Allentown’s Gavin Alvarez and West Windsor-Plainsoro North’s Allison Lee are our CVC Track & Field Athletes of the Year
The Trentonian selects Allison Lee (WWP North, Jr.) and Gavin Alvarez (Allentown, Sr.) as runners of the year. The two stars share their reactions to their performances and experiences at the Meet of Champions. Honorable mentions go to Christopher Young (Notre Dame, Sr.), Sean Wilton (Princeton, Sr.), and Sonjay Baylor-Reeves (Trenton, Sr.).
CVC boys track & field Athlete of the Year, postseason honors for 2025
NJ.com’s CVC boy athlete of the year is Gavin Alvarez (Allentown, Sr.), and they highlights his fast PRs, medals at groups and Meet of Champions, and his big improvement from last year. The boys coach of the year is Nottingham’s Kenley Souffrant, and the boys team of the year is Notre Dame.
NJSIAA Track & Field Meet of Champions: Notre Dame’s Joe McLaughlin and Princeton High’s Ben Samara, mainstay CVC coaches, say goodbye
Coach McLaughlin shares what made him stick around at Notre Dame for 38 years, while assistant coach Jain Ja Williams praises his organizational skills and the culture he’s created, both at Notre Dame and across Mercer County. Coach Samara expresses appreciation for everyone who has shared with him the lessons they learned in his program, and he also talks about getting to coach with his father, the retired Princeton University coach.
NJSIAA Group Track & Field: Notre Dame hurdlers post pair of 2nd-place finishes at Non-Public A
The Trentonian highlights Notre Dame hurdlers Christopher Young and Aldric Crawford, who earned automatic qualifiers to the MoC after getting silver medals in the 110mH and 400mH respectively. Other auto-qualifiers who get a callout are Princeton’s Sean Wilton (shot put), Allentown’s boys 4×100m team, and WWP North’s Allison Lee (3200m).
CVC Track & Field Notebook: Notre Dame’s Christopher Young goes from skier to one of state’s top hurdlers
Christopher Young (Notre Dame, Sr.) and his coach Jain Ja Williams talk about his journey in the sport — he was primarily a skier before Coach Williams saw some hurdling potential in him. Young says that he’s been able to improve so much by watching people who were ahead of him and copying them.
Samya Jenkins (Lawrence, So.) talks about believing that she could win the 100m/200m double after winning the sprint double at CVCs indoors. He credited her success to inspiring coaches who believe in her, hard work, being motivated by other athletes in Mercer County.
CVC Track & Field Championships: Notre Dame boys send coach Joe McLaughlin out a winner; WW-P North girls on top
Notre Dame coach Joe McLaughlin talks about the excitement of winning the boys CVC Championship in his 38th and final spring season. He credits his versatile athletes for their willingness to do different events and to focus on where they can score points. Jayden Davis (Notre Dame, Jr.) talks about winning the 4×400m with their A team and the motivational confidence they have.
WWP North’s girls talk after winning the girls championship. Zui Chinchalkar (Sr.) talks about chasing sectional and county titles and about how this win sets them up for success at sectionals. Mahima Bansal (Sr.) talks about checking the team scores throughout the day, and Chloe Song (Jr.) talks about the motivation that comes from hearing her teammates cheering.
Boys indoor track: Non-Public A relay championship preview, 2025
The “don’t miss” event for Non-Public A relay championship is the shuttle hurdles, where NJ #2 Paramus Catholic takes on NJ #3 Notre Dame.
Girls indoor track Fab 50, Jan. 2: Was there an early shakeup at the top?
Here are the Mercer County girls in NJ.com’s second rankings of the season:
#6 Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville, Fr., Distance)
#13 Sofia Swindell (Lawrenceville, Sr., Sprints/Hurdles)
#26 Alaina Sabo (Notre Dame, Fr., Distance)
#28 Kajol Karra (Princeton, Jr., Distance)
#33 Yasmin Willie (Lawrenceville, Fr., Distance)
#46 Catalina Holliday (Nottingham, Sr., Shot Put)
#47 Jael Gaines (Lawrenceville, Jr., Sprints)
#48 Sydney Young (Hopewell Valley, So., DIstance)
Girls indoor track Fab 50, Dec. 19: Who stood out in the first rankings?
NJ.com’s first rankings of the indoor season include several girls from Mercer County:
#7 Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville, Fr., Distance)
#8 Sofia Swindell (Lawrenceville, Sr., Sprints/Hurdles)
#16 Allison Lee (WW-P North, Jr., Distance)
#26 Audrey Cheng (Lawrenceville, Sr., Pole Vault)
#28 Lexie Koch (Lawrenceville, Sr., Sprints)
#29 Yasmin Willie (Lawrenceville, Fr., Distance)
#31 Catalina Holliday (Nottingham, Sr., Shot Put)
#35 Elsie Rey De-Castro (Hopewell Valley, So., Distance)
#49 Alaina Sabo (Notre Dame, Fr., Distance)
Times of Trenton boys cross-country postseason honors, 2024
In the Times of Trenton’s boys XC postseason awards, the runner of the year was Shravan Pradeep (WW-P South). Pradeep talked about his dedication to never missing a day and his strategy of going out hard at the Meet of Champions. The team of the year was WW-P North. The coach of the year was Katie Reilly (WW-P South), who credited her team’s success to the runners’ love for the sport and to her fellow coach Stephanie Pegues’s work developing a strong training plan.
The Times’ All-Area team was Felix Farrugia (Princeton), Luke Ferrer (WW-P North), Tyler Hurst (Steinert), Agrim Jha (WW-P North), Tarun Kovoor (Notre Dame), Shravan Pradeep (WW-P South), and Burke Thompson (Hightstown).
Photos: CVC Cross Country Championships at Thompson Park
The Trentonian has a great photo gallery from the CVC Championships, along with a write-up listing the top results on the day.
10/13-10/19 Cross Country – Performers of the Week
The latest NJXCTFCA performers of the week include Steinert’s Tyler Hurst, Hopewell Valley’s Claire Dumont, and Notre Dame’s Alaina Sabo (girls freshman of the week).
Meet N.J.’s most underrated boys and girls cross country runners in 2024
NJ.com selected the 7-8 most underrated runners from every group. Here were their picks from Mercer County, who each got a short write-up:
Emilia Wroblewski (Allentown, Sr.)
Rosemary Warren (Princeton, Fr.)
Alaina Sabo (Notre Dame, Fr.)
Stella Blanchard (Wilberforce, So.)
Silas Allevik (Hopewell Valley, So.)
Tarun Kovoor (Notre Dame, Sr.)
XC Fall Classic: Notre Dame’s Kovoor bounces back; Princeton claims boys title
Corey Annan interviews Tarun Kovoor (Notre Dame) and Princeton coach James Smirk after their wins at the XC Fall Classic. Kovoor talks about the victory being a confidence boost after coming back from a glute injury. Coach Smirk praises his boys for playing on each other’s strengths and having the mindset that team success is everyone’s success.
How Trenton revived an abandoned N.J. cross country course
After historic Cadwalader Park hosted its first XC races in 25 years, here’s the fascinating story of the work that went on behind the scenes to get the course designed and approved. Trenton coaches Damien Kellogg and Michelle Purvis and Hopewell Valley alum Jordan Antebi get their deserved credit for making this happen. Race winners Emilia Wroblewski (Allentown) and Tarun Kavoor (Notre Dame) praised the challenging course’s hills, shade, and markings.
Who are the most underrated Non-Public teams in N.J. girls cross-country?
Notre Dame is highlighted as one of four “underrated” Non-Public teams this year. Specifically praised is Notre Dame’s “strong senior class” of Meghan Connolly, Juliana Peregrin and Kiera Donegan.
Cadwalader Park hosts high school cross country for first time in 25 years
Cadwalader Park in Trenton hosted its first high school cross country meets since 1999. Before the most recent hiatus, Cadawalader Park had a long history of cross country running, dating back to the state championships in 1920.
Girls Top 500 Holmdel Park Returners For 2024
The Mercer County girls in the top 100 are:
#10 Zui Chinchalkar (West Windsor-Plainsboro North)
#13 Allison Lee (West Windsor-Plainsboro North)
#24 Grace Hegedus (Princeton)
#33 Izzy Meth (Lawrence)
#37 Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley)
#41 Laura Sallade (Wilberforce)
#44 Adeline Edwards (Wilberforce)
#47 Maggie McCabe (Notre Dame)
#52 Elsie Rey-de-Castro (Hopewell Valley)
#62 Teagan Walker (Ewing)
#75 Kajol Karra (Princeton)
#84 Eve Szeliga (Wilberforce)
#86 Sydney Young (Hopewell Valley)
#87 Eowyn Deess (Princeton)
#92 Courtney Cane (Peddie)
Boys Top 500 Holmdel Park Returners for 2024
The Mercer County boys in the top 100 are Luke Ferrer (West Windsor-Plainsboro North, #49) and Tarun Kovoor (Notre Dame, #92).