XC 2025 Preview: Top Storylines in Mercer County
It’s cross country time! The final summer miles are being logged, official practices start in a few days, the first CVC batch meets are coming up quickly, and invitationals kick off in less than a month. It’s a long season – we’re still 80 days out from sectionals – but the autumn will fly by as each passing Saturday brings cooler air and bigger stakes. There’s nothing quite like cross country season in New Jersey.
Last fall, Mercer County schools delivered big-time performances locally and against the best in the state. The 2025 season is shaping up to be no less exciting! If you weren’t already in the XC frame of mind, here are some of Mercer County’s most intriguing storylines heading into the season.
For Track Mercer’s coverage of the 2024 XC season, click here. And stay tuned for a closer look at the top returning individuals!
How will the Princeton girls follow up on their historic 2024 season?
Last fall, the Princeton girls were sensational. They were hands down the best public school in New Jersey, winning the Group 4 title and placing 2nd at the Meet of Champions. In fact, they were one of the best schools in the entire Northeast, which they proved by taking 4th place at NXR. Could they climb a couple places and book a trip to Portland in December? Don’t count them out. They bring back six varsity runners – including their whole top five – and their young squad now has another full year of experience and training under their belts.
No Mercer County girls team has ever won the Meet of Champions, but could this be the year? To be fair, it would take an incredible upset to win against Union Catholic, last year’s winners who return their whole lineup and are predicted to be one of the top teams in the entire country. But you never know what will happen on the XC course!
What other teams have a shot at qualifying for the Meet of Champions?
Last year, the Hopewell Valley girls snagged the final wild card berth to the Meet of Champions, and the WWP North girls finished just a few spots out from qualifying. This year, both teams graduated one all-state ace but otherwise return six talented girls whose improvements can make up for losing a low stick. How close to Princeton can they both get? Mercer County has never had three teams qualify for the Meet of Champions.
On the boys side last year, Princeton Day booked its first trip to the Meet of Champions by dominating at the Non-Public B group championships. All seven of those runners are back, so this could be another very promising year! We’ll see if any other boys teams can join them at the Meet of Champions. It’s been four years since a Mercer County boys team last earned a wild card, when Princeton and WWP North both qualified in 2021.
How many total runners will Mercer County send to the Meet of Champions?
20 girls from Mercer County qualified for last year’s Meet of Champions, either with their team or individually. That’s the most girls in at least the past 25 years, possibly ever! With several teams in the mix for qualifying, along with tons of returning talent individually, we could see that record go down again.
Mercer County boys also represented well at the Meet of Champions, sending 12 runners. If Princeton Day can get back there again, could enough other boys join them to top that number? All of last year’s public-school qualifiers from the county graduated, but there a few returners were right on the cusp and could make their first trip to MoCs this fall.
The 32 total runners from Mercer County at the 2024 Meet of Champions were the county’s second-highest total ever, just behind 34 from 2021.
Who will top the boys team rankings?
The WWP North boys have won 4 of the last 5 county championships, and they are probably the pre-season favorites to win their third in a row. Despite losing three of their top five runners from last year, they showed formidable depth in the 3200m this past spring.
But the Knights are far from a lock for the win. Princeton and Hopewell Valley both return even more runners from their varsity squads that got 3rd and 4th last year. In fact, Hopewell Valley is the only top team to retain their entire top three runners. The Bulldogs haven’t won the county championship in 19 years, but this could be their year. The WWP South boys were runner-up last year but graduated their entire top five. Still, the Pirates are perennial contenders, so you know they’ll find a way to reload.
Who will be the most improved teams this year?
You don’t need to win championships or qualify for groups to have a successful season. Most teams are just looking to improve on the prior season’s times and scores, and that’s a feat worth recognizing. Last year, teams like Hightstown boys, Ewing boys, Allentown girls, and Trenton girls had their best squads in a long time. Will they keep up the momentum? And who else will take us by surprise this year?
What amazing feats will we see from Blair Bartlett and Allison Lee?
Lawrenceville’s Blair Bartlett rewrote the history books as a sophomore last year. School records, county records, a state record, a Penn Relays record, multiple All-American honors, a 4:39 mile, 2nd place at the NON 3000m, the list goes on. But for all those track accolades, she’s never won anything on the XC course – only because she’s never run XC. She instead played tennis the past two years.
But not this year. Bartlett will be making her much-anticipated debut on the XC course this fall, and the sky’s the limit. Could she go sub-17 on a fast course? How will she fare on the hilly championship courses? This may be the first time in U.S. history that a high school girl is debuting at XC after having already run a sub-10 3200m on the track. There’s no predicting how fast she’ll go on the grass, but safe to say it’ll be a must-watch event whenever she toes the line. Expect some intense showdowns when she takes on the best of the NJSIAA at the Bowdoin XC Classic, Shore Coaches Invitational, and NXN Regionals.
As good as Bartlett is, she may not even be the best runner in Mercer County this fall. WWP North’s Allison Lee already has a proven track record of producing jaw-dropping XC results. Remember: as a junior last year, she obliterated the course records at Robbinsville and Thompson Park (17:46!) before going on to take 3rd at the Meet of Champions, 6th at Footlocker Regionals, and 29th at Footlocker. Since then, she’s gotten even more national-caliber 5K experience by racing that event at both indoor and outdoor nationals and lowering her track PR to 16:38. You know that anyone who chooses to run 25 laps on an indoor track as a high schooler truly loves the 5K, so she’ll be excited to crush a few more 5Ks in her senior XC season. Watch for her to climb the national rankings this fall.