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See what other publications are saying about Mercer County’s track & field athletes.

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Key takeaways and under-the-radar stories from Week 4′s cross country meets

After West Windsor-Plainsboro South's Shravan Pradeep topped all NJ runners at the Six Flags Wild Safari Invitational, NJ.com's Bakari Rice describes him as "becoming a difference maker." Rice predicts that Pradeep's success "will also translate to the team," and he highlights WW-P South's top-5 average of 16:37, which was best among all NJ teams.

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Boys & girls cross-country Fab 50s, Sept. 19: A wave of fresh talent emerges

Lots of Mercer County girls in NJ Advance Media's ranking of the state's top 50 individuals after Week 2:

#7 Zui Chinchalkar (WW-P North, up from #9)
#13 Allison Lee (WW-P North, up from #14)
#24 Grade Hegedus (Princeton, up from #26)
#32 Izzy Meth (Lawrence, down from #31)
#39 Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley, down from #37)
#42 Laura Sallade (Wilberforce, down from #41)
#43 Adeline Edwards (Wilberforce, no change)

On the boys' side is #47 Luke Ferrer (WW-P North, down from #43).

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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.

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West Windsor-Plainsboro North duo leads the field at the Thompson 2 Miler

West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s Zui Chinchalkar and Allison Lee won the senior and junior races, with Lee also taking the day’s top time. After the race, they spoke about the confidence they have from having raced at Thompson Park so often and from knowing the course well. Mercer County also got 3rd place finishes from Laura Sallade (Wilberforce) in the junior race and Risha Rao (West Windsor-Plainsboro South) in the sophomore race.

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Cinnaminson’s Wickersham, WWPS’ Pradeep take charge at the Thompson 2 Miler

Mercer County runners won 3 of the 4 boys races. Shravan Pradeep (West Windsor-Plainsboro South) took the senior race with the fastest time of the day, in his first time ever running at the meet. Silas Allevik (Hopewell Valley) won the sophomore race, and Agrim Jha (West Windsor-Plainsboro North) started off his high school XC career undefeated, winning the freshman race.

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Boys cross-country preview, 2024: Teams to watch in Non-Public B

Wilberforce is presented as the the favorite. Wilberforce is led by sophomores Micah Brox and Elias Edwards (who went 6-7 at last year’s state meet) and gets solid depth from Phillip Schidlovsku, Henry Jepson, and John David.

Princeton Day is in the next tier down (with Montclair Kimberley but behind Wilberforce). Grayson McLaughlin and Edward Letko were top-10 at the state meet last year, Luke Notle and Harrison Bagga are in the top 50 returners, and Charles West rounds out their top 5.

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Girls cross-country preview, 2024: Teams to watch in Non-Public B

Wilberforce fell one point short of a state title last year (despite Laura Sallade and Adeline Edwards racing with injuries), but their the favorite to win their third title in four years. They return six varsity runners and will likely end up being even better than they were a year ago. Those top returners include Sallade, Edwards, Eve Szeliga, Gwen Mersereau, Stella Blanchard, and Allison Martin.

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Girls cross-country preview, 2024: Teams to watch in Group 4

Princeton is slotted in the third tier, level with Westfield and Hunterdon Central but behind Ridgewood (the favorite), Freehold Township, Cherry Hill East, and Manalapan. The author highlights Princeton’s 20:51.2 average at Holmdel and 1-5 spread of 2:19. Grace Hegedus is highlighted as “one of the best freshman in the state last fall,” Kajol Karra and Phoenix Roth are likely to be near the top of Princeton’s lineup, Rachel Xin and Tessa Thai are “tested runners that will provide leadership and experience,” and Florica Eleches-Lipsitz and Eowyn Deess are “important depth pieces.”

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Girls cross-country preview, 2024: Teams to watch in Group 3

West Windsor-Plainsboro North and Hopewell Valley both make this preview in the third tier, behind Middletown South (the favorite), Colts Neck, North Hunterdon, and Ocean City.

West Windsor-Plainsboro North is returning their entire lineup, whose 21:03 Holmdel average is good for 15th in the state. In addition to top runners Zui Chinchalkar and Allison Lee (both top-10 returners at Holmdel), Hasini Sankar and Prakavi Kumaran also had “solid seasons as sophomores.”

Hopewell Valley is bringing back their top three runners: Claire Dumont, Sydney Young, and Elsie Rey-de-Castro. Other returners include Maddie LaChance and Sophia Pellegrino, and “the coaching staff has also liked what they’ve seen from first-year runner Anna Wilson.”

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