Indoor Track Top Returners: Distance

Track is back! Team practices are well underway and the first major invitationals are right around the corner. But before the indoor season gets into full swing, let’s see which Mercer County returners had the fastest times last winter.

Today we’ll highlight the top returners in the main NJSIAA distance events — 800m, 1600m, and 3200m. Also check out the top returning sprinters and hurdlers and jumpers and throwers.

These lists are based on open races with results available online. If there’s anyone else who dropped an awesome relay split or ran well at an unreported meet, let me know!

Boys 800m

1:58.58 - Dylan Patel (Peddie, Sr.) ran a big PR to get 2nd in the 800m at the MAPL Championships, and he also got 11th at the Eastern States Championships. He’s also one of the county’s best milers, running 4:26 outdoors.

1:58.65 - Ayodele Joa-Griffith (Lawrenceville, Jr.) broke 2:00 four times last winter, including his PR to take 2nd at Prep States. Outdoors, he was one of just five Mercer County boys to run 1:56 or faster.

2:01.33 - Tarun Kovoor (Notre Dame, Sr.) ran the 800m only once last winter but he made it count, winning the Mercer County Championship. He didn’t run outdoors, but he’s coming off an excellent XC season where he qualified for the Meet of Champions as a wildcard.

2:02.95 - Luke Ferrer (WW-P North, Sr.) favors the longer distances, and he ran the 800m just once last winter as his season opener. Still, he’s the only boy on the top-returner lists for all three distance events, which shows his impressive range,

2:03.79 - Subomi Allison (WW-P North, Sr.) was 5th at the Mercer County Indoor Championships. Outdoors, he was the top Mercer County 800m runner after going 1:55.90 to get 7th at the Group 3 Championships. He’s coming off a very strong XC season, where he was an All-CVC honorable mention.

2:04.05 - Baker Pott (Peddie, Sr.) took 5th in the 800m at Prep States last winter. In the spring, he ran 1:56 twice and placed 3rd at the Mercer County Championships.

2:05.46 - Maximilian Kostin (Steinert, Sr.) ran a nice 800m PR at sectionals last winter to finish 6th and snag the final qualifier for the Group 3 Championships.

Boys 1600m / 1 Mile

Nine of the top ten 1600m runners from last winter are back this year.

4:31.83 - Luke Ferrer (WW-P North, Sr.) won the 1600m at the Mercer County Championships and went on to qualify for the indoor Group 3 Championships, where he placed 7th. He ran 4:25.21 outdoors, which was 2nd-fastest among Mercer County boys.

4:34.54 - Jordan Andrade (WW-P North, Sr.) had a breakout season last year, lowering his 1600m PR from 4:55 to 4:34. He qualified for the Group 3 Championships and placed 11th there. In XC this fall, he was an All-CVC honorable mention.

4:37.65 - Joseph Maddalon (WW-P South, Sr.) was 4th in the 1600m at last winter’s Mercer County Championships, and then he dropped his PR even further to get 10th at Central Group 4 Sectionals.

4:39.21y - Arunav Sarkar (Lawrenceville, So.) was 8th at Prep States and capped his season with a big PR of 4:39 for a full mile at New Balance Nationals Indoor. During outdoor season, he ran a 4:31 1600m to get 3rd at MAPLs.

4:38.47 - Shravan Pradeep (WW-P South, Sr.) ran indoor track for just the first time last winter, and even then it was for only two meets. If he races more this winter, we should expect a late start, since he extended his incredible XC season into December when he took 40th at the RunningLane XC Championships in Alabama.

4:39.22 - Mohamed Mohamed (Lawrenceville, Jr.) finished 4th in the 1600m at Prep States. Outdoors, he broke 4:40 at four different meets.

4:39.71 - Subomi Allison (WW-P North, Sr.) finished 3rd in the 1600m at the indoor Mercer County Championships and 8th at the Central Group 3 Sectionals. In the spring, he ran 4:28 and got 5th at the Mercer County Championships.

4:40.69 - Tarun Kovoor (Notre Dame, Sr.) took 9th in the 1600m at the NJCTC Championship. He didn’t race this past spring, but he ran 4:33 as a sophomore during outdoor season.

4:41.34 - Taksh Gupta (Lawrenceville, Sr.) ran a 4:41 last winter in one of his first races coming back from extended time off due to injury. He ran 4:33.01 this past spring at the Mercer County Championships.

Boys 3200m / 2 Mile

9:58.79 - Joseph Maddalon (WW-P South, Sr.) was one of just two Mercer County boys to break 10:00 last winter, which he did at Central Group 4 Sectionals after doubling back from the 1600m. He didn’t really race in the spring, but this past fall he was an All-CVC honorable mention for XC.

10:02.14 - Felix Farrugia (Princeton, Sr.) ran 10:02 indoors and 9:57 outdoors last year. He had a big breakout season this past fall, where he qualified for the XC Meet of Champions and made the All-CVC first team.

10:02.28 - Luke Ferrer (WW-P North Sr.) qualified for the indoor Group 3 Championships in both the 1600m and 3200m last winter. In the spring, he took 3rd in the Mercer County Championships with a PR of 9:41. He also made the All-CVC first team in XC this fall.

10:03.40 - Max Whittle (Notre Dame, Sr.) placed 4th in the 3200m at last winter’s Mercer County Championships, and then he ran 10:03 to take 6th at the NJCTC Championships. He was 5th in the 3200m at the outdoor county championships.

10:19.11 - Finnegan Curley (Hopewell Valley, So.) ran a big PR to get 8th in the 3200m at Central Group 2 Sectionals. He ended up as the 9th-fastest freshman in the 3200m in New Jersey last indoor season.

10:22.74 - Shravan Pradeep (WW-P South, Sr.) only ran the 3200m once last winter, but in the spring he ran 9:31 to win the Mercer County Championships. He had an even bigger breakthrough this past XC season, running 15:17 for 5K and becoming one of the best in the entire state.

10:24.79 - Mohamed Mohamed (Lawrenceville, Jr.) had a great day at Prep States last winter: he ran a big indoor 3200m PR to take 2nd after doubling back from running 4:40 to get 4th in the 1600m.

Girls 800m

2:19.53 - Zui Chinchalkar (WW-P North, Sr.) was the county’s top 800m runner last indoor season. She broke 2:20 twice, first to win Central Group 3 Sectionals and then to take 6th at the Group 3 Championships.

2:22.60 - Courtney Cane (Peddie, Sr.) ran her best 800m race of the season to take 2nd at indoor Prep States. Outdoors, she ran 2:15.74 to win the Mercer County Championships.

2:22.92 - Sydney Young (Hopewell Valley, So.) finished 6th at the indoor Mercer County Championships and then later chopped 9 seconds off her PR at a SJTCA Winter Meet. Her time was 7th-fastest among New Jersey freshmen.

2:22.96 - Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville, So.) focused more on the 1600m and 3200m last season, but she dropped a few quick 800m times also. At an open meet in early June, she ran 2:19.12 on less than 60 minutes’ rest following a 4:54 mile.

2:25.41 - Matilda Kardhashi (Peddie, Sr.) ran a 6-second PR to take 3rd at the MAPL Indoor Championships. She ran 2:23.61 outdoors. She showed some seriously increased strength this past fall, breaking 19:00 in the 5K twice.

2:25.61 - Lena Murray (Princeton, So.) finished 7th in the 800m the indoor Mercer County Championships, and a few weeks later she dropped a big PR to get 12th at the Garden State Invitational. Outdoors, she got 7th at the outdoor Mercer County Championships and 5th at Central Group 4 Sectionals, both in 2:23.1.

2:26.27 - Lisette Zamichieli (Steinert, Jr.) ran her 800m PR at sectionals to finish 4th and qualify for the Group 3 Championship, where she was 17th. She ran 2:21.66 in the spring to take 5th place at the Mercer County Championships.

Girls 1600m / 1 Mile

5:02.81y - Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville, So.) won Prep States and later ran 5:02 to place 2nd in the freshman mile at New Balance Nationals Indoor. Outdoors, she ran 4:57 to win the Mercer County Championship and later went 4:54.59 for a full mile at an open meet in June, which put her in the top 10 in the state.

5:04.57 - Zui Chinchalkar (WW-P North, Sr.) won the Group 3 Championship in 5:06, and then she cut two more seconds off her PR to get 13th at the Meet of Champions. She’s coming off an amazing XC season where she finished 13th at the Meet of Champions.

5:06.52 - Allison Lee (WW-P North, Jr.) won the 1600m at the Mercer County Championships, finished 2nd at Central Group 3 Sectionals, and took 3rd at the Group 3 Championships. During the outdoor season, she ran a big PR of 4:57, which was the #14 time in New Jersey.

5:10.02y - Sydney Young (Hopewell Valley, So.) took 3rd at Central Group 2 Sectionals in 5:15. She didn’t race at groups, but she came back a month later to run 5:10 for a full mile at Nike Indoor Nationals. She ran 5:07 for the 1600m outdoors, and she made the All-CVC second team this past XC season.

5:14.55y - Courtney Cane (Peddie, Sr.) took 6th in the mile at the Eastern States Championships, in addition to winning indoor MAPLs. In the spring, she ran 4:58.60 to take 3rd at the Mercer County Championships, which made her the 16th fastest girl in the New Jersey. She also ran a big 5K PR of 18:31 this past fall.

5:23.32 - Teagan Walker (Ewing, Sr.) has focused more on the 3200m last year — her MileSplit profile shows only one 1600m result from last winter and two from last spring — but her long-distance strength has led to some solid 1600m times.

5:24.88 - Kajol Karra (Princeton, Jr.) broke 5:30 three times last winter, which was her first season of track. Outdoors, she ran a PR of 5:16 and finished 8th in the 1600m at Central Group 4 Sectionals.

5:25.65 - Elsie Rey-de-Castro (Hopewell Valley, So.) focused more on the 3200m last winter, but her first-ever 1600m race — a 2nd place finish in the 1600m at a late-January Princeton Invitational — held up as one of the best times in the county.

Girls 3200m / 2 Mile

10:35.33y - Allison Lee (WW-P North, Jr.) was 3rd in the 3200m at the Group 3 Championships (after doubling back from getting 3rd in the 1600m, too), and she ran 10:41 to get 4th at the Meet of Champions. She then traveled to New Balance Nationals Indoors and ran 10:35.33, which was the 3rd-fastest time in New Jersey last winter. She’s coming off a historically great XC season, which isn’t even done yet — she runs at Foot Locker Nationals on Saturday.

10:40.93y - Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville, So.) won Prep States in 10:58 and then went to Boston and ran 10:40 to get 22nd in the 2 Mile at New Balance Nationals Indoors. She ran a 10:28 3200m in the spring, which was the #5 time in New Jersey all year. She didn’t run XC this past fall.

11:18.50 - Kajol Karra (Princeton, Jr.) was just 6th in the 3200m at last winter’s county championship, but she bounced back with a nice PR of 11:18 the next week. During the outdoor season, she finished 8th in the 3200m at the Group 4 Championship. She just had a massive breakout XC season, getting 12th at the Meet of Champions and 19th at the Nike Cross Nationals Northeast Regional.

11:32.56 - Teagan Walker (Ewing, Sr.) took 5th in the 3200m at the Central Group 3 Sectionals and qualified for groups, where she finished 13th. She also ran a 11:16 in the spring. She stepped it up even more this past fall, qualifying for the XC Meet of Champions and making the All-CVC first team.

11:33.70 - Elsie Rey-de-Castro (Hopewell Valley, So.) got 4th in the 3200m at the indoor Mercer County Championships and then ran a big PR at indoor sectionals to qualify for the Group 2 Championships, where she placed 6th. She didn’t run the 3200m during outdoor season.

11:45.71 - Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley, Sr.) was only 9th at Central Group 2 Sectionals last winter, but her XC fitness suggests she could easily crush this indoor PR — which is roughly what she split en route to her recent 5K PR of 18:26 — or even her outdoor PR of 11:18. She finished 6th at the XC Group 3 Championships and 30th at the XC Meet of Champions.