Week 6: Steve Borbet Invite and VA Showcase
The NJSIAA state relays (recap here) were not the only source of track action this weekend. Princeton passed on the relays to chase fast times at the Armory in the Steve Borbet Invitational. Lawrenceville took a small group to Virginia Beach for the VA Showcase, one of the most competitive meets in the country. Both schools produced great performances, and below are a few that are among the best in Mercer County this year.
Steve Borbet Invitational
Here are some of Princeton’s best performances at the Steve Borbet Invitational. Full results here.
Kajol Karra took 3rd place in the invitational mile with a 5:15.56. She ran boldly, picking up the pace when the middle laps began to lag and even taking the lead with 600m to go. Though she didn’t win, she was rewarded with a PR of 5+ seconds. Phoenix Roth (18th in 5:25.27) and Grace Hegedus (24th in 5:28.30) were also in the invitational mile and came away with indoor PRs.
Princeton put three girls under 2:30 in the girls seeded 800m: Rachel Xin (13th in 2:27.98), Lena Murray (15th in 2:28.61), and Mila Trkov (17th in 2:29.63). That’s a new PR for the senior Xin.
In the boys 200m, Andrew Foreman (14th in 23.72) and Kyle Carr (20th in 24.09) both cracked the top 20. Fletcher Harrison (27th in 24.20) won his heat and wasn’t far behind. Those were PRs for all three boys.
Sean Wilton dominated the shot put, winning by over 10 feet with a throw of 58-1. His teammate Osbaldo Morales also broke into the top 10, getting 9th with a new PR of 41-6.75.
Ishaq Inayat finished 5th in the long jump with a jump of 20-1. He also did the triple jump for the first time this season and got 11th in 40-5.5, an indoor PR. Ngozi Okeke-Agulu got 8th place in the girls long jump with a new PR of 16-1.
VA Showcase
Here are some of Lawrenceville’s best results at the VA Showcase. Full results here.
Sofia Swindell got 3rd place in the very competitive invitational 200m, which featured several of the best girls in the country. Her time of 24.34 is #4 in New Jersey this year! Jael Gaines took 19th place in the invitational 500m with a time of 1:18.18.
Michael Bradley placed 28th in the 55m with a PR of 6.60. That’s a new #1 in Mercer County and #27 in New Jersey this winter. His teammate Tolu Olatunji went 6.70 in the 55m, and Olatunji also ran a 200m PR of 23.31 (#2 in Mercer County) to complete a nice double.
On Saturday, Lawrenceville brought a larger team to a duel meet against their rival, the Hill School. Their boys distance squad climbed the Mercer County leaderboard with some notable performances on Hill’s 160m track. Owen Eldridge won the 1600m/3200m double in 4:40/10:06, Mohamed Mohamed was runner-up in both races in 4:43/10:09, and Ayodele Joa-Griffith (4:43) and Bastian Bocklage (4:46) came away with PRs in the 1600m. See full results here.