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.).
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).
NJSIAA Group IV Track & Field: Princeton High’s Sean Wilton throws new shot put PR to go back-to-back
Princeton’s Sean Wilton, winner of the boys Group 4 shot put, talk with Kyle Franko from the Trentonian about performing under pressure and his confidence going into MoCs. Coaches Ben Samara and Brandon Williams give some insight into Wilton’s unmatched work ethic and mindset.
Boys indoor track Fab 50, Jan 30: Rankings see major shifts as postseason nears
The latest edition of NJ.com’s boys rankings has Sean Wilton (Princeton, Sr., Shot Put) entering the rankings at #31.
Girls indoor track Fab 50, Jan. 30: New No. 1 emerges ahead of sectionals
Here are the Mercer County girls in the January 30 edition of NJ.com’s rankings:
#15 Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville, So., Distance)
#17 Sofia Swindell (Lawrenceville, Sr., Sprints/Hurdles)
#23 Sonjay Baylor-Reeves (Trenton, Sr., Shot Put)
#32 Audrey Cheng (Lawrenceville, Sr. Pole Vault)
#37 Catalina Holliday (Nottingham, Sr., Shot Put)
#42 Allison Lee (WW-P North, Jr., Distance)
#44 Kajol Karra (Princeton, Jr., Distance)
Girls indoor track Fab 50, Jan. 23: Top athletes holding true at the top
Here are the Mercer County girls in the January 23 edition of NJ.com’s rankings:
#11 Sofia Swindell (Lawrenceville, Sr., Sprints/Hurdles)
#12 Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville, So., Distance)
#18 Sonjay Baylor-Reeves (Trenton, Sr., Shot Put)
#26 Audrey Cheng (Lawrenceville, Sr. Pole Vault)
#28 Kajol Karra (Princeton, Jr., Distance)
#34 Catalina Holliday (Nottingham, Sr., Shot Put)
#48 Tessa Hughes (Peddie, Jr., Hurdles)
Girls indoor track Fab 50, Jan. 23: Top athletes holding true at the top (Copy)
Here are the Mercer County girls in the January 16 edition of NJ.com’s rankings:
#6 Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville, So., Distance)
#12 Sofia Swindell (Lawrenceville, Sr., Sprints/Hurdles)
#16 Sonjay Baylor-Reeves (Trenton, Sr., Shot Put)
#28 Audrey Cheng (Lawrenceville, Sr. Pole Vault)
#31 Kajol Karra (Princeton, Jr., Distance)
#36 Catalina Holliday (Nottingham, Sr., Shot Put)
#43 Yasmin Willie (Lawrenceville, Fr., Distance)
#46 Tessa Hughes (Peddie, Jr., Hurdles)
Girls indoor track Fab 50, Jan. 9: Newcomers headline the group
Here are the Mercer County girls in the third edition of NJ.com’s rankings:
#7 Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville, Fr., Distance)
#12 Sofia Swindell (Lawrenceville, Sr., Sprints/Hurdles)
#14 Sonjay Baylor-Reeves (Trenton, Sr., Shot Put)
#23 Kajol Karra (Princeton, Jr., Distance)
#31 Catalina Holliday (Nottingham, Sr., Shot Put)
#35 Yasmin Willie (Lawrenceville, Fr., Distance)
#42 Tessa Hughes (Peddie, Jr., Hurdles)
#50 Sydney Young (Hopewell Valley, So., DIstance)
Boys indoor track preview, 2024-25: Field athletes to watch for the upcoming season
Sean Wilton (Princeton, Sr.) is one of ten throwers on NJ.com’s list of boys to watch this indoor track season. They list all the meets Wilton won last year and note that he “returns with an N.J. No. 6 55-5¼ PR.”
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).
Times of Trenton girls cross-country postseason honors, 2024
In the Times of Trenton’s postseason girls XC awards, Princeton was the team of the year and Karen Walker (Hopewell Valley) was the coach of the year. Walker attributed her girls’ success this season to the supportive, fun team culture and to an emphasis on recovery, mental preparation, and positive self talk.
The Times’ all-area team included Zui Chinchalkar (WW-P North), Eowyn Deess (Princeton), Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley), Liliah Gordon (Northern Burlington), Grace Hegedus (Princeton), Kajol Karra (Princeton), and Allison Lee (WW-P North).
Union Catholic girls XC wins Nike Cross Regionals title, books trip to Nationals
NJ.com’s Corey Annan speaks with coach Jim Smirk following Princeton’s 4th place finish at NXR. Coach Smirk praises the coaching staff’s efforts to prepare the team for the whole season, the girls’ hard work and dedication to train for something that was still hard to imagine back in the summer, and the team’s ability to always have a fifth runner step up and close out races.
PREVIEW: NIKE CROSS REGIONAL NORTHEAST BY THE NUMBERS 2024
DyeStat writes that the Princeton girls, “clearly the second-best New Jersey outfit,” is one of four contenders for the second auto-qualifying spot at NXR Northeast.
Final girls cross country Fab 50 for 2024: No. 1 stays firm, but major moves follow
Here are the Mercer County girls who made NJ.com’s final ranking of the Top 50 individuals:
#3 Allison Lee (WW-P North, Jr.)
#13 Kajol Karra (Princeton, Jr.)
#14 Zui Chinchalkar (WW-P North, Sr.)
#26 Grace Hegedus (Princeton, So.)
#31 Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley, Sr.)
#43 Laura Sallade (Wilberforce, Jr.)
#49 Eowyn Deess (Princeton, So.)
Final 2024 girls cross country Top 20: MOC brings some twists and surprises
Three CVC girls teams made NJ.com’s final Top 20 XC rankings:
#2 Princeton (no change)
#12 Hopewell Valley (↑ from #13)
#17 West Winsdor-Plainsboro North (↓ from #16)
Meet N.J.’s 12 cross-country state champs and the MVPs who powered their success
NJ.com selected sophomore Eowyn Deess as Princeton’s MVP. She beat her previous Holmdel PR by over a minute and gave Princeton three runners in the Top 20. As the Princeton Day boys’ MVP, NJ.com selected Grayson McLaughlin, who has led Princeton Day all season and continued to do so in the biggest race of the year. He bested his previous Holmdel PR by over 30 seconds.
Princeton girls XC wins first-ever Group 4 state title; Manalapan duo goes 1-2
NJ .com’s Corey Annan writes about the Princeton girls’ “near-perfect season” after they won the Group 4 championship thanks to their depth, which has been their “calling card” this season. Coach Jim Smirk, Kajol Karra, and Grace Hegedus are quoted about trusting each other, performing under pressure to win, seeing the results of their hard work pay off.
HIGH SCHOOL REGIONAL RANKINGS GIRLS XC 2024 - 11/7
The Princeton girls entered DyeStat’s regional rankings as #3 in the Northeast, after Union Catholic NJ and Cumberland RI. “[E]ver-improving Princeton NJ has also entered the picture and will be put to the test, twice, at Holmdel Park.”
Girls cross-country: Group 4 championship preview, 2024
NJ.com predicts No. 3 Princeton to win the girls Group 4 title in a tight race against six other ranked teams — No. 4 Cherokee, No. 5 Freehold Township, No. 8 Ridgewood, No. 13 Manalapan, No. 16 Ridge, No. 20 Westfield. “At the end of the day, meets like these come down to team depth and frontrunners who can challenge for top spots. Princeton has consistently proven itself head and shoulders above the rest of the state in this regard.”