N.J. girls track & field: 2025 Group 3 championship preview & prediction
Allison Lee (WWP North), who is NJ #4 in both the 1600m and 3200m, is one of the girls on NJ.com’s watchlist for the Group 3 championships.
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.
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)
Talking in Ovals: 119. Jim Lambert, Legendary XC/Track & Field Reporter for NJ MileSplit
In this podcast, Talking in Ovals brings in MileSplit NJ report Jim Lambert to discuss the past XC season. At 16:55 in the linked video, they talk about Allison Lee (WW-P North) as one of the biggest surprise breakthroughs of the season.
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)
Girls indoor track preview, 2024-25: Runners to watch for the upcoming season
NJ.com’s list of girl runners to watch this winter includes Tessa Hughes (Peddie), Sofia Swindell (Lawrenceville), Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville), and Allison Lee (WW-P North).
Allison Lee making splash as top North girls cross country runner
Allison Lee (WW-P North) speaks with the Community News about her running journey, her racing mindset, and her past XC season, including her race at the Meet of Champions. Coach Deanna Altvater also talks about Lee’s leadership on WW-P North’s girls team.
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).
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 boys cross country Top 20: Action-packed MOC solidifies the rankings
The West Windsor-Plainsboro North boys maintain their spot at #20 in NJ.com’s final ranking of XC boys teams.
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)
Girls cross-country: Group 3 championship preview, 2024
Allison Lee (WW-P North), “coming off a historic performance at sectionals,” is one of six Runners to Watch at the Group 3 girls championship.
CJ Recap: Lee Smashes CR, Metuchen, Colts Neck Sweep
Allison Lee (WW-P North) “dropped the biggest bomb of Sectional Saturday with her jaw-dropping course record run.” She broke the course record, previously held by Caroline Kellner of WW-P South, by 15 seconds and won the race over a Footlocker Finalist by 27 seconds.
N.J. XC star shatters course record at Central Jersey sectionals
Corey Annan has a great article about WW-P’s Allison Lee after her record-smashing win at sectionals, including excerpts from interviews with Lee and her coach Deanna Altvater.
Previewing all 32 NJSIAA sectional cross country meets
NJ.com previews and predicts the best teams and individuals in each group at Central Jersey sectionals.
Group 2: They predict that Allentown’s boys and girls will both qualify out of Group 2.
Group 3: On the girls side, they list Allison Lee (WW-P North), Zui Chinchalkar (WW-P North), and Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley) as three of six “Runners to Watch,” and they have WW-P North and Hopewell Valley finishing between 2nd and 5th. On the boys side, Tyler Hurst (Steinert) is one of four “Runners to Watch,” and they have three teams qualifying: WW-P North, Hopewell Valley, and Steinert.
Group 4: On the girls side, Princeton’s Kajol Karra and Grace Hegedus are both on their watchlist, and they predict that Princeton will win it all. On the boys side, WW-P South’s Shravan Pradeep is a runner to watch and is predicted to lead his team to group championship qualification.
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.
Girls New Jersey Top 20 Cross Country Teams - October 22nd
MileSplit's latest girls rankings include the following teams from Mercer County and NJ Central groups:
#3 Princeton (no change)
#6 Middleton South (no change)
#7 Colts Neck (up from #17)
#8 Manalapan (down from #7)
#9 Freehold Township (down from #8)
#13 Rumson-Fair Faven (up from #12)
#20 West Windsor-Plainsboro North (up from bub.)
Bub. Hopewell Valley (down from #20)
Bub. Metuchen (new)
Boys New Jersey Top 20 Cross Country Teams - October 22nd
MileSplit's latest boys rankings include the following teams from Mercer County and NJ Central groups:
#3 Colts Neck (no change)
#10 Manalapan (no change)
#17 South Brunswick (up from #20)
Bub. Metuchen (new)
Bub. West Windsor-Plainsboro North (new)
Bub. West Windsor-Plainsboro South (no change)
Key takeaways and under-the-radar cross country stories from Week 7
One of NJ.com’s under-the-radar performances from last week was WW-P North’s win over WW-P South at the CVC Divisional Championship, thanks to its 41-second spread that put all five boys in the top 10.