CVC Divisional Championships Recap: Pradeep and Lee Dazzle, Hopewell Valley and WW-P North Sweep Team Titles
Racing conditions were pretty much perfect at Robbinsville HS for the CVC Divisional Championship on Thursday: a late afternoon start, sunny with temperatures in the 50s, a light breeze at your back in the final half-mile. Add a pancake-flat course that hasn’t seen rain in weeks, and you’ve got a recipe for very fast times.
Tons of Mercer County runners took advantage of these ideal conditions to crush their 5K PRs! No single article could spotlight all the excellent performances, but here are a few noteworthy results from each team — plus a link to a photo album featuring many of the runners mentioned below!
Valley Boys
The Hopewell Valley boys are your CVC Valley Division champions! They were led by a 1-2 finish from their sophomore duo of Silas Allevik and Finnegan Curley. The teammates had an incredible final straightaway, with Curley pulling even with Allevik and then both boys dipping at the line like sprinters! Allevik got the win by a hair, 16:33.5 to 16:33.6, and both boys came away with 5K PRs. See here for 2L Race Services’ video of their epic battle down the homestretch. (Allevik is on the left, Curley on the right.)
Allevik got the win — back-to-back champion! — but Curley gets credit for PR’ing by more. Their teammates actually had even bigger PRs, with Ethan Darst getting 5th in 16:55 and Colin Vickery getting 6th in 16:58. Kaj Armendinger (17:41 for 11th) rounded out the scoring for Hopewell Valley, which averaged 16:56.
Allentown was the CVC Valley Division runner-up. John O’Leary (16:48 for 4th) led the way, followed shortly by Armit Moehringer (6th in 17:00) and Landon Kent (7th in 17:02). Ethan Urig (10th in 17:34) and Sarth Shah (12th in 17:41) were the biggest improvers for the Redbirds, who averaged 17:13.
Robbinsville’s Wyatt Bassman (9th in 17:28) cracked the top ten with his first time under 17:30. Tanay Samnani continued his comeback with a 17:43, just a few seconds off what he ran at this meet last year. Sophomore Ryan Decker (18th in 17:58) dropped a 50-second PR to go sub-18 for the first time.
Ewing also had two sophomores break 18:00 with big PRs. Jayden Studivant went from 18:29 to 17:41 (for 13th), and Landyn Loesch went from 18:40 to 17:52 (for 17th). Also, here’s a success story for all the not-top-5 runners out there: Ewing got 4th place over Nottingham by 1 point, thanks in part to their 6th man (Xander Coston) and 7th man (Ethan Knight) both edging out Nottingham’s 5th man.
Nottingham’s mid-distance star Mohamed Toure had hinted at having some long-distance aptitude when he ran 17:49 at the Thompson Park Class Meet, but did anyone expect his 16:41 today? He went out at the front and never backed down, finishing in 3rd place, just 8 seconds off the winner. Fellow senior Ethan Wiebesiek was 22nd in 18:27, almost ninety seconds faster than he’d ever run at an invitational.
Hamilton West had raced at only one invitational during the regular season, and they did not have anyone break 20:00 there. So it was a great surprise to see their top guys crossing the line so early! Juniors Jonathan Gadie (24th in 18:40) and Franklin Pineda Ramirez (27th in 18:46) not only shattered their PRs but also ran the fastest times by anyone from Hamilton West in the last seven years. Senior Robert Mellick also snuck under 20:00 for the first time.
Lawrence’s Harrison Petrick got 21st in 18:27, which is almost 1:45 faster than he ran at the TCNJ Invitational less than a month ago. He was the second fastest freshman in the race. Junior Alden Smith broke 20:00 for the first time, and he went way under it, running 19:15.
Boys Colonial
Shravan Pradeep (West Windsor-Plainsboro South) stole the show today, winning with an incredible 15:17! To put that time in context, it shattered the course record by 34 seconds, and it’s the second-fastest time run by anyone from New Jersey this year. Amazing!
Don’t let Pradeep’s spectacular result make you overlook Steinert’s Tyler Hurst! He stuck to Pradeep for over a mile and then hung on for the race of his life, getting second in 15:55 – just 4 seconds off the previous course record. It’s a PR by almost 50 seconds, and it’s also the fastest 5K by anyone from Steinert in the last 15 years, at least. And he’s still just a junior!
Speaking of underclassmen, freshman Agrim Jha (West Windsor-Plainsboro North) might have had the best age-graded result of the meet. His 16:06 for 3rd place is one of the fastest 5Ks by a Mercer County freshman ever, second only to the legend Joe Rosa. He used a big kick to hold off Kevin Lang (West Windsor-Plainsboro South), who was 4th in 16:12.
In the team competition, West Windsor-Plainsboro North won the Colonial Division championship thanks to their outstanding depth. Despite WW-P South putting three boys in the top 5, WW-P North was able to get all seven of its varsity runners in front of WW-P South’s #4 runner. Along with Jha’s big race, sophomore Paul Wittenberg greatly exceeded expectations by running a 16:19 for 6th place. Luke Ferrer (16:37), Veejhay Roy (16:38), and Subomi Allison (16:47) also secured top-10 finishes for the Knights, who averaged 16:29.
West Windsor-Plainsboro South’s top three – Pradeep, Lang, and Aditya Deshpande (16:17 for 5th) – were fantastic, running even faster than at Six Flags last month. Aradhya Vijay also stepped up with a big race to be his team’s #4 runner. He led a pack of six Pirates who all finished between 17:10 and 17:28. WW-P South averaged 16:26, actually three seconds faster than WW-P North.
Steinert, led by Hurst’s great race, surprised the field with a 3rd place finish, just five points ahead of Notre Dame. Top-20 finishes from seniors Nihar Kolachalama (18th in 17:10) and Nathanial Bigger (19th in 17:11) were a big reason for that.
Notre Dame was led by Tarun Kovoor’s 7th place finish. Behind him, they had a tight pack of 4 boys who finished in a 7-second span from 17:40 to 17:47. Many of their runners PR’d, but one of the most notable improvers was #5 runner Diego Nunez, who ran over a minute faster than at Six Flags last month. Sophomore Simeon Salins missed last week’s XC Fall Classic but came back to be their #3 runner today.
Princeton Day’s Grayson McLaughlin and Edward Letko were not afraid to mix it up with all the West Windsor-Plainsboro boys, who helped tow the two Panthers into the sub-17 club. McLaughlin got 11th in 16:47 – a new school record – and Letko was just a couple seconds back in 16:50 for 13th. Overall, Princeton Day averaged 17:31. Everyone on their team is an underclassmen, so the future is looking bright!
Hightstown’s Burke Thompson showed that his comeback from the injury is going great – he got 12th in 16:47, over a minute faster than his time at the XC Fall Classic six days ago. Also impressive was that his teammate Mason Johnson was just three spots behind him, getting 15th in 17:03. As a team, they averaged 17:37, almost 90 seconds faster than at this meet last year.
Princeton’s varsity squad didn’t race today, so a few new boys got a chance to lead the way, and they all came away with big PRs. One especially impressive PR was from Siddharth Chellappan, who broke 18:00 and ran almost two minutes faster than at the Jerry Hart Invitational a month ago.
Trenton’s top finisher was Patrick McCray, who ran 17:45 for 36th place. Behind him, Isaiah Mitchell (19:21), Briyon Ellerbe (19:46), and Roniel Cruz (19:47) all ran big PRs to break 20:00 for the first time. Their team average was 19:23, exactly 2:00 faster than at this same meet last year.
Valley Girls
Hopewell Valley was the Valley Division team champion, led by individual champion Claire Dumont. Dumont pulled away from her competitors over the final two miles and won in 18:26, a 21-second improvement over her time at the TCNJ Invitational last month. Maddie LaChance and Anna Wilson ran side-by-side the whole way and helped each other break the 20:00 barrier, getting 4th and 5th in 19:49. That was a particularly nice improvement for LaChance. Sophia Pellegrino (6th in 20:17) and Elsie Rey-de-Castro (7th in 20:25) rounded out their top five, which averaged 19:45.
Ewing’s Teagan Walker ran with Dumont the longest and, despite not being able to hold on over the last half of the course, she still came away with an excellent result: a new PR (and new school record) of 19:03 for 2nd place.
Allentown took 2nd place in the Valley Division, led by Emilia Wroblewski’s 3rd place finish in 19:16. Junior Annie Gooley, who has been their #5 runner for most of this year, ran an excellent race to cut 35 seconds off her time from Six Flags and finish 15th here.
Robbinsville had two girls in the top 12: Kellianne White (9th in 20:36) and Rithika Bodicherla (12th in 21:24). White broke 21:00 for the first time, after coming close a few other times. Meghann Hansen (18th in 22:30) also had a nice race and PR’d by over 40 seconds.
Lawrence was led by senior Kianna Verga, who had a great race and broke 23:00 for the first time. Behind her was a tight pack of Cardinals who worked together during the race – Lawrence’s first six all finished within about a minute of each other. Their top runner, Izzy Meth, did not race today.
Nottingham did not run a complete team, but two sophomores still came out and represented the Northstars today. Hamilton West did not run any girls.
Colonial Girls
Just a few minutes after Pradeep ran his incredible race, Allison Lee (West Windsor-Plainsboro North) matched him with her own heroic performance of 17:28! Like Pradeep’s time, her time is the second-fastest time run by any NJ girl this year. According to MileSplit, it’s also the second-fastest time that any Mercer County girl has run in the last 20+ years! It’s almost certainly a new course record. Lee is rapidly establishing herself as one of the best girls in the state, and she’s just a junior..
Lee’s teammate Zui Chinchalkar ran an outstanding race, also! The senior was 2nd in 18:14, a 5K PR for her by over 30 seconds. That time is also the eighth fastest in New Jersey this year.
West Windsor-Plainsboro North put 6 girls in the top 12 to dominate the CVC Colonial Division team championship. The biggest surprise from their squad was Sara Secora, who came out of nowhere to get 5th in 19:48. The sophomore has no published XC results, and although she was a solid 1600m runner as a freshman (5:22 PR), there was no indication that she would be one of Mercer County’s top XC runners. Yet here she is! As a team, WW-P North averaged an incredible 19:16.
Princeton’s “A” team didn’t race today, but their “B” team showed that even they are still among Mercer County’s best! Lilly Ludewig (7th in 20:08), Sonya Keaney (8th in 20:11), Mila Trkov (13th in 20:39), and Isabella Franceschi (14th in 20:40) all demonstrated the big improvements they’ve made this season. As a team, Princeton averaged 20:37, almost 50 seconds faster than they averaged at Thompson Park six days ago.
West Windsor-Plainsboro South’s Yana Chheda was impressive by getting 6th place in 20:04, over two minutes faster than her time here last year. Senior Mia Mankavil also greatly exceeded expectations, crushing her PR and getting 9th place in 20:12. Overall, the Pirates averaged 20:47, a minute faster than at this meet last year.
Notre Dame’s Alaina Sabo ran aggressively, following Lee and Chinchalkar right from the gun. Although she never caught those two, no one else was able to catch her, and she took 3rd place in a PR-tying 19:02. Notre Dame’s second and third runners, Kiera Donegan and Winefred Coen, both PR’d by over a minute. Their team beat Hightstown for 4th place by just two points.
Hightstown’s star freshman Siena Rivera had run five invitationals this season, but at four of those meets she ran a two-mile instead of a 5K. Today, she showed that she has no problem with the longer distance! Her 19:15 for 4th place was over a minute faster than her time at the Jerry Hart Invitational last month. Junior Madalyne Ng ran 21:53 to finally break the 22:00 barrier after coming close at a couple other invitationals this season.
Princeton Day’s Syona Gautam ran an impressive race to lead her team with a 17th place finish in 21:10, over two minutes faster than she’d ever run at an invitational. Teammate Olivia Lumba was close behind, snagging 20th place with a 21:23.
Steinert got top-25 finishes from Keira Kildea (19th in 21:21) and Ashley Foster (25th in 21:42). That was a huge step up, particularly for the senior Kildea, who had been running times in the 23s and 24s for much of the last four years. Very impressive to go out on a PR like that!
You probably missed it, but the Trenton girls were one of the most inspiring stories at this meet. It had been almost ten years since Trenton last ran a full five-girl team at a championship meet, and here Trenton had five girls on the starting line. But it’s the finish line that counts for a team score. All five girls fought and gave everything they had to finish the race. And it really was everything they had – at least two girls literally fell across the timing mats. But they did it! Officially eighth place in the CVC Colonial Division Championship. And with PRs all around, too. So whatever Trenton lacks in low scores, they make up for with big hearts.
Photos
We’re trying a new photo strategy today. Rather than having captioned photos in this recap, here is an album with 40 photos of runners who are highlighted in this recap. They’re just iPhone-quality photos, but feel free to download!