Defending champions headline Week 7 N.J. cross country standout performances
One of NJ.com’s standout performers from last week was West Windsor-Plainsboro South’s Shravan Pradeep, whose 15:17.4 at the CVC Divisional Championship shattered the old meet record of 15:57 from 2021.
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.
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.)
Boys & girls cross-country Fab 50s, Oct. 17: Championship season forces major shift
Here’s who made NJ Advance Media’s list of top 50 NJ runners. Note that these rankings were published before the CVC Championship.
#7 Allison Lee (WW-P North, Jr.)
#29 Grace Hegedus (Princeton, So.)
#35 Zui Chinchalkar (WW-P North, Sr.)
#36 Kajol Karra (Princeton, Jr.)
#38 Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley, Sr.)
#45 Laura Sallade (Wilberforce, Jr.)
#28 Shravan Pradeep (WW-P South, Sr.)
Girls cross country Top 20, Oct. 14: Eventful weekend leads to some movement
NJ Advance Media's girls rankings include the following teams from Mercer County and NJ Central groups:
#3 Princeton (no change)
#5 Manalapan (no change)
#6 Middletown South (no change)
#9 Freehold Township (no change)
#13 Rumson-Fair Haven (up from #14)
#17 Colts Neck (down from #16)
#19 Hopewell Valley (no change)
Boys cross-country Top 20, Oct. 14: Out-of-state performances cause slight movement
NJ Advance Media's boys rankings include the following teams from NJ Central groups:
#9 Colts Neck (down from #5)
#12 Manalapan (no change)
#20 South Brunswick (no change)
Girls New Jersey Top 20 Cross Country Teams - October 14th
MileSplit's latest girls rankings include the following teams from Mercer County and NJ Central groups:
#3 Princeton (up from #5)
#6 Middleton South (down from #4)
#7 Manalapan (no change)
#8 Freehold Township (no change)
#12 Rumson-Fair Faven (up from #13)
#17 Colts Neck (up from #18)
Bub. Hopewell Valley (down from #20)
Bub. West Windsor-Plainsboro North (no change)
Bub. Wilberforce (down from #17)
Boys New Jersey Top 20 Cross Country Teams - October 14th
MileSplit's latest boys rankings include the following teams from Mercer County and NJ Central groups:
#3 Colts Neck (no change)
#20 South Brunswick (no change)
Bub. Cinnaminson (no change)
Bub. Princeton (no change)
Bub. West Windsor-Plainsboro South (no change)
Recap: New Jersey Race By Race At Manhattan Invitational
In MileSplit's recap of the Manhattan College XC Invitational, they selected Princeton as the top NJ girls team and Kajol Karra as the top NJ junior girl.
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.
Girls cross country Top 20, Oct. 7: South Jersey teams rise after Shore Coaches
NJ Advance Media's girls rankings include the following teams from Mercer County and NJ Central groups:
#3 Princeton (up from #4)
#5 Manalapan (no change)
#6 Middletown South (no change)
#9 Freehold Township (no change)
#14 Rumson-Fair Haven (up from #18)
#16 Colts Neck (no change)
#19 Hopewell Valley (down from #14)
Boys cross-country Top 20, Oct. 7: Shore Coaches Invite results in major movement
NJ Advance Media's boys rankings include the following teams from NJ Central groups:
#5 Colts Neck (no change)
#12 Manalapan (down from #9)
#20 South Brunswick (down from #11)
Girls New Jersey Top 20 Cross Country Teams - October 7th
MileSplit's latest girls rankings include the following teams from Mercer County and NJ Central groups:
#3 Princeton (up from #5)
#4 Middleton South (up from #4)
#7 Manalapan (down from #6)
#8 Freehold Township (down from #7)
#13 Rumson-Fair Faven (up from #16)
#17 Wilberforce (down from #13)
#18 Colts Neck (down from #15)
#20 Hopewell Valley (up from NR)
Bub. West Windsor-Plainsboro North (up from NR)
Boys New Jersey Top 20 Cross Country Teams - October 7th
MileSplit's latest boys rankings include the following teams from Mercer County and NJ Central groups:
#3 Colts Neck (up from #5)
#20 South Brunswick (down from #11)
Bub. Cinnaminson (up from NR)
Bub. Princeton (up from NR)
Bub. West Windsor-Plainsboro South (down from #17)
Elite times headline girls performances from the Shore Coaches XC Invitational
Allison Lee (West Windsor-Plainsboro North) talks with the media after her win in the girls Varsity B race at the Shore Coaches Invitational. She says that cross training has been key to staying healthy this year, and that knowing the Holmdel course so well, including which portions are her strongest, has been a big advantage. She also credits senior teammate Zhu Chinchalkar as a role model and a huge reason for her success.
Girls New Jersey Top 20 Cross Country Teams - October 2nd
MileSplit NJ's girls rankings have two local schools in the top 20:
#5 Princeton (up from #9)
#13 Wilberforce (no change)
Boys New Jersey Top 20 Cross Country Teams - October 2nd
MileSplit NJ's boys rankings have two local schools in the top 20:
#16 West Windsor-Plainsboro North (up from #20)
#17 West Windsor-Plainsboro South (previously unranked)
Fans vote Allentown’s Wroblewski as top senior athlete in N.J. girls cross country
Allentown’s Emilia Wroblewski was voted by fans as the top girls senior XC runner. She received 42% of the vote. Ewing’s Teagan Walker finished second in the voting.
Teagan Walker looking to add to her legacy for Ewing cross country
Ewing’s Teagan Walker gets a great profile in the Ewing Observer. She and her coach, Dan Johnson, talk about her past success, her great start to this season, her current training, her goals going forward, and the impact she’s had on her team.
Who is N.J.’s top senior boys cross country runner? Make your vote here!
Vote for a Mercer County boy as the top senior XC runner in the state! Nominees include Luke Ferret (West Windsor-Plainsboro North) and Shravan Pradeep (West Windsor-Plainsboro South).