400m team of Aldric Crawford, Jayden Davis, Amir Mulkey, and Matt Ryba took 2nd in a very competitive race at the NJCTC Championship. Their time of 3:26.76 is #1 in the county this winter and one of the fastest Mercer County times in recent years.
Lawrenceville’s 4x400m team of Ayodele Joa-Griffith, Brian Gomez, Mohamed Mohamed, and Alexander Salgado-Lozhkin became the third Mercer County school to go sub-3:30 this season with a 3:29.95 for very close 2nd-place finish at Prep A States.
Peddie senior Dasyer Bullock discovered he has immense talent in the long jump: despite having never jumpedinto a sand pit before the MAPL Championships, he very quickly got the hang of it, and on his last jump of the meet he soared 21-10 for the win. That puts him at #23 in the whole state and just an inch off the county lead.
Bullock also experimented with his first 200m race at the MAPL Championships and crushed it, running 22.81 for 3rd place. That’s #3 in Mercer County.
Notre Dame senior Bryce Marsh joined the 40’ club in the triple jump with leap of 40-3 for 5th at the NJCTC Championships.