XC 2024 Preview: Girls Individuals

Team practices are underway and the first duel meets are right around the corner, but it's not too late to make some bold predictions about who will be the top XC runners in Mercer County this fall!

I've organized my predictions into three all-county teams of 7 runners each. Athletes within each team are listed alphabetically, so don't scrutinize the order too much. While these XC rankings are based mostly on XC performances (unsurprisingly), I also put decent weight on recent track PRs, especially in the 3200m.

Of course, this list doesn't include incoming freshmen or transfers, who could easily shake things up right from day one. If there's anyone new I should know about, or if you think I missed a rising star, drop a comment below! 

The picture for this post is AI-generated, but nothing else is, I promise. Click here for the boys’ preview.

First Team

Blair Bartlett
Lawrenceville School, Class of 2027

Bartlett is one of the best runners in the state, let alone Mercer County. In her freshman track season, she put up incredible PRs of 10:28 for 3200m and 4:54 for the mile, both of which were top-5 overall in New Jersey. She was the Mercer County Champion in the 1600m and 3200m, winning duels over Allison Lee in both events. Will those blazing times on the track translate to the XC course? Probably, but first we have to hope that her success last spring convinced her to pick XC over tennis this fall.

Zui Chinchalkar
West Windsor-Plainsboro North, Class of 2025

After finishing 2nd at both the CVC and Mercer County Championships last XC season (behind her teammate Allison Lee), Chinchalkar was Mercer County’s #1 finisher at last year’s XC Meet of Champions. Her Holmdel time of 19:10 puts her in the top 10 fastest returners in New Jersey. During indoor track, she ran a 5:04 1600m and was the Group 3 State Champion. She did not race much in outdoor season but still PR’d in the 3200m (11:05), making her Mercer County’s #3 returner there.

Claire Dumont
Hopewell Valley, Class of 2025

Last XC season, after taking 5th and 11th at the CVC and Mercer County championships, Dumont finished 25th at the state meet to qualify for her first Meet of Champions. She ran 19:56 at MoC, making her one of the county’s top returners on Holmdel. On the track, Dumont is a top-10 returner in both the 3200m (11:18) and 1600m (5:20).

Grace Hegedus
Princeton, Class of 2027

Hegedus had an impressive freshman XC season. She took 6th at the Mercer County Championship and 10th at sectionals, and then she really stepped it up with a huge 11th place finish at the group championships. Her 19:41 on Holmdel makes her the #24 returner in the state. During outdoor track, she ran faster and faster every meet, ending with PRs of 11:20 and 5:21.

Allison Lee
West Windsor-Plainsboro North, Class of 2026

Lee cemented herself as an XC star last season, placing 1st at the Mercer County Championship, 3rd at Sectionals, and 5th at States, where she ran 19:16 on Holmdel (#13 returner in NJ). She backed that up on the track with very fast times in every distance event, running 2:17 for 800m, 4:57 for 1600m, and 10:35 for a full two-mile. She even took 4th in the 3200m at the outdoor track Meet of Champions. She’s poised to improve on her 24th place finish at last year’s XC Meet of Champions, and she’ll likely be competitive on a national level.

Izzy Meth
Lawrence, Class of 2027

Meth’s freshman XC season was phenomenal. She took 3rd at the Mercer County Championships, 4th at sectionals, and 11th at groups (where she went sub-20 at Holmdel) to qualify for her first Meet of Champions. She missed indoor season but came back during outdoor season to run a 3200m PR of 11:20, putting her among the county’s top 10 returners in that event.

Laura Sallade
Wilberforce, Class of 2026

Sallade took 5th at last year’s Mercer County Championship and 4th at the NJSIAA group championship. She also really excelled on the track this past year, particularly in the shorter distances. Her times in the 1600m (5:11) and 800m (2:17) put her among the top 5 returners in Mercer County.

Second Team

Courtney Cane
Peddie School, Class of 2025

Last year, in her first season of XC, Cane finished 13th at the Mercer County Championship. She looks poised to use that experience to level up this year, especially considering the incredible times she ran in the spring. On the track, she’s #2 in the 800m (2:15) and #3 in the 1600 (4:58) among Mercer County returners.

Kajol Karra
Princeton, Class of 2026

Karra finished 10th at last year’s Mercer County XC Championship. At outdoor sectionals, she ran a 11:10 3200m, which qualified for the group championships and makes her the #4 returner from Mercer County in that event. She also has a 1600m PR of 5:16.

Elsie Rey-de-Castro
Hopewell Valley, Class of 2027 

Rey-de-Castro had a successful freshman XC season, peaking just right and placing 21st at the group championship to qualify for the Meet of Champions. She did not race much during outdoor track season, but during indoor track she qualified for the 3200m state championship with a 11:33 PR.

Eve Szeliga
Wilberforce, Class of 2026

Szeliga is a mid-distance star. She made it the Meet of Champions in the 800, where she ran a Mercer County #1 of 2:14. She’s even the county’s #4 returner in the 400m, with a PR of 58.36. But she’s got an engine in addition to wheels; last year, in her first XC season, she finished 19th at the Mercer County Championship and 10th at the Group Championship, qualifying for the Meet of Champions.

Teagan Walker
Ewing, Class of 2025 

Walker placed 10th at sectionals to qualify for her third straight state meet. She’s also among the county’s top returners in 3200m; at outdoor sectionals this spring, she ran a PR of 11:16 to grab 6th place (by less than .2 seconds) and qualify for her first outdoor state meet.

Emilia Wroblewski
Allentown, Class of 2025

Last year, Wroblewski finished 7th at the CVC Championship. After finishing 18th at the Mercer County meet, she came back with a 13th place finish at sectionals to qualify for her second straight XC state meet.

Sydney Young
Hopewell Valley, Class of 2027 

Last XC season, Young placed 2nd at the CVC Valley Championship and 9th at the Mercer County Championship, before going on to finish 7th at Group 3 sectionals to lead her team to the state meet. She focused on the shorter distances during track season, clocking an impressive 5:07 in the 1600m along with a 2:20 800m.

Third Team

Essie Chafin
Lawrenceville, Class of 2026

Chafin finished 23rd at last year’s Mercer County XC Championship, 15th among returners. She has track PRs of 5:31 and 12:08.

Eowyn Deess
Princeton, Class of 2027

In her freshman XC season, Deess was 20th at the Mercer County Championship and 18th at Group 3 Sectionals. She was a consistent 3rd or 4th scorer for Princeton, helping them qualify for the Meet of Champions.

Matilda Kardhashi
Peddie School, Class of 2025 

Last XC season, Kardhashi was 16th at the Mercer County XC Championship, 2nd at MAPL, and 8th at the Prep State Championship. During track season, she ran PRs of 2:23 and 5:24.

Phoenix Roth
Princeton, Class of 2027

Roth didn’t do XC last year, but her track credentials suggest that she’d be a serious threat on the XC course. She’s a top-10 returner in both the 1600m (5:14) and the 3200m (11:26). Last fall, however, she played on Princeton’s soccer team, so it remains to be seen what sport she’ll choose this year.

Madeline Ruchelman
Allentown, Class of 2025

Last XC postseason, Ruchelman finished 19th in the CVC merged results and 26th at the Mercer County XC Championship.

Sophie Tsai
West Windsor-Plainsboro South, Class of 2026

Tsai’s specialty is actually the high jump (her PR of 4-8 puts her among the top 15 returners in Mercer County), but she makes this watch list because of impressive run at last year’s CVC Championship, where she finished 16th in the merged results.

Lisette Zamichieli
Steinert, Class of 2026

Zamichieli finished 24th at last year’s Mercer County XC Championship. She’s also got impressive speed, having run 2:21 to finish 4th in the 800m at last spring’s Mercer County Championship. Her 1600m PR is 5:27.