Girls cross-country preview, 2024: Teams to watch in Non-Public B
Wilberforce fell one point short of a state title last year (despite Laura Sallade and Adeline Edwards racing with injuries), but their the favorite to win their third title in four years. They return six varsity runners and will likely end up being even better than they were a year ago. Those top returners include Sallade, Edwards, Eve Szeliga, Gwen Mersereau, Stella Blanchard, and Allison Martin.
Girls cross-country preview, 2024: Teams to watch in Group 4
Princeton is slotted in the third tier, level with Westfield and Hunterdon Central but behind Ridgewood (the favorite), Freehold Township, Cherry Hill East, and Manalapan. The author highlights Princeton’s 20:51.2 average at Holmdel and 1-5 spread of 2:19. Grace Hegedus is highlighted as “one of the best freshman in the state last fall,” Kajol Karra and Phoenix Roth are likely to be near the top of Princeton’s lineup, Rachel Xin and Tessa Thai are “tested runners that will provide leadership and experience,” and Florica Eleches-Lipsitz and Eowyn Deess are “important depth pieces.”
Girls cross-country preview, 2024: Teams to watch in Group 3
West Windsor-Plainsboro North and Hopewell Valley both make this preview in the third tier, behind Middletown South (the favorite), Colts Neck, North Hunterdon, and Ocean City.
West Windsor-Plainsboro North is returning their entire lineup, whose 21:03 Holmdel average is good for 15th in the state. In addition to top runners Zui Chinchalkar and Allison Lee (both top-10 returners at Holmdel), Hasini Sankar and Prakavi Kumaran also had “solid seasons as sophomores.”
Hopewell Valley is bringing back their top three runners: Claire Dumont, Sydney Young, and Elsie Rey-de-Castro. Other returners include Maddie LaChance and Sophia Pellegrino, and “the coaching staff has also liked what they’ve seen from first-year runner Anna Wilson.”
Boys cross-country preview, 2024: Central Jersey runners to watch this season
Luke Ferrer and Shravan Pradeep, both from West Windsor-Plainsboro North, make this list of 20 boys to watch in Central Jersey.
Girls cross-country preview, 2024: Central Jersey runners to watch this season
This watchlist of 26 girls includes Elsie Rey-de-Castro (Hopewell Valley), Zui Chinchalkar (WWP North), Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley), Grace Hegedus (Princeton), Allison Lee (WWP North), and Izzy Meth (Lawrence).