Week 6: Monday Night Meets
The big meets this week are the NJSIAA State Relays starting on Wednesday, but many schools took advantage of a few different Monday meets to both give their relay runners a tuneup and give more of their athletes a chance to compete.
Hightstown, Steinert, and Hopewell Valley traveled to Ocean Breeze for SJTCA #12. This was generally the most competitive meet of the day, with many good schools and runners from around the state attending. SJTCA #12 results here.
Peddie hosted the Peddie Winter Invitational #2 against West Windsor-Plainsboro North, Pennington, and Stuart Country Day. Peddie Winter Invitational #2 results here.
Ewing, Nottingham, Robbinsville, and Hamilton West brought squads to the Bubble for the Mid-Winter Classic. This meet was intended for freshmen and “novices,” but they still produced some of the best times in the county this year! Mid-Winter Classic results here.
Here are some of the many impressive results from Monday night.
Girls Sprint Events
If Aijah Somerselle (Hightstown) wasn’t on your radar as one of Mercer County’s best sprinters, she should be now. The junior – who just started running track last spring – had an incredible meet at SJTCA, winning the 55m in 7.40 and getting 4th in the 200m in 26.12. That 55m time is #27 in New Jersey, and both of those are new Hightstown school records! She also got 11th in the 55mH with a 9.27.
At the Peddie Invitational, Foluke Oladeji (Peddie) won the 45m, and then she and her teammate Tessa Hughes tied for 1st in the 200m with times of 27.14.
Bryana Mason (Ewing) earned top-3 finishes at the Mid-Winter Classic in both the freshman 55m (3rd in 7.85) and the freshman 55mH (2nd in 9.25).
Nottingham trio of Ariana Crusoe Gaye, Gabriella Allen, and Ty’Onna Johnson swept the novice 55m at Mid-Winter Classic 55m. They ran 7.73, 7.74, and 7.75 – those times are all PRs, and they’re #11-13 in Mercer County this season. The girls also ran the 400m, where Crusoe Gaye placed 2nd in 1:03.99 and Johnson got 4th in 1:06.46. Thanks in part to those girls, the Nottingham girls team took the overall team victory!
Girls Distance Events
Siena Rivera (Hightstown) ran a 5:22.22 to place 4th in the SJCTA 1600m. That’s a 21-second PR and a new school record for Hightstown! And she’s just a freshman. Not far behind Rivera, Maddie LaChance (Hopewell Valley) had one of the best kicks in the race and got 7th place in a 6-second PR of 5:24.97. Anna Wilson (Hopewell Valley) took 9th in 5:30.28, less than a second off her PR.
In the SJTCA 3200m, Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley) displayed the confidence she gained during this past XC season by sticking with – and at times even running ahead of – Ocean City’s Maeve Smith, one of the best 3200m runners in the state last year. Although Smith broke away over the last 400m, Dumont’s came away with a nice new PR of 11:18, which is #6 in New Jersey right now.
Matilda Kardashi (Peddie) completed the 800/1600 double at her home invitational, winning both the 800m (2:32.10) and the 1600m (5:34.41) in solo efforts.
Brie Davis-Owens (WWP North) won the 45mH at Peddie in a quick 7.33. To put that time in some perspective, it’s #3 all-time in the 45mH (which is only run in meets at Peddie’s fieldhouse).
Girls Field Events
Anaiss Matos (Steinert) took 5th place in the high jump at SJTCA, thanks to a first-attempt clearance of 4-8. That’s the #1 mark in Mercer County this winter. Matos had a busy but successful meet, also getting top 10 in the long jump (9th in 15-2.5) and triple jump (10th in 31-2.5), along with running the 55m (17th in 7.81).
Erin Krakovski jumped a PR of 14-9 in the long jump to take 12th at SJTCA. Freshman Chloe Lewis (Hightstown) was just an inch behind her, jumping 14-8 in just her third-ever attempt in a real meet.
In the shot put, Anna Casciano (Hun) won the Peddie meet with a throw of 38-5.5. At the Mid-Winter Classic, Johnetta Jallah (Nottingham) got 4th in the novice shot put with a 27-8.5, and Zoey DeSouza (Ewing) took 2nd in the freshman division in 26-5.25.
Boys Sprint Events
Hightstown had a trio of upperclassmen who ran their first-ever 55m races at SJTCA, and they went very well. Terrance Williams took 3rd place overall with a 6.70, Daniel Young ran 6.82 for 16th place, and Marius Rochelin was 22nd in 6.89. Those times are #5, #8, and #13 in Mercer County this winter.
Tyson Brown (Ewing) won the 55mH at the Mid-Winter Classic in 8.47, which is a huge PR and #10 in Mercer County this winter.
At Peddie, Tahmere Brown (Pennington) won the double at Peddie, winning the 45m convincingly and then coming back to win the 200m in 24.22. Just behind him in the 200m was jumping specialist Ian Borges (Peddie), who ran 24.59 to easily break 25 for the first time.
Owen Desravines (Hightstown) won his heat at SJTCA in 23.69, a huge PR in the open 200m. Jonathan Angwenyi (Hopewell Valley) was just a tenth behind, running 23.79 in his heat. And Terrance Williams (Hightstown) followed up his great 55m with a 23.90 200m. Those times are #4, #6, and #8 in the county.
Mid-distance runner Baker Pott (Peddie) won the 400m at Peddie in 53.61, just ahead of teammate Luke Chon in 54.04.
Boys Distance Events
Mercer County boys ran great in the 1600m at SJTCA. Burke Thompson (Hightstown) ran 4:33.24 for 6th place, and Silas Allevik (Hopewell Valley) ran 4:34.49 for 8th place. Both boys moved up well over the last half of their race. Tyler Hurst (Steinert) was in a separate heat, where he blasted a 63-second final 400m to win in 4:39.09. Thompson, Allevik, and Hurst all ran indoor PRs and are currently #1, #2, and #4 in Mercer County. Hurst came back a few minutes later to run 2:06.79 in the open 800m.
In the 3200m at SJTCA, Finnegan Curley (Hopewell Valley) had a great kick to drop the pack he was running with and finish 8th in 10:11.63, which is a new indoor PR and #3 in Mercer County. Mateo Abad-Delgado (Hightstown) passed six boys over the final 400m – thanks in part to a last lap of 29.5(!) – and stopped the clock at 10:35.40, his first time going sub-11.
Boys Field Events
Parker Hamilton (Peddie) won the shot put at Peddie with a big season’s best of 49-3, which is #2 in the county and #30 in the state.
Nathan Aguirre (Steinert) had a long jump of 18-9.25 for 9th place at SJTCA, which is #8 in Mercer County.