Winter Track Preview: Jumpers and Throwers
Now it’s time for the jumpers and throwers to take center stage!
The track events often get the spotlight, but the field events are where some of the biggest moments happen every meet: clutch clearances, last-chance bombs, and breakout performances that change a season in an instant. Plus, the points scored by jumpers and throwers are absolutely crucial in the team competition.
This winter in the field events, we’ll see defending champs chasing even bigger heights, underclassmen ready to burst onto the scene, and whole event leaderboards revamped after a wave of graduations. Let’s take a look at the jumpers and throwers who lit up Mercer County last year and are ready for more this winter.
Girls Jumps
Kirsten Brenya (Stuart Country Day, Sr.) was one of five girls to clear 5-0 in the high jump last winter, and she has an outdoor PR of 5-2. She’s never done the triple jump indoors, but hopefully she’ll get a chance this winter — she’s the top triple jumper in the county, with a PR of 36-1 that qualified for her for the USATF National Junior Olympics over the summer.
Tessa Goodman (Hopewell Valley, Sr.) uncorked a big long jump PR of 15-7 last winter to qualify for the Eastern States Championships. If she regains that form again this winter, she’ll be due for an upgrade on her 5th-place finish from the winter CVC Championships.
Madeleine Hughes (Peddie, So.) stuck to the sprints last winter, but she’ll likely add jumping to her repertoire after flashing some talent in the high jump pit last spring. She was one of just seven Mercer County girls to clear 5’ last year (indoors or out), when she jumped 5-0 to claim 2nd place at Prep A States as a freshman.
Tessa Hughes (Peddie, Sr.) is best known for jumping fast over hurdles, but she can also jump high and far. She’s was one of the best girls last year in both the high jump (#1 in 5-5) and the long jump (#3 in 17-1). She placed 2nd in the high jump at Prep A States last winter, and she’s the two-time defending Prep A champion in that event outdoors.
Alexis Johnson (Hamilton West, Sr.) is a dual-threat in both horizontal jumps. In the triple jump, she took 3rd at the winter CVC Championships, with a PR of 31-1.5. In the long jump, she was one of just 7 girls in the county go clear 16 feet this past spring.
Chloe Lewis (Hightstown, So.) competed only once in the long jump last indoor season, but she’ll probably be seeing more of the runway this winter after proving herself to be one of Mercer County’s biggest talents in the spring. She qualified for the Meet of Champions outdoors and took 14th in a county-leading leap of 17-10.5.
Uchenna Obidike (Hopewell Valley, Sr.) has firmly established herself as one of the best all-around field athletes in Mercer County. Indoors, she was the Central Group 2 champion in the shot put and then earned a 6th-place medal at groups with a PR of 34-6. She went even deeper into the postseason in the high jump, clearing a PR of 5-2 at both the Meet of Champions and the Eastern States Championships.
Ngozi Okeke-Agulu (Princeton, Jr.) took the silver medal in the long jump at last winter’s CVC Championship, and she comes into this year with an indoor PR of 16-1 and an outdoor PR of 16-9.5, both of which are Top 3 among Mercer County returners.
Avery Rick (Hopewell Valley, Jr.) is the county’s top returner in the pole vault, coming into the season with a PR of 9-0 and silver medals from the CVC Championships both indoors and outdoors last year. She advanced to the Group 2 Championships last winter and finished in 14th place.
Jada Sands (WWP North, Jr.) had a very strong and consistent sophomore year in the triple jump. She’s the top returning triple jumper from last winter, when she jumped 31-4 to take the silver medal at the CVC Championship.
Girls Throws
Olivia Allison (Lawrenceville, Jr.) is a dual threat in the shot put and high jump. She comes into the winter with an indoor shot put PR of 30-8.25, and she placed 2nd at Prep A States last February in that throw.
Jaiden Bosley (Hightstown, Sr.) had a very strong finish to last year’s indoor season. She placed 3rd at CVCs, 4th at Central Group 3 sectionals, and then hit a PR of 32-1 for 16th at groups. That’s #3 among Mercer County returners.
Anna Casciano (Hun, Sr.) isn’t just the best thrower in the county, she’s one of the best in all of New Jersey. Her indoor PR of 40-11.5 was #14 in the state last winter, and her outdoor PR of 42-5 put her at #10 in the spring. She’s also a prolific thrower that enters almost every meet possible, so we should see plenty of opportunities for her to climb even higher this year!
Eva Gedrich (WWP North, Jr.) has thrown the shot over 30’ only one time — a 30-8.25 last January — but watch for that to change this winter. She found her groove last spring and made deep postseason runs in both the discus and javelin, including an 18th-place finish in the discus at the Meet of Champions.
Danielle Marsh (Notre Dame, Sr.) finished the season with a bang last winter, throwing a big PR of 30-3.5 to grab a 5th-place medal at the Non-Public A Championship. She carried that momentum outdoors, where she hit a PR of 32-11.5 and upgrade to 3rd at the NPA Championship.
Boys Jumps
Connor Ahearn (Notre Dame, Sr.) comes into this year with a pole vault PR of 11-0, which was #2 in the county last year. He’s poised to score some valuable points for the Irish boys team this winter.
Aslan Aksu (Lawrenceville, Sr.) was head and shoulders above everyone else in pole vault last year. He went undefeated the entire year and cleared 13-0 four times, including to win the Prep A State title both indoors and outdoors.
Jamel Cheeseborough-Williams (Hamilton West, Sr.) didn’t do the long jump last winter, but he’ll almost certainly hit the runway this year after posting the top mark in the county last spring. He flew 22-5 to win the Mercer Coaches Classic in May.
Aldric Crawford (Notre Dame, Sr.) is one of the best sprinters in the county, but he also knows how to translates that speed into a mighty long jump. He placed 2nd at the CVC Championships last winter, and his PR of 20-6 was tied for #2 in the county that season.
Avery Hall (Princeton Day, Jr.) made nice progress in the high jump during his sophomore year, jumping 5-10 in the winter to place 4th at the Non-Public B championship and then clearing 6-0 in an abbreviated spring season.
Ellington Hinds (Princeton, Sr.) had an excellent debut track season in the high jump last year, clearing 5-10 in the winter and taking 5th at the CVC Championships in the spring. Now with a full year of experience under his belt, he’ll look to fly higher this winter.
Bryce Marsh (Notre Dame, Sr.) won the the Non-Public A Group Championship in the high jump last winter with a PR-tying clearance of 6-2. Overall, he had a very impressive and consistent junior year, which also included winning the CVC Championships in the high jump both indoors and out.
Kendrick Mullen (Notre Dame, So.) had a decent winter season in the high jump, but he reached a whole new level in the spring, where he claimed the silver medal at CVCs and finished with a PR of 6-2. That was #2 among all New Jersey freshmen.
Sullivan Spagnoli (Princeton, Jr.) was one of only four boys to soar past 20’ in the long jump last winter, when he hit 20-4.25 on his last meet of the season. Outdoors, he took home the bronze medal in that event at the CVC Championships.
Boys Throws
Last year’s shot put leaderboards were stacked with seniors. Both indoors and outdoors, 7 of the top 10 throwers have now graduated. So we’re in store for some new names on the top of the list this year!
Jeylon Billups (Notre Dame, Sr.) is the #1 returner from Mercer County last winter, when he threw 46-8 to finish 7th at the Non-Public A Championships. He also took 2nd at the CVC Relays and 3rd at the CVC Championships.
Drew Damasiewicz (Robbinsville, Sr.) is particularly clutch at the CVC Championships — both indoors and outdoors, he threw matching PRs of 45-0 for 2nd in the winter and 5th in the spring. He took 6th at the Central Group 2 sectionals last winter and qualified for his first group championship.
Aidan Edwards (WWP South, Sr.) comes into the season with an indoor PR of 42-8, which is #5 among Mercer County returners. But in the spring he popped a massive throw of 46-1 for 4th place at the Mercer Coaches Classic, which makes him the county’s #2 returner outdoors.
Christian Houvig (Hightstown, Sr.) is the #2 returner in the indoor shot put, with a PR that falls just 0.25 short of Billups’s. Houvig launched his best throw ever of 46-7.75 for a 5th-place medal at the Central Group 3 sectionals last winter.
Joshua Witherspoon (Lawrenceville, Sr.) also broke the 45’ barrier last winter with a throw of 45-1.75 that got him 4th place at the MAPL Championships. He went on to place 5th at the Prep A State Championship.